"Good day, I am interested in a test drive"...."Sorry sir, we don't have a car for TD"

Dippy · 13th March 2009, 22:36

How many times have you got this reply as the title of this thread suggests from a Sales person at a car showroom? The dealers give huge ads in newspapers and other publications for their cars with a bold "Test Drive Today" . But it happens thats they never have a car to drive when you land up at the showroom or if you call for one home. I get excuses like " Sir there is no car for a TD " or " the car is not yet come to us but you can still book one"

It has even happened at times that I am told the car is available when I'm sitting across the table, only to be told 5 minutes later that the car has gone out.

The other day I reached a Hyundai dealership for an i10 auto TD informing the sales guy that I would reach in 10 minutes and he confirming the car being there at the dealership. When I reach, I see the car but he tells me I cannot TD it because it just leaving for a TD appointment elsewhere . How can he give importance to some other customer at some other location when he has one right in front of him?

How many of you have had such experiences of going for a test drive and most of the time coming away disappointed at not getting the car?

Vid6639 · 13th March 2009, 22:42

Sonata Transform TD was promised but the guy delayed for a good 3 weeks. I didn't bother following it up as I figured he wasn't interested in a sale. After 3 weeks he called and apologised and requested me to take a TD.

Till date Hyundai hasn't given me the Getz CRDi TD. None of the dealers seem to have a TD car, but they say there is only one being shared with all bangalore dealers. They sent across an i20 instead.

One dealer gave the best reply by far. Sir we don't have Getz CRDi but you can TD the Verna as it has same engine only thing is it has a boot compared to Getz.

Today morning Mahindra told me they would get back to me in an hour for Xylo TD but no call after that.

madhukar_n · 13th March 2009, 22:47

the SMS funda of having a TD has never ever worked for me.
i have tried swift,sx4, scorpio and fabia.

And when i really went to the showroom for a swift TD, they showed me the car - this is the car, you sit inside and drive within the compound !! and there was a waiting list for that too !!! for a "real" TD, they had told me to come after a month or so. this was when swift was released - sometime in 2005.

Amey · 14th March 2009, 11:35

Quote:

One dealer gave the best reply by far. Sir we don't have Getz CRDi but you can TD the Verna as it has same engine only thing is it has a boot compared to Getz.

Exact same reply given to me. I went ahead and TD it anyway :-D After that i TD a petrol Getz so i could imagine a combined effect or so

God knows what i was thinking.
Later Fellow Tbhpian, 'Hkanitkar' was kind enough to give me a TD of his car. I felt relieved that I had booked a worthy car, Yes i was so excited, i booked the car before TDing one

Thanks to Ishan, KPgetz and others..... :-D

iraghava · 14th March 2009, 12:58

Once in 2004, I was at Prime Honda for a TD of the Honda Accord since my best friend wanted to buy it. Now, the dealership was the same place from where I had bought my VTEC & even the salesman was the same! So he knew, we were potential customers.

I had called him a day prior to coming but to my surprise on arriving was told that there was no Accord available for TD. I told him firmly whether one could be arranged or not, he said no sire not possible. Then I told him that if he didn't have a car for TD, he was not going to get our business.

Then in front of him, I called up another dealer in Delhi and they said they had an Accord available for TD & we could come down to their showroom to drive it. I said ok, I'm coming. On hearing this, the salesman asks me to wait for 5 minutes & a few minutes later voila, an AT Accord appeared out of thin air in their parking lot!

Once in the car I asked the salesman, what happened I thought you didn't have a car available? He said no sir, this is an employee's car. I said yeah right, maybe I too should start working at your dealership so I can get an Accord! Needless to say, despite the TD, the dealership DID NOT get our business.

Sahil · 14th March 2009, 13:22

I almost always have the dealership send the car over to my office for a TD rather than go down there myself.
Avoids wasting time and useless excuses of car not available for TD etc

trrk · 14th March 2009, 14:02

Hi,

I dragged my wife to 4 showrooms in a day.

