[hajaar]

I have had good TD experiences, when purchasing my Fiesta & Civic.

When I purchased my Fiesta 5 years back, the salesman from MPL Ford was good enough to bring the Fiesta to my house on a Sunday. He also bought a Fusion for me to TD. Actually, I had started off with wanting to buy a Fusion - out of his initiative, he got the Fiesta for me to drive. I dont know if he would have got better commission on selling a Fiesta, but I definitely like his attitude.

When buying my civic, I had a so-so experience with Sundaram Honda. The salesman asked me to come to showroom and after a 10 min wait, I was able to TD the car. I decided to switch to Capital Honda as I liked the experience there in addition to the fact that they had a civic ready to deliver. I had informed the salesman that I didnt need to TD the car. I called him up to tell him I wanted to book the car and that I would be coming there in an hour. He asked me to stay put at home and said he would come and collect the cheque. I was happy with this. But the kicker was that he had bought a civic for me to TD in case I wanted to before giving the cheque. Now this is the sort of sales experience that we customers deserver but often do not get.

[carwatcher]

Here in Goa I feel we can get almost all cars for TD comfortably. I daily come across so many TD cars on my way to office. Be it Brio, Ertiga, Eon, etc.
I got T-Jet twice at my home for a TD that too from a distance of 40kms. I am sure about Maruti, Hyundai, VW and Ford too regarding TD. Though don't know about Skoda.
I haven't seen Honda City TD car yet in all these years. Similarly, when all new Verna was launched I guess HMI started bookings without any display car, leave alone TD all over India. Same is being repeated with Elantra now.
Its an altogether different story with 2-wheelers though. I don't think most of the 2-wheelers are available for TDs. In Goa Mahindra, Honda, HeroMoto, etc. don't have TD vehicles AFAIK for their successful models.

[rajeshchand]

My experience withe test drives on my last purchase was very simple. I rang up 3 short listed vehicle showrooms, the Mitsubhishi (Outlander), Toyota (Fortuner) and BMW. As expected BMW responded with a call within half an hour of my SMS for a test drive and fixed an appointment that weekend and they were there in the same allotted time. Mitsubishi also was very forthcoming and offered the test drive as per my convenience. Toyota guys were just ruthless, they had the cheese to tell me that they don't offer any est drives as they have a backlog of 9 months, I replied "toh aap 9 maheene baad gaadi nahi bechoge" to which he was very curt in replying to book if u want. I also mailed to Toyota about it and they replied within a days time and arranging a test drive to which now I refused as having decided whether it is worth going for a manufacturer who is already rude to his customer before buying the product, after sales is good or bad was not the point here it is about keeping the customer in good humor. Well, BMW got my money ultimately and I got 3 test drives at home and numerous visits to their showroom along with hospitality. Of course, Skoda was also quite prompt in sending the TD vehicle home on the day of enquiry itself, just that my wife did not like the vehicle.

[mempheS.D]

Originally Posted by rajeshchand

Toyota guys were just ruthless, they had the cheese to tell me that they don't offer any test drives as they have a backlog of 9 months, I replied "toh aap 9 maheene baad gaadi nahi bechoge" to which he was very curt in replying to book if u want.

Hahaha.. I never understood this concept about cars and new-age cellphones. How can one decide to buy it without trying the real deal? And do they even entertain a concept of exchange here like they do in the west? NAYYYYY! Then?

In my case, I did not have trouble getting TDs anywhere else but Skoda. I was keen about getting the 1.6 which does not usually sell much. The salesman enticed me into TDing the 3-pot Fabia and all the way during the TD he was praising the power of a 3-pot that I could barely feel.. The SA saved the funniest for the last. After the TD and when we got out of the demo car he tells me, "Saar, you can imagine. If the 1.2 is sooo powerful, you can imagine the power of the 1.6!".

Me - "Dude! I need to TD the 1.6 at any cost. Tell me whether it's possible.".

SA - after 10mins of discussion with his manager - "Ok".

To my shock he brought out a brandddddd new red 1.6 from the backyard. I was sure I didn't need a red, so I tested everything I could on that car. Happy! Yet... God save the guy who buys that car if 10 more people tested that car similarly..

[joshuakeys]

well this happened to me twice

1st when i went for TATA ARIA , When i asked for the TD, The sales guy says, you can have a look at the car which is in display. Disappointed

2nd when i booked a TD for Duster, There is no duster yet in that showroom. Not even for display again disappointed.

[shadows123]

When i went to Nissan Showroom to TD the Sunny(@Shahwar Nissan in Kasturba Road), the dealer said "Sorry Sir, the TD vehicle has gone for movie(or ad) shooting" So i ask him when it will be available next and he asks me to come next weekend. Next Weekend i call him for a TD(Note he doesnt call me then either) and he says its not available again due to some other reason...Needless to say Nissan lost one potential customer due to their dealer's pathetic attitude!!

