Test driving IS-F @dealership
05-18-13, 09:28 PM
#17
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To be honest... and as sad as it sound... it really depend what car you drive, your age and how you dress when you arrival at the dealership...
I remember when I was younger (21 years old), I was interested to get a EVO 8 (when it first came out in 03) and got there with a 97 Integra, they refused to let me test drive it, said stuff like 'oh it's an exlcusive car, we ONLY let people who are ready to put down a down payment to take it out the road for test drive.'
Same thing with the STI and other 'exlcusive' or 'Special' model.
So I end up getting a used EVO from a private seller... and when the MR came out.. I had no issue took the MR out for a test drive (show up in my EVO)
But on the other end, you can't really blame the salesman, that's many many people simply just want to go to a car dealership test drive a high performace car for the fun of it (I know a few car buddy of mine actaully did that)...And it really wasted the salesman time and it might get them in trouble for not able to make the sale with all those test drive reqeust.
Anyway, my advice is, if you are serious about getting a F from that dealership, show up in a somewhata nice and decent car
Good luck !
I remember when I was younger (21 years old), I was interested to get a EVO 8 (when it first came out in 03) and got there with a 97 Integra, they refused to let me test drive it, said stuff like 'oh it's an exlcusive car, we ONLY let people who are ready to put down a down payment to take it out the road for test drive.'
Same thing with the STI and other 'exlcusive' or 'Special' model.
So I end up getting a used EVO from a private seller... and when the MR came out.. I had no issue took the MR out for a test drive (show up in my EVO)
But on the other end, you can't really blame the salesman, that's many many people simply just want to go to a car dealership test drive a high performace car for the fun of it (I know a few car buddy of mine actaully did that)...And it really wasted the salesman time and it might get them in trouble for not able to make the sale with all those test drive reqeust.
Anyway, my advice is, if you are serious about getting a F from that dealership, show up in a somewhata nice and decent car
Good luck !
05-18-13, 09:32 PM
#18
thanks for the input guys. yeah i told him hes an idiot and they dont require such a large sum of cash. everything you guys said makes sense. Im sure if i roll up in my 350, they will probably consider me a serious buyer.
just like in everything in life, if you go in confident, well dressed, and not driving a bucket im sure they think you are serious. all about perception!
thanks again. if i only waited a few more months to save instead of being inpatient i could have gotten the F. Only way for me to get it now is if i part out eveything and sell car and restart! haha. i;ve had the 2007 350 for 9 months. who knows what the future holds
just like in everything in life, if you go in confident, well dressed, and not driving a bucket im sure they think you are serious. all about perception!
thanks again. if i only waited a few more months to save instead of being inpatient i could have gotten the F. Only way for me to get it now is if i part out eveything and sell car and restart! haha. i;ve had the 2007 350 for 9 months. who knows what the future holds
05-18-13, 09:33 PM
#19
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when i went to the dealerships just to look at cars, no salesmen talks to me. Im 18 at the time. I went to BMW,audi, volkswagen,acura,infiniti. all on the same day.
BMW ignored me(well not actually it was the secretary that talked said do you need any help? i think she doesnt want me and my buddies to mess with the cars)
acura ignored me.
infiniti sales rep came up to me and started chatting business but i think the sales woman was new lol
i didnt ask for any test drives tho. and if they ask u whos buying the car and u said my parents are going to buy for me they tell u to come back with ur parents then we talk business lol
BMW ignored me(well not actually it was the secretary that talked said do you need any help? i think she doesnt want me and my buddies to mess with the cars)
acura ignored me.
infiniti sales rep came up to me and started chatting business but i think the sales woman was new lol
i didnt ask for any test drives tho. and if they ask u whos buying the car and u said my parents are going to buy for me they tell u to come back with ur parents then we talk business lol
05-18-13, 09:34 PM
#20
If the sales guy doesn't take you seriously then its his loss! Just take it to someone else or another dealership.
I was looking for a weekend car and was looking to buy pretty much immediately. I was interested in a Cayman and had some questions, the sales guy pretty much brushed me off saying the car is in awesome shape, what more do you need to know?
Later that week I bought a Lotus Exige for more than what the Cayman was going for from someone else
I was looking for a weekend car and was looking to buy pretty much immediately. I was interested in a Cayman and had some questions, the sales guy pretty much brushed me off saying the car is in awesome shape, what more do you need to know?
Later that week I bought a Lotus Exige for more than what the Cayman was going for from someone else
05-18-13, 09:36 PM
#21
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If the sales guy doesn't take you seriously then its his loss! Just take it to someone else or another dealership.
I was looking for a weekend car and was looking to buy pretty much immediately. I was interested in a Cayman and had some questions, the sales guy pretty much brushed me off saying the car is in awesome shape, what more do you need to know?
Later that week I bought a Lotus Exige for more than what the Cayman was going for from someone else
I was looking for a weekend car and was looking to buy pretty much immediately. I was interested in a Cayman and had some questions, the sales guy pretty much brushed me off saying the car is in awesome shape, what more do you need to know?