Fusion Diesel - test car gone out
Verna Diesel AT - no test car
Captiva diesel AT - no test car yet, manual not available that day.
Freelander - TD within five minutes of the visit.

The last was a surprise. I just drove in because the vehicle was there. The sales advisor was very keen to show the car and describe the features. He did ask me further details as to who I am etc when I asked for a TD, but he gave the TD. I forgot that the Freelander was a petrol or else I would not have asked for the TD.

The ride part was OK. The test car had already done 483kms and the ditance to empty was 83kms. The steering was about 10 degree off to the right when the car was going straight.

He also showed us the Pajero 2800 and the Montero though they were in the service area.

And he gave us the brochures of the Freelander as well as the Montero.

BaCkSeAtDrIVeR · 14th March 2009, 15:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by trrk

Freelander - TD within five minutes of the visit.

OT, but...

Calls for a separate thread, no?

Edit:- This at the the imported cars dealer on NH47 byepass?

swale84 · 14th March 2009, 15:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by trrk

Hi,

I dragged my wife to 4 showrooms in a day.

Freelander - TD within five minutes of the visit.

Do you mean the Outlander? (As in the Mitsubishi Outlander) or is the freelander actually available for td's?

amit · 14th March 2009, 15:25

I was at Sharayu Hyundai for a TD of a petrol Getz in 2005. I was told the TD car is away on a TD and they will have it sent to me the next day. I left leaving my address and mobile number. No call or TD till today!

DieselFan · 14th March 2009, 17:06

I had asked for a TD of Xylo on M&M website. Someone from the dealership called me and fixed an appointment for 12-30 pm last saturday. No response till yesterday and again I get a call. I get really wild at them for wasting my time last saturday.

Mpower · 14th March 2009, 17:32

had asked for a Santro A/T TD for my mom. Guy promised to bring the car at around 3 pm on a Sat.

3 became 5 then 7 ..finally showd up at 9:30 pm. Luckily we did not have plans.

After the TD, we got chatting and he says..why are you buying this, I can get you an Accent for a little more.

trrk · 14th March 2009, 18:37

Hi friends,

Apologies to both of you!

Quote:

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

OT, but...
Calls for a separate thread, no?
Edit:- This at the the imported cars dealer on NH47 byepass?

It was at the Geo Motors Mistubishi showroom on the NH byepass. I would not even dream of going to that one!

Quote:

Originally Posted by swale84

Do you mean the Outlander? (As in the Mitsubishi Outlander) or is the freelander actually available for td's?

It is the Mistubishi Outlander.

MA5K · 14th March 2009, 18:58

Went to TD the i10 when it was launched. Had confirmed over phone that the TD car was available and free for the next couple of hours. Went to the showroom only to find there was a waiting list of 2 hours!

Couldn't wait that long, so just headed back to office.

SkyWalker · 14th March 2009, 20:05

As long as i booked (and sometimes even when i walked in) in advance, didn't have problems with Honda,Toyota & Hyundai & Mitsu. Honda,Toyota & Mitsu were always prompt - reached give or take 30 mins in my residence, Hyundai had issues (they called me well in time, apologized and explained they had only one AT car and ran into some unexpected issues - they made sure i get the TD first thing next day too). I would rate all of these experiences as excellent.

FIAT - Linea TD was given promptly. It was only for a couple of Kms though, as there were people waiting. Fair enough. I told them i needed a longer TD as traffic was bad. Gave my card, but no follow up. Surprising, i thought FIAT was pushing this car well.

Mahindra tried to convince me to come to their showroom for a TD for two weeks until i nicely pointed out to the girl that i was the customer. Offered a TD , but that took 2 more weeks. Well, at least they followed up.

