Well tomorrow my parents are going to the nissan dealership to trade in our quest minivan. i wanted to test drive the new maxima, 350z and altima. i am 19 years old will i be able to do this? also, if i am able to will i be able to redline them or do i have to drive normal?
How old do you have to be to test drive cars?
- Thread starter Cooljt1
- Start date
Hahhaa. I'm sure they'll let some kid with no intention of buying it test drive. You can get into the altima easily, maybe the maxima, probably not the nissan.
Redline it? A new car? Before break-in? Feel sorry for whoever is going to buy that car.
Redline it? A new car? Before break-in? Feel sorry for whoever is going to buy that car.
if someone is there who has intentions of paying I bet they will let you testdrive. Just have your dad say something like "OH I want to see how the back seat rides why don't you drive for a little while son"
OS
Lifer
- Oct 11, 1999
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dunno, you know how every new car has atleast a couple miles on it? The people moving around the cars sure aren't babying it around. :Q
My last car, a 2000 corolla, was bought new by my parents several years ago and it had 50 miles on it when they drove it away. It ran great until some big rig ran it over.
Plus there is that crackpot theory on that one page that suggests beating the motor hard is actually better on the internals. Who knows.
As for the original question, they're not gonna let some 19 y/o drive 3 cars back to back. You'll be lucky to get one test drive, and that's if you go with a potential buyer, IE your dad.
well yeah i figured i would need to have my mom or dad in the car with me. they are trading in their minivan and probably starting a lease on another one so its not like i am just going in there randomly and asking if i can test drive cars.
Then you are gonna have to test drive the car they are trading in for. Unless your parents pulls out the "look bitches, let my son test the Z or i wont make any deal" card.
NutBucket
Lifer
- Aug 30, 2000
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Don't. Its mainly the salesmans' fault. First Honda I testdrove ('00 Civic or so) the salesman told me to keep the revs up so I could "feel the VTEC". I'll show him what feeling VTEC is and it isn't 127hp. Anyhow, when I drove a Mazda6 V6 I was curious if the auto tranny would upshift at redline when in manual mode. It didn't
Why am I going to baby a car on a test drive when I'll be driving mine a lot harder after initial break-in? Same thing applies to the Evo 8 and Maxima I test drove.EDIT: Forgot to add that I'm 22 now so you can figure out how old I was when I test-drove these cars.
3chordcharlie
Diamond Member
- Mar 30, 2004
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Originally posted by: NutBucket
Don't. Its mainly the salesmans' fault. First Honda I testdrove ('00 Civic or so) the salesman told me to keep the revs up so I could "feel the VTEC". I'll show him what feeling VTEC is and it isn't 127hp. Anyhow, when I drove a Mazda6 V6 I was curious if the auto tranny would upshift at redline when in manual mode. It didn't
EDIT: Forgot to add that I'm 22 now so you can figure out how old I was when I test-drove these cars.
But doing that to them before the first oil change is idiotic...
Though to be fair I was surprised when my borrowed 3.2tl didn't upshift at redline too (but it isn't brand new).
NutBucket
Lifer
- Aug 30, 2000
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Originally posted by: 3chordcharlie
Originally posted by: NutBucket
Don't. Its mainly the salesmans' fault. First Honda I testdrove ('00 Civic or so) the salesman told me to keep the revs up so I could "feel the VTEC". I'll show him what feeling VTEC is and it isn't 127hp. Anyhow, when I drove a Mazda6 V6 I was curious if the auto tranny would upshift at redline when in manual mode. It didn't
EDIT: Forgot to add that I'm 22 now so you can figure out how old I was when I test-drove these cars.
But doing that to them before the first oil change is idiotic...
Though to be fair I was surprised when my borrowed 3.2tl didn't upshift at redline too (but it isn't brand new).
Its not my car and its not like the salesman told me not to.
3chordcharlie
Diamond Member
- Mar 30, 2004
- 9,859
- 1
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Originally posted by: NutBucket
Originally posted by: 3chordcharlie
Originally posted by: NutBucket
Don't. Its mainly the salesmans' fault. First Honda I testdrove ('00 Civic or so) the salesman told me to keep the revs up so I could "feel the VTEC". I'll show him what feeling VTEC is and it isn't 127hp. Anyhow, when I drove a Mazda6 V6 I was curious if the auto tranny would upshift at redline when in manual mode. It didn't
EDIT: Forgot to add that I'm 22 now so you can figure out how old I was when I test-drove these cars.