[idofsuresh]

Had a good experience in TDing majority of C1/C2/D1 segment cars in the last few months. Finally bought Duster.

Good Ones:
Skoda, VW, Toyota, Renault Fluence, Chevy Cruze were awesome. They gave as much TD as I wanted and let me decide on the car. I was very close to buy Vento. They gave me TD 3 or 4 times and asked me to let them know if I need more - same dealer and same sales person! Unfortunately, none of these cars worked out for me.

Disappointments:
Shahwar Nissan promised a TD car at home on a weekday, waited for them but they gave an excuse and did not turn up. At that time Duster was not at all in my mind. Maybe if they had come and if it worked out I would have bought that. I got a peaceful TD much later when I went to their showroom. But, by then Duster was in the equation. Verna was an irritation as was Santro many years before. They were not encouraging a potential customer to have a long TD if he seemed undecided on the car. Maybe a few more honest TDs could have changed my mind.

Ultimately, most people would choose based on whether the product suits them or not. But I can easily see Sunny and Verna missed out on showcasing their product properly.

[venkat_iyer]

This happened when i was TDing various SUVs over the past couple of months. I was deciding between the Toyota Fortuner, BMW x1, Renault Koleos, and the Hyundai Santa Fe.
I approached one of the Hyundai dealers here in Pune, and tried to get a TD arranged. That is a long, frustrating story in itself, but after a lot of phone calls, no-shows and broken promises and 15 days later, a Hyundai Santa Fe (4WD AT) arrives at my door step for a Test Drive. The sales person I had been interacting with was accompanied by a driver, who was busy chatting on his phone without a care in the world. I got onto the driver's seat, and looked around the dashboard to figure out the controls, layout etc. No help from anyone to either explain the features or anything. I pointedly stared at the driver (who was in the passenger seat besides me) and after 20-30 seconds, he probably realized that he should hang up and grudgingly did so. There was complete silence in the vehicle, and I was getting angrier by the minute. Anyways, started the vehicle and drove off. Typically, the sales guys tend to bombard you with information on the vehicle, its special features etc. But here, there was not a word from either of them. As I struggled to look at the various dials, buttons etc.and comprehend, i thought let me begin by asking the questions myself.

First question: What is the typical mileage of this vehicle? (kitna deti hai )
Answer (sales person): Sorry sir, i do not have this information. Let me ask someone at the showroom, and dialed up someone from here mobile for the information. All this time, the drive was disinterestedly looking out of the window.

Second question: I have read it, but could you let me know the specs again, and the various models available (both 4*4 and 4*2)?
Answer (sales person): Sorry sir, i am not aware. And the driver is still staring out of the window!

You can imagine the state of my mind, and i forced myself not to lose it!! Gritting my teeth, i asked one more question:

Third question: Is the permanent 4WD? I mean, can it be switched off?
Answer (sales person): Sorry sir, i am not aware. Sher turned to the driver and asked him to please help out.
The Driver replies: Sir, This is automatic. When you continue driving and reach fourth gear, it automatically becomes 4WD! no need to switch on or off.

I was flabbergasted, and only the fact that the sales person was female, prevented me from really giving them a piece of my mind. I turned back home, thanked them for the experience, and vowed off the Santa Fe. Boy, that was some experience! (Finally, have got the Toyota Fortuner 4*4).

[speedmiester]

That sounds like a test drive from Hell.
Congrats on your new ride i.e. Fortuner, it will give you years and years of reliable service.

Originally Posted by venkat_iyer

The Driver replies: Sir, This is automatic. When you continue driving and reach fourth gear, it automatically becomes 4WD! no need to switch on or off.

By his logic, all cars are four wheel drives(scratch that 5 or 6 wheel drives)

What about two Wheeler, trucks and buses?

[venkat_iyer]

Thanks. Yeah, am all excited with my first 4*4 SUV and am loving it so far.

Originally Posted by speedmiester

By his logic, all cars are four wheel drives(scratch that 5 or 6 wheel drives)

What about two Wheeler, trucks and buses?

I swear! And the funny thing is that the sales person had mentioned that one of the reasons for the delay in getting a TD organized for the Santa Fe, is that there are only a few senior drivers within the dealership who can take the Sante Fe out to prospective customers! If this guy fits the definition of a SENIOR driver, well, speaks volumes of the dealership in general.

[OmThoke]

I had gone to VW showroom on hosur road, Bangalore to check out Passat and Beetle. Didn't even find a display one for Beetle or Phaeton, and there was a Passat. When I asked for TD, the guy told me that he'll bring his MD's car for TD

When I asked if i could see the Beetle, he told that it's a celebrity car, and you should have 25L cash to order it even without seeing it!

I just deliberately took out my phone and called my wife, and spoke loudly "Please Book the Volvo s80 3.2 - these idiots are least interested in showing a car that's just half the price".

[kiransri_bng]

Originally Posted by OmThoke

I just deliberately took out my phone and called my wife, and spoke loudly "Please Book the Volvo s80 3.2 - these idiots are least interested in showing a car that's just half the price".