Fiesta was a completely different story. Each week a sales person would call up and say "sir, when are you buying the Fiesta?" and i go "lets have a TD first". Immediately he would promise someone would get back to fix a TD, but sure enough - no one got back to fix a TD. That went on for 3 weeks and then i told him it was nice knowing him. A year down the line my friend has a much better experience with Lathangi ford though (same guys i had for Cedia TD).

13th March 2009, 22:36	#1
Dippy Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Mumbai, India Posts: 7,557 Thanked: 2,459 Times	"Good day, I am interested in a test drive"...."Sorry sir, we don't have a car for TD" How many times have you got this reply as the title of this thread suggests from a Sales person at a car showroom? The dealers give huge ads in newspapers and other publications for their cars with a bold "Test Drive Today" . But it happens thats they never have a car to drive when you land up at the showroom or if you call for one home. I get excuses like " Sir there is no car for a TD " or " the car is not yet come to us but you can still book one" It has even happened at times that I am told the car is available when I'm sitting across the table, only to be told 5 minutes later that the car has gone out. The other day I reached a Hyundai dealership for an i10 auto TD informing the sales guy that I would reach in 10 minutes and he confirming the car being there at the dealership. When I reach, I see the car but he tells me I cannot TD it because it just leaving for a TD appointment elsewhere . How can he give importance to some other customer at some other location when he has one right in front of him? How many of you have had such experiences of going for a test drive and most of the time coming away disappointed at not getting the car? Last edited by Dippy : 13th March 2009 at 22:37.
	(2) Thanks

13th March 2009, 22:42	#2
Vid6639 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 17,726 Thanked: 43,453 Times View My Garage	Sonata Transform TD was promised but the guy delayed for a good 3 weeks. I didn't bother following it up as I figured he wasn't interested in a sale. After 3 weeks he called and apologised and requested me to take a TD. Till date Hyundai hasn't given me the Getz CRDi TD. None of the dealers seem to have a TD car, but they say there is only one being shared with all bangalore dealers. They sent across an i20 instead. One dealer gave the best reply by far. Sir we don't have Getz CRDi but you can TD the Verna as it has same engine only thing is it has a boot compared to Getz. Today morning Mahindra told me they would get back to me in an hour for Xylo TD but no call after that. Last edited by Vid6639 : 13th March 2009 at 22:57.
	() Thanks

13th March 2009, 22:47	#3
madhukar_n BHPian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 395 Thanked: 179 Times	the SMS funda of having a TD has never ever worked for me. i have tried swift,sx4, scorpio and fabia. And when i really went to the showroom for a swift TD, they showed me the car - this is the car, you sit inside and drive within the compound !! and there was a waiting list for that too !!! for a "real" TD, they had told me to come after a month or so. this was when swift was released - sometime in 2005.
	() Thanks

14th March 2009, 12:58	#5
iraghava Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Bhaiyyaland Posts: 8,033 Thanked: 265 Times View My Garage	Once in 2004, I was at Prime Honda for a TD of the Honda Accord since my best friend wanted to buy it. Now, the dealership was the same place from where I had bought my VTEC & even the salesman was the same! So he knew, we were potential customers. I had called him a day prior to coming but to my surprise on arriving was told that there was no Accord available for TD. I told him firmly whether one could be arranged or not, he said no sire not possible. Then I told him that if he didn't have a car for TD, he was not going to get our business. Then in front of him, I called up another dealer in Delhi and they said they had an Accord available for TD & we could come down to their showroom to drive it. I said ok, I'm coming. On hearing this, the salesman asks me to wait for 5 minutes & a few minutes later voila, an AT Accord appeared out of thin air in their parking lot! Once in the car I asked the salesman, what happened I thought you didn't have a car available? He said no sir, this is an employee's car. I said yeah right, maybe I too should start working at your dealership so I can get an Accord! Needless to say, despite the TD, the dealership DID NOT get our business.
	() Thanks