Later that week I bought a Lotus Exige for more than what the Cayman was going for from someone else
05-18-13, 10:17 PM
#23
Man these sales man you guys are talking about are really ignorant. Unless there is a LOT of people in the room then they can be picky about age and appearance but if it's just one or two person in the room. You should definitely greet them because you can't judge a person by their appearance. I guess car salesmen are the bad of the bad huh. They have quotas too so work that to your advantage especially the ones that are treating you with no respect. Grab another salesmen and buy the car. Hahaha.
05-21-13, 08:21 PM
#25
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The floor space is diff than on the regular IS's?
05-21-13, 08:38 PM
#26
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I bought my IS-F this past weekend and took delivery yesterday. When I first went into the dealership I was somewhat shocked that no one had approached me aside from the receptionist greeting me and asking if I had an appointment. When I asked to talk to the sales person I conversed with over email the sales manager himself helped me out while my sales person was dealing with another customer. He was ready there and then to take the car off of the showroom floor and give me the keys to take it out on the local highway by myself.
As long as you act like a prospective buyer and not like someone who's looking for a joyride there should be no reason why they wouldn't let you take the car out for a test ride.
As long as you act like a prospective buyer and not like someone who's looking for a joyride there should be no reason why they wouldn't let you take the car out for a test ride.
05-22-13, 04:39 AM
#28
First off, does your dealer even have an IS-F? If you don't look like a hayseed, you should be able to drive the car. If you are too young to look like a customer, go in with your father.
I got a test drive with no problem, but I'm old and respectable looking. (HAHA). The dealer took me out to a twisty road and then got the crap scared out of him.
I got a test drive with no problem, but I'm old and respectable looking. (HAHA). The dealer took me out to a twisty road and then got the crap scared out of him.
05-22-13, 04:54 AM
#29
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05-22-13, 11:05 AM
#30
I purposefully walk in not dressed up because I want to see how they treat me. So far, all the Lexus dealerships I've been to were fine with the exception of Stevenson in Denver.
Saw an ISF 2013 at Stevenson on the way back from a ski trip and wanted to test drive it. The sales guy was extremely happy because he never got to ride in one before. They opened up all the doors to drive it out of the show room and the manager came up and noticed our drivers license were out of state (CA and TX). He said "If you aren't planning on buying it today, we can't let you test drive it." I don't quite understand why you would buy a car without ever test driving it. We were like whatever.
So fast forward to now, I found a 2010, 2012, and 2013 in TX Austin and Dallas and decided to drive all of them. They let me without even checking any of my finances. Didn't think I was going to love the car, but I did. I was planning on getting a 2013 later this year, but good thing I asked them when the last day to special order an ISF was. They told me it was on the 24th of April, which was two weeks following the conversation. Two weekends later, I placed a special order for a fully loaded 2013 with PSC and headlamp washers for an excellent negotiated price. Should be here July/August
There's no reason not to let someone drive the car just because they're out of state. I have absolutely no problems flying out to buy a car if it was worth it. I didn't even think I was going to consider the car, but a test drive totally flipped me around. I also don't think I should have to dress up to get good service because those are the people I don't want getting commission with my money anyways.
Also Note other cars I test drove before considering the F:
C63 AMG 2009, 2013
M3 2009
M6 2013
LS460L UL 2007, 2012, 2013
Genesis 5.0 Rspec 2013 (Was about to buy this one before the F came along)
GS 350 F sport 2013
Audi A8 2013
VW CC 2013
RR Evoque 2013
Gwagon 2005
Scion FR-S 2013
Lexus is by far my favorite dealership to visit due to how they treat you. My least favorite is MB followed closely by Audi and BMW. I don't like their arrogance and their willing to service only people with money.
Saw an ISF 2013 at Stevenson on the way back from a ski trip and wanted to test drive it. The sales guy was extremely happy because he never got to ride in one before. They opened up all the doors to drive it out of the show room and the manager came up and noticed our drivers license were out of state (CA and TX). He said "If you aren't planning on buying it today, we can't let you test drive it." I don't quite understand why you would buy a car without ever test driving it. We were like whatever.
So fast forward to now, I found a 2010, 2012, and 2013 in TX Austin and Dallas and decided to drive all of them. They let me without even checking any of my finances. Didn't think I was going to love the car, but I did. I was planning on getting a 2013 later this year, but good thing I asked them when the last day to special order an ISF was. They told me it was on the 24th of April, which was two weeks following the conversation. Two weekends later, I placed a special order for a fully loaded 2013 with PSC and headlamp washers for an excellent negotiated price. Should be here July/August
There's no reason not to let someone drive the car just because they're out of state. I have absolutely no problems flying out to buy a car if it was worth it. I didn't even think I was going to consider the car, but a test drive totally flipped me around. I also don't think I should have to dress up to get good service because those are the people I don't want getting commission with my money anyways.
Also Note other cars I test drove before considering the F:
C63 AMG 2009, 2013
M3 2009
M6 2013
LS460L UL 2007, 2012, 2013
Genesis 5.0 Rspec 2013 (Was about to buy this one before the F came along)
GS 350 F sport 2013
Audi A8 2013
VW CC 2013
RR Evoque 2013
Gwagon 2005
Scion FR-S 2013
Lexus is by far my favorite dealership to visit due to how they treat you. My least favorite is MB followed closely by Audi and BMW. I don't like their arrogance and their willing to service only people with money.
Last edited by XpediencY; 05-22-13 at 11:22 AM.