![]() That document gives the salesmen a few more clues about who you are, and it at least demonstrates you're legally able to title a new car in your own name in that state. ![]() Freely divulge everything, and also offer the insurance slip on the car you just drove onto the lot. If you're defensive about any of this, he's unlikely to let you test a car alone. 2: Before he'll give you a car to test, a salesman will, at a minimum, demand to see your driver's license, and he may also want to know your home phone number and where you work. "Tell me," asks Brueger, "exactly how does that work?" I always think to myself, Why the hell did we just go through that little piece of fantasy? Where did it get us? It's like lying to your plumber about which toilet is leaking." A lot of customers lie to salesmen from the git-go because they think it'll somehow demonstrate their take-no-prisoners attitude when it comes to negotiating the car's price. ![]() "They'll boast about all the Benzes they've owned, like a 1984 supercharged Gullwing so-and-so with 25-inch dubs or something equally crazy. ![]() "People lie about the dumbest stuff," says Mercedes salesman (and former C/D "Brevet Motor Pool Officer") Michael Brueger. Once he catches a customer fibbing to him, the average salesman feels justified in lying right back. But there's a far more important reason not to lie. Also, it's completely unnecessary-it affects the eventual price of your car not one whit. He's heard every lie ever invented by man or beast, maybe 200 times a week. In any event, here are the best methods-according to the salesmen-for wangling a long, meaningful solo test drive: "If you buy a car with 300 test miles," said the general manager there, "tell the salesman you want the warranty extended by that number of miles-he can do it." But at a BMW dealership three blocks distant, the limit was more like 300. "We're hoping you're putting miles on the car you'll own-miles we won't have to explain to someone else." At his dealership, in fact, new cars with as few as 35 test miles get parked until they're sold. "That's one reason why salesmen are so eager for you to test the exact car you're thinking of buying, right down to the color," explains Ford sales manager John McLellan of Varsity Ford in Ann Arbor. When you take a test drive nowadays, it will usually be in a new car. I'd need 20 demonstrators to represent those variations." We talked to a Ford dealer who kept "a few" Explorer demonstrators, and we found a Toyota dealer who maintained a handful of Corolla and Camry demonstrators. "I sell Outbacks, Legacy sedans and wagons, Impreza sedans and wagons, WRX sedans and wagons, and we have three engines and a bunch of trim levels. "Too expensive," explains a Subaru salesman. What's more, few dealerships maintain a fleet of demonstrators. We visited a Volvo store where a salesman said, "If I believe you're a serious customer, I'll let you take a car home for a night with unlimited miles." Then we visited a Honda dealership where the general manager said, "Our test drives are restricted to less than five miles, with the salesman driving half that distance." The first thing you should know is that test-drive rules are unique to each dealership. For now, the trick is getting your butt into the car in the first place. We'll discuss later what to do when you're finally behind the wheel. So we interviewed a dozen salesmen and general managers to find out what the current test-drive rules are. But first we needed to know if that premise was correct. Our intention this month was to run a feature called "How to Conduct a Super-Boffo 30-Minute Road Test That Doesn't Frighten the Salesman into Having You Arrested." Thirty minutes, we figured, was probably the max that a new-car dealer would allow.
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