Hi OM

what was the response of SE after you called your wife and asked to book a Volvo....

[GS300]

My Innova is getting old, and I wanted to replace it with a 'next level' SUV/MPV. Fortuner was the 'brain' choice - considering Innova's track record and TFort's resale prospects. But I thought TFort a little too bulky. So i decided to look for relatively compact ones. The following is my experience:

1. Renault Koleos

Visited Renault near KR Puram (Bangalore). As I entered the place, the lady at the reception came forward and asked me what I am looking for. I told her I want to look at Koleos. To which she responded "Sorry sir, we don’t have it here. Please visit our Sadashivnagar showroom". I told her I don’t want to drive to Sadashivanagar.
She was apologetic, but did not offer any solution. She did not take my phone number, nor did she tell me about a possibility of bringing the test drive vehicle to my place at a later date.

I was disappointed. I badly wanted to see Koleos and evaluate if I can buy it, in spite of all warnings from my friends and colleagues regarding its low selling volumes and it being an un-tested vehicle on Indian roads etc. Nevertheless, I have no way to see the vehicle (Driving to Sadashivanagar was out of question - It will consume an entire day in Bangalore traffic)

I reached home, went to Renault India website and registered for a test drive.

Next day at office, I was talking to a colleague who had just bought a Duster and I mentioned my experience at their dealership. He told me he will talk to the sales guy he dealt with, and ask him to contact me.

He did that and the sales guy called me. I asked him to call me on Friday so that we can have the test drive on Saturday. He assured me he will call and fix up the appointment.

Fridays and Saturdays came and went - no further call from the sales guy (till today).

2. New CRV

After my disappointment with Renault, I was looking around; I thought CRV is very attractive, even with a petrol engine. So on a weekend, I drove to Hosur road Honda dealership. I looked around – No CRV on display, so I approached a sales person.

The following conversation ensued:

Me: “Excuse me; I wanted to take a look at the new CRV”
Sales person: “Sorry sir, we had two of them, both are sold now”
Me:” Oh..I see, can you arrange for a test drive vehicle?”
Sales: “No sir, we don’t have any CRVs any more”
Me: “I don’t understand – Honda is not selling CRVs anymore?”
Sales: “We are selling sir, you can book it and you will get the vehicle after a few months”
Me:” But how can I book without even seeing the vehicle? Can you arrange for a test drive?”
Sales: “No sir – sorry. In entire Bangalore, we don’t have any test drive vehicles”
Me: “So you want me to book a 20+Lakhs vehicle without even seeing it”
Sales:” Sorry sir, but that is the only option”

By now I am completely puzzled, and I came out of the dealership, not understanding where I am getting it wrong

3. Fortuner

I am realizing that Toyota might be my only hope. So when I had to give my innova for service, I went to their sales section and looked at Fortuner. At my request, a sales person came forward and I asked him if I can get a test drive for Fortuner.

He asked me which particular variant I am looking for. I told him I am looking at 2W automatic. He told me has only the 4Wheel variant available there. I asked him if the drive is very different in both, to which he told he it is. In which case, I wanted to test drive the 2Wheel drive variant itself.

He told me he will call me on Friday so that I can have the test drive on Saturday. In fact he told me he will call me on one of the week days to see if we can have the test drive on one of the weekday evenings.

Its been a week now, so far, I have not received any calls. For some reason, I did not feel like calling him and requesting for the test drive again.

I can probably explore further with Rexton, Pajero sport, X-trail etc. Something tells me that the experience is going to be same.

-------------------

I am not able to understand this indifference to follow-up on such solid leads as mine. On one hand everyone is talking about the downturn in the market, but for a genuine buyer, this is the experience – what could be the reason? Am I doing something wrong?

[Enigmatic]

The problem is that all the dealerships that you went to have one or the other car in their lineup which attracts customers like cattle.

Lets take it from the top :-

1) Renault :- They are busy selling the Duster to everyone. And seeing the market response, thats all they need to have in their showroom.

2) Honda :- Honda dealers have seen an influx of customers after the Amaze's launch which they couldn't have even imagined. You can literally feel them becoming snobbish

3) Toyota:- This is actually a bit surprising. Considering that you own an Innova, the sales guy should have been more responsive.


None the less, it doesn't hurt to give them a call back and request for a TD.

After all you would be the one at the benefiting end.

[shankar.balan]

How horrible to read this experience of yours.

A consumer who is willing to plonk thirty big ones on the table cant be all that common.
Of course with this evil real estate boom in Bangalore yesterday's bullock cart driver may well be tomorrow's Maserati owner so I don't really 'know' that there is no money in the market. Certainly does not seem like much of a downturn going on, to me!
The trouble with Honda and Toyota is that they have let their success go to their heads and badly need a reality check. The only way that will happen is if a better product comes along...seems highly unlikely though.
Have you considered a Santa Fe or a Captiva at all?