[jinojohnt]

I recently asked a Mahindra salesman to arrange me a 'latest model' Xylo for one of my long drives (rent a car, without driver). My intention was to see how comfortable it is for the driver and the passengers, before deciding to buy one. He promised to get back to me within a week, but has never turned up. May be he is sure that nobody would buy a Xylo after having an extended test drive
I am voting 'yes' - I would like to have a long test drive, even if I need to pay for it. But the dealer should re-imburse this, if I finally buy the car

[pedrolourenco]

Did not vote.
My opinion:
1. The standard test drive (say 5 kms/30 min or so) should be free. The government should have rules for the minimum duration/distance of the free test drive/ride that that the customer is entitled to free of cost.
2. A more extensive test drive should be provided to the customer if he/she wants and the dealer should be allowed to charge a reasonable amount for this service.

[Mr M R K]

I wouldn't mind paying some reasonable amount / fuel expenses provided they let me keep the car over a weekend / couple of days so that I can really test living with the vehicle.
E.g. when Renault was launching new megane in the UK in 2008, they offered the perpective customers to keep the car for a weekend and drive around. They only asked to return the car with a full tank of fuel.

[JoshMachine]

I wouldn't pay for a TD.
The very concept of a test drive is - you get to "test" the vehicle performance, mannerisms, features etc. Most usually, there is no clear and consistent procedure followed by dealerships for this.
Guess it just depends on a multitude of factors - the vehicle's perceived demand in market, newness (entirely new car vs just upgraded model), manufacturer's customer experience policy (Maruti vs VW), availability of specific model for TD (Creta Diesel AT is just not available easily)
From my recent experience for TD of the new Vento at Pune, I would give 9/10 - attributed to pre-TD formalities (appointment booking etc.) to briefing at the showroom and then for the actual TD, with the Sales rep adding to that feel-good factor about the entire experience.

[greenhorn]

I went to a driving school which had a variety of entry level hatchbacks when i was learning, and tried learning on all of them, and settled on the Indica.

I suppose that's another way of doing a paid test drive!

[mi2n]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

A 10-15 minutes drive on mixed road conditions is all i need to judge a car well for road manners.

Exactly! You can check most of the other aspects like the gadgets and gizmos on the display car beforehand or later on. The sole point of a TD should be - how it drives! All those extra switchgear can be fiddled with later, or one can just browse through the official review here.

However, the idea of using a self drive rental is real nice, a TD sans the constant gibberish of the sales guy trying to divert your attention towards less important things.

[vinit]

Test drive for cars is just like what ice cream parlors do for the varieties of ice cream. Do we pay for it ? They are important to let the people know about the product. No one will pay from their own pocket to know your product. It totally depends on the sales person, how extensive drive he can offer to the prospective customer depending upon his judgement of the "prospect".

Recently, I test-drove Zest, both petrol and diesel variants from Prerana. I was not restricted to any particular route or distance. I called it a day after about 5 km. Similarly, Duster from Trident. I was specifically told to drive to wherever I wanted. I drove on the Mysore Road until I was satisfied and returned back. Same with Safari Storme from Concorde Motors. When such is the case, why should I pay for the so-called satisfactory test-drive? No way.

[swamyzen]

No, I would certainly not pay for a test drive. For getting to know how the vehicle performs it usually takes me about 5 kilometers with varied conditions and for the most part of it I have not seen any dealership restricting the distance/time you get to drive. When I asked for a test drive for a Honda City when I was buying mine the Sales adviser came to my office and let me test drive the car for whatever duration I wanted and he in fact insisted I take a longer drive at the end. Only once I was let down during a test drive and that was with the Ciaz where the person accompanying me did not let me choose my path and instead made me go in the way he wanted which resulted in a test drive of <3 km's. Or else if dealerships don't want to give a very extensive test drive, they can find out roads with mixed conditions i.e. roads with lot of potholes, traffic, road with no traffic etc. That is how my cousin who had a test drive of XUV5OO was taken i.e. the sales adviser knew roads around the dealership that provided a mix of conditions which helped my cousin to understand the vehicle faster and better.