But doing that to them before the first oil change is idiotic...
Though to be fair I was surprised when my borrowed 3.2tl didn't upshift at redline too (but it isn't brand new).
Its not my car and its not like the salesman told me not to.
Would you have bought that exact car, or wanted 'the same but new'. That's always my measure of whether I'm doing something inappropriate and/or stupid when tyring out anything.
If I was out in a brand new car and whoever was driving it started bouncing the thing off the rev limiter with 50 miles on the clock, I wouldn't buy it. Ergo I wouldn't do that.
I drove my dad's super nice car in to the dealership when I was 17 and they didn't even ask for ID, it was sweet (did it to multiple places in the area)
the acura place didn't go for it though. They wanted ID (you had to be 18 there)
the acura place didn't go for it though. They wanted ID (you had to be 18 there)
NutBucket
Lifer
- Aug 30, 2000
- 27,179
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Originally posted by: 3chordcharlie
Originally posted by: NutBucket
Originally posted by: 3chordcharlie
Originally posted by: NutBucket
Don't. Its mainly the salesmans' fault. First Honda I testdrove ('00 Civic or so) the salesman told me to keep the revs up so I could "feel the VTEC". I'll show him what feeling VTEC is and it isn't 127hp. Anyhow, when I drove a Mazda6 V6 I was curious if the auto tranny would upshift at redline when in manual mode. It didn't
EDIT: Forgot to add that I'm 22 now so you can figure out how old I was when I test-drove these cars.
But doing that to them before the first oil change is idiotic...
Though to be fair I was surprised when my borrowed 3.2tl didn't upshift at redline too (but it isn't brand new).
Its not my car and its not like the salesman told me not to.
Would you have bought that exact car, or wanted 'the same but new'. That's always my measure of whether I'm doing something inappropriate and/or stupid when tyring out anything.
If I was out in a brand new car and whoever was driving it started bouncing the thing off the rev limiter with 50 miles on the clock, I wouldn't buy it. Ergo I wouldn't do that.
Neither would I which is why I lauged at the Honda salesman when he asked if I wanted the car after the test drive. But you tell me how you expect to really test out a car if you don't take it to its limits. I'm suppose to drive like a grandma and say ,"Hey, this car is great. I drive like this everyday and it'll suit me fine"? I don't think so. Or am I just suppose to base it on what I read in magazines? Maybe your argument works for a Civic but if I'm behind the wheel of an Evo8 you expect me to drive it like a grandma and consider that a thorough evaluation?
Demon-Xanth
Lifer
- Feb 15, 2000
- 20,551
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The real trick is to let them know that you are SERIOUS about buying that particular vehicle. I never had any trouble getting a test drive for a Dakota. I pretty much looked around for one that looked good, flagged down a salesman, and asked him if I could try it out. Idiot was too pushy so I ended up ordering one (w/ a better option set+lower cost) from another dealer though. I test drove that one w/o even having to ask.
3chordcharlie
Diamond Member
- Mar 30, 2004
- 9,859
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Unless the car is a dedicated demonstrator, and will be sold as 'used' then yes. Most cars don't perform as well brand new as they will after 5k miles anyway, so your test drive isn't all that meaningful.
In addition, you know what 'fast' feels like; why worry that it won't be as fast as the magazine says it will be? You don't need to red-line the engine or powershift anything to see if the car has power to pass quickly and can zig-zag around a parking lot...
All you're doing when you abuse a brand new car with no intention of buying it is abusing the test-drive system.
3chordcharlie
Diamond Member
- Mar 30, 2004
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Because you just said you wouldn't have bought the civic that you had just thrashed around in... if all you meant was that it wasn't to your liking, and you would have bought the exact one you had driven if you liked it, then I suppose that's somewhat defensible.
You wouldn't run a marathon in a pair of running shoes before agreeing to buy them though.
How old do you have to be to test drive? Old enough to buy. If you roll up in a beaten up yugo they aren't going to give you a test drive, I got to test drive cars when I was 16 (dad was with me though) because we were looking for a car for me, if you look serious about buying they'll generally let you test drive it.
OS
Lifer
- Oct 11, 1999
- 15,581
- 1
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This argument is moot because the dealer/transport guys moving them around beat the crap out of the cars anyway.
Even worse is when the dealer gets a new sports car. Every sales guy in the dealership has his turn beating the crap out of it. By the time that first car gets a buyer, it's used up like a dirty whore anyways. :Q
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