Car test drive accidents

olafgarten

usedtobe said:

Anyone bought a car without a test drive?

I bought my Car without a test drive. 

strumjoughlamps

Lending gear between good honest folk and going to a showroom for a test drive are worlds apart.

any potential mishaps should have been explained in writing beforehand and a signature provided by you agreeing to it. 

munckee

I would have said I would have been happy to pay when they produced the document I signed making myself liable for their policy excess.

CHrisP86

Yeah, obviously if I borrowed something from a friend then I would pay for the damage without hesitation.

This is a business who put these cars out as demo models and I feel they should take some wear and tear on the chin. I didn’t wrap the car around a lamp post or anything. 

I also wouldn’t be arguing if they had made the terms clear before the test drive.

I think it’s more like going in to a guitar shop and one of the strings breaking on a guitar you were trying.  I can’t imagine ever being charged for a new guitar string!!

Dominic

Not a Test drive or a crash.....but,
30 years ago my girlfriend's father lent me his classic Maserati Bora to drive from London to Beaulieu in the New Forest.
I got as far as Ealing Common and blew the engine up ( unknown to me there was a bad oil leak )
He took it very calmly ,never said much only that I was remiss in not keeping my eye on the temp gauge .
Two and a half years later ,after living together for 4 years I split up with his daughter when she met somebody else .
A week later a bill for the engine rebuild arrived !
I never paid it .
I met him (now aged 88 ) last year at a funeral ...........the first words he said to me were " You still owe me the cost of the engine rebuild " 
Older and wiser ( now 56 ) I said " Yes ,but you still owe me a daughter !"
He wandered away confused and muttering.

Nitefly

usedtobe said:

Anyone bought a car without a test drive?

Me!

I bought a 10-month old Peugeot 208 off the forecourt, didn't test-drive it as such but drove it home (including a motorway run) so that probably counted as the test drive.

Guitar_Slinger

I bought a new car 10 years ago under the scrappage scheme and had to provide driving licence details before they'd let me have the demo car.

Snags

heavyrocker said:

Snags said:

Hattigol said:

This could lead on to a much MUCH worse discussion....

i.e. what would be the situation if you were borrowing someone's guitar and it got damaged whilst you had it? Horrible thought.

That's easy - any borrowed kit is always on a "you bend it you mend it" basis. Amongst mates that shouldn't even need to be said.

Exactly but when it’s a business “lending” you the item (as in a car test drive) my expectation would be that they have insurance to cover for any damages (which is inevitably going to happen at some point).

If they don’t have insurance, or if there’s an excess, they should make that clear to you beforehand. Of course they don’t make it clear beforehand because that would potentially put off customers.

So I think in this instance the car dealer is taking the piss and I wouldn’t have paid it. They aren’t going to pursue you for £100 and it would be down to them to prove you caused the damage.

Absolutely (more or less).  "You bend it you mend it" is very much a friend situation.

In a business situation I'd expect the deal to be made clear at the start.  That said, if I did prang a car (due to my fault) during a test drive, I wouldn't necessarily expect to walk away without putting my hand in my pocket.  And if I bought an ex-demonstrator I'd expect it to be heavily discounted because it probably has had a few bumps (and been caned, and driven by goodness knows who) even if it was relatively low mileage.

On the few occasions I've had a test drive at a main dealer, there's always been paperwork/disclaimers and such-like. I think in the OPs position I'd be a bit embarrassed, a bit miffed, probably argue the toss because of the attitude, and make damn sure not to buy off them, and slag them off down the pub.

Sporky

usedtobe said:

Anyone bought a car without a test drive?

Not all of the collection are for driving.

midlifecrisis

i wouldnt pay them and then id add salt into the wound by saying you're not buying the car because its damaged, then walk away

peteri

There is no way you should pay that - as others have said, this is a business transaction.

As such - assuming it's a main dealer, they get the car as a discount for their demo fleet, can claim tax back, and will sell the car at the end.

And the cost of providing that service is factored into every sale they make, that's the model.

No one is out of pocket - it's a cost of doing business, just as someone thrashing the backside off it and 2 months later a bit falls off, or the brakes are shot, or it needs new tyres.

If it's a smaller dealer, I understand it's tougher for them - but basically the same rules apply, it's a cost of doing business - if it wasn't why wouldn't they charge you the pre-approved rate of something like 46p a mile (guess) for petrol and wear and tear?

Unless you signed something at the beginning, which they should have got you to sign to cover speeding tickets if nothing else - no way I'd pay a penny

Cols

CHrisP86 said:

Very money grabbing when surely they have to expect some wear and tear on the demo cars. 

Come on, kerbing an alloy is hardly fair wear and tear.  It’s damaging the car.

Having said that, £100 is frankly excessive for fixing a kerbed alloy.  Unless you really gave it a serious thump, I’d expect half that.  It’s also a bit short sighted on the part of the dealer; sure, they’ll cover the cost of repair with a bit to spare, but invariably they’ll lose any prospect of a sale.

DLM

CHrisP86 said:

I managed to curb one of the alloys in the demo car.

https://i.imgflip.com/2ioxd3.jpg

heavyrocker

Cols said:

CHrisP86 said:

Very money grabbing when surely they have to expect some wear and tear on the demo cars. 

Come on, kerbing an alloy is hardly fair wear and tear.  It’s damaging the car.

That’s what insurance is for. If there’s an excess they should make customers aware they can be liable. Or they should get a better policy. Shoddy behaviour but not surprising in that industry.

mart

Anybody else wondering if the salesman will get the dealership to charge this to their insurance while he quietly pockets the £100 he duped the test-driver into paying?

Cols

heavyrocker said:

Cols said:

CHrisP86 said:

Very money grabbing when surely they have to expect some wear and tear on the demo cars. 

Come on, kerbing an alloy is hardly fair wear and tear.  It’s damaging the car.

That’s what insurance is for. If there’s an excess they should make customers aware they can be liable. Or they should get a better policy.

Be serious, if you kerbed an alloy on your own car would you claim on the insurance?

sev112

Few years back, booked to test drive a small Peugeot . Turned up, the dealer gave me the keys and said “off you go”  and sent me off without coming with me , no paperwork, no contact details !?

bought it , but was amazed at the trust - I must just look like an honest guy 

heavyrocker

Cols said:

heavyrocker said:

Cols said:

CHrisP86 said:

Very money grabbing when surely they have to expect some wear and tear on the demo cars. 

Come on, kerbing an alloy is hardly fair wear and tear.  It’s damaging the car.

That’s what insurance is for. If there’s an excess they should make customers aware they can be liable. Or they should get a better policy.

Be serious, if you kerbed an alloy on your own car would you claim on the insurance?

No but I’m not in the business of selling cars and letting customers go out on test drives...

Teetonetal

guitarfishbay said:

usedtobe said:

Anyone bought a car without a test drive?

Yeah my colleague did this. They’d only ever driven one other car and thought all similar size cars all drove the same. Fortunately they did like their new car, but I thought it was crazy they bought it based on sitting in it in the showroom 

To be honest, most test drives tell you very little as it's normally a 10 min spin, though I guess it does stop you buying an absolute dog.

In the case of the op, I think I'd be expecting to be charged if damaging a test drive. Though the garage ought to make you sign something really.

CHRISB50

usedtobe said:

Anyone bought a car without a test drive?

Yes, a 40th Anniversary Mini, brand new in 1999.