14th March 2009, 13:22	#6
Sahil Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: May 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 6,292 Thanked: 7,605 Times	I almost always have the dealership send the car over to my office for a TD rather than go down there myself. Avoids wasting time and useless excuses of car not available for TD etc
	() Thanks

14th March 2009, 14:02	#7
trrk Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Alleppey, Kerala Posts: 2,114 Thanked: 34 Times View My Garage	Hi, I dragged my wife to 4 showrooms in a day. Fusion Diesel - test car gone out Verna Diesel AT - no test car Captiva diesel AT - no test car yet, manual not available that day. Freelander - TD within five minutes of the visit. The last was a surprise. I just drove in because the vehicle was there. The sales advisor was very keen to show the car and describe the features. He did ask me further details as to who I am etc when I asked for a TD, but he gave the TD. I forgot that the Freelander was a petrol or else I would not have asked for the TD. The ride part was OK. The test car had already done 483kms and the ditance to empty was 83kms. The steering was about 10 degree off to the right when the car was going straight. He also showed us the Pajero 2800 and the Montero though they were in the service area. And he gave us the brochures of the Freelander as well as the Montero.
	() Thanks

14th March 2009, 15:25	#10
amit Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 3,717 Thanked: 449 Times	I was at Sharayu Hyundai for a TD of a petrol Getz in 2005. I was told the TD car is away on a TD and they will have it sent to me the next day. I left leaving my address and mobile number. No call or TD till today!
	() Thanks

14th March 2009, 17:06	#11
DieselFan Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,584 Thanked: 259 Times	I had asked for a TD of Xylo on M&M website. Someone from the dealership called me and fixed an appointment for 12-30 pm last saturday. No response till yesterday and again I get a call. I get really wild at them for wasting my time last saturday.
	() Thanks

14th March 2009, 17:32	#12
Mpower Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 10,409 Thanked: 1,729 Times View My Garage	had asked for a Santro A/T TD for my mom. Guy promised to bring the car at around 3 pm on a Sat. 3 became 5 then 7 ..finally showd up at 9:30 pm. Luckily we did not have plans. After the TD, we got chatting and he says..why are you buying this, I can get you an Accent for a little more. Last edited by Mpower : 14th March 2009 at 17:33.
	() Thanks

14th March 2009, 18:58	#14
MA5K BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 76 Thanked: 11 Times	Went to TD the i10 when it was launched. Had confirmed over phone that the TD car was available and free for the next couple of hours. Went to the showroom only to find there was a waiting list of 2 hours! Couldn't wait that long, so just headed back to office.
	() Thanks

14th March 2009, 20:05	#15
SkyWalker Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,531 Thanked: 136 Times	As long as i booked (and sometimes even when i walked in) in advance, didn't have problems with Honda,Toyota & Hyundai & Mitsu. Honda,Toyota & Mitsu were always prompt - reached give or take 30 mins in my residence, Hyundai had issues (they called me well in time, apologized and explained they had only one AT car and ran into some unexpected issues - they made sure i get the TD first thing next day too). I would rate all of these experiences as excellent. FIAT - Linea TD was given promptly. It was only for a couple of Kms though, as there were people waiting. Fair enough. I told them i needed a longer TD as traffic was bad. Gave my card, but no follow up. Surprising, i thought FIAT was pushing this car well. Mahindra tried to convince me to come to their showroom for a TD for two weeks until i nicely pointed out to the girl that i was the customer. Offered a TD , but that took 2 more weeks. Well, at least they followed up. Fiesta was a completely different story. Each week a sales person would call up and say "sir, when are you buying the Fiesta?" and i go "lets have a TD first". Immediately he would promise someone would get back to fix a TD, but sure enough - no one got back to fix a TD. That went on for 3 weeks and then i told him it was nice knowing him. A year down the line my friend has a much better experience with Lathangi ford though (same guys i had for Cedia TD). Last edited by SkyWalker : 14th March 2009 at 20:08.
	() Thanks

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