[fusionbang]

No way I will pay for a test drive. The word 'Test Drive' by itself has a meaning and the dealer has no right to restrict the customer. If he needs business he has to make the customer happy no matter what.

Recently I bought my XUV and the sales person obliged to every single thing I asked for and he got his deal through. I asked the SA to get the car to my office, from there visited there stockyard which has roads with no tarmac and then went home, confirmed on the parking space, made a U-turn as it is a dead end road where I stay, then drove the car in B2B traffic and finally back to office. So it was an extensive test drive close to 20 Km under all conditions which made me satisfied and booked the car immediately.

This is how it should work across all dealers and all brands to seal the deal. Hence a big NO for paid test drive.

[paragsachania]

I voted for a Yes because I have paid once (for Fuel) but then here's the reason why:

2 months before, we were in the market for a used car for my colleague. Most of them we test drove was in closed vicinity where we would seldom check the vehicle's real performance.

Then we chanced upon this SX4 Zdi at a Mahindra Dealership (Customer sold this for a new XUV). I test drove for mere 3 kms in the bylanes and service lanes of Bommanahalli, Bangalore and having owned the Ertiga, I was satisfied with its behavior and almost decided that this was a good buy.

However, since this was for my colleague and I didn't want any issues to crop up later, soon after getting the Service History checked, we decided to take it for a long test drive. The Dealer didn't agree but then we told him that we would pay for the Fuel (200/-) and the return Toll (65/-) to satisfactorily TD this car before purchasing.

Well, the primary reason to refill was because there was very less fuel too but then we didn't mind spending this amount for peace of mind before a decision was made.

Of course, mine is a one off case more so because it was a used car and I intended to pay for a reason and no wonder that test drive was more than just satisfactory to seal the deal.

The shortest Test drive was of course with the Amaze that lasted less than 4th Gear on the service lane spanning 600 meters!!

[abirnale]

No Way - I wouldn't pay for test drive that are regular 3-4 Kms at the max! But to get the test drive on a highway at my will and time, I would be willing to pay up for part cost fuel and full toll charges.

For a used car, I would be willing to pay in the same manners as explained above. But if I was buying from a private individual, I would definitely pay for the full fuel cost and toll bills if I take it for a spin beyond 1-2 Kms for sure.

When I recently bought XUV5OO, the dealer did not ask me to pay until I took it on BETL toll way. But then salesperson only asked me to pay for toll and not fuel. He also told me that if I want, I can test drive the car on NICE toll road too early in the weekend morning provided that I pay for toll. I thought that was a fair deal!

[thesilentone]

I voted for "No Way". The short distance driven or the time spent looking at the specs donot in any way guarantee a perfect selection. It is only by living with the vehicle for a considerable time do the positives or negatives are actually felt. What one felt on day 1 may be totally contrary to what we feel after extended usage. Heck, with so much experience, Mercedes Benz couldn't design a proper filler for the S-Class (courtesy Sahil)

There is no perfect car and our best bet is a totally neutral and elaborated test drive analysis by experts from which we can select which of the options suit us best. And for a perfectly neutral and exquisite analysis, there is no better platform than our very own "Team-BHP".

[Hrishi_111]

It solely depends on the purpose behind going for the drive!

If I am seriously looking to buy a car and have already shortlisted few cars, then I won't mind paying few bucks to have 'hands-on' on each one of them. Even I am ready to pay few additional bucks if they promise to keep the sales rep away .

On the other hand if I am going for the drive 'before' even shortlisting anything, then paying for each those drives would take a hit at my wallet and I would rather not do that.

[kvish]

Interesting thoughts. I like the driving school suggestion. Very innovative
I guess the test drive experience has been heavily influenced by the sales person and to some extent, the guidelines set by the automobile companies.

There is another aspect of having a transaction based test drives where we walk away with little obligations. For hesitant people like me, a rental car solves the problem, as all my nit-picky areas can be checked at leisure

The poll results clearly show the trend. Paid test drives are a no-no