[balajisv]

When I finalized my Zest, I took many test drives across Petrol, Diesel and AMT too. All longer duration of 4-5 kms. The dealer brought the cars both to my home as well as office.
I took multiple test drives over one month period.
All my requests were serviced promptly and politely.

Also, Ford gave me extensive test drives of EcoSport.

So, I wouldn't pay for the test drive!

Note: Can someone guide me how to vote for this poll through android app?

[udainxs]

Originally Posted by VW2010

Sorry state is the super bikes. YOu just hope thats the bike that will suit you

My experience has been different and is based on brand. Kawasaki Bangalore asked me to ride the z800 on a weekend ride to Kolar, and again in the city since they agree its a big investment er6n was similar as well, restricted to the city though.

HD, on the other hand has a shortish route chalked out, though I am sure they can be coerced into allowing a longer ride.

[BeantownThinker]

No way am I going to pay for a test drive!

If we tread down this path what will be next? Pay to check the television/home theatre/mobile for an extended duration? Thanks, but, no thanks.

Imagine the kind of inventory the dealer will have to maintain to provide for extended test-drives. Imagine the waiting period for the test drive!!!

As someone rightly said a 10 to 15 minute test drive is more than enough to get a realistic feel of the vehicle.

[Diesel_convert]

I would say more than longer test drive, it needs to be one with all sorts of road conditions. (Twisties, broken road, expressway, city, potholes, etc)

I only start to get used to the car after the first 20kms.

I made a mistake with my current purchase of a rapid TDI by believing the reviews about good handling. Reviewer car history biases the review about things like ride and handling... So relying on reviews there is not acceptable.

I wouldn't want to pay for a longer test drive but before plonking money on a car I would like the option of a longer test drive.

If it has to be paid its fine.

The fuel costs are trivial compared to the total investment in a car.

[anilkumar]

I would certainly not pay for the test drive it's impossible to make a decision whether to buy a car or not
I recently test drove Audi Q3 Bangalore being traffic capital of India with 4 km of stop and go traffic I hardly got a chance to evaluate the vehicle found the car to be least responsive lag was evident I would recommend at least 15 kms mix of city and highway stretch to check the mid range Of the vehicle and how well it performs on different drive dynamics

[anshuman_v]

Lets us see what are the different facets at work here:

1. Dealers have to deal with a lot of test drives, by 'not so serious' people.
2. A car can have multiple models (e.g, Polo Tsi, TDI, 1.2, 1.6 etc) - and not all models are available as test drive vehicles in all dealerships.
3. The enthusiasts / serious people always like to test drive to their satisfaction

Its a question of having the dealer see the seriousness of the intent, and then securing an alternate in case the exact model is not available for a test drive. We are all auto enthusiasts, surely we know how to work with this equation from there on!

Oh yes, I did vote for it to be free. I can only imagine the kind of confusion it will create if test drives became paid!

[Jeeper1941]

No, I wouldn't pay for a test-drive. Its kind of a moot point to me anyway, because I have never test-driven any of the cars I've bought!

[embee]

In my opinion, the car dealer should offer both options.

If a person wants a longer test drive, the dealer can offer rates according to the time consumed and charge the amount to the potential buyer of the car. In this way, the dealer can easily come to know whether the person is a serious buyer or not can offer deals accordingly.

Secondly, free test drive option is always there.

[geeash]

No. Period.
I mean why should we. Buying cars is one of the most expensive things in life only next to buying a house. We are doing a favour by buying a manufacturers car. It's a win win situation there. It is mandatory for the manufacturer to give a testdrive for reasonable amount of time to evaluate the pros and cons of car. There is no complete car as yet in Indian market. There are definitely a few compromises there.
I normally go on a test drive spree on all cars of segment that I intend to buy and then shortlist two to three cars. Then I go for repeated test drive on that 2 to 3 cars to decide which one. Even if it is not a long drive I go for a reasonable drive of 15 to 20 mins. If I have still not made up my mind I communicate it to the sales advisor and tell him in need to spend more time with the car and ask him for a extended drive for which he can make a arrangement.

[ACM]

I would pay for a longer test drive but I also understand that this will not be possible in the initial stages of launch of the vehicle. But it should be of reasonable length and free.

I would pay (say a month post launch of the vehicle) to have the vehicle with me for a day to gauge it well. They should give me a Rs. 1000 Petrol or Diesel voucher and charge me for it plus may be change me another Rs. 500-1000 for the rest of the day so that this is not seen as an opportunity for someone to take this in place of a rented taxi but a really long drive is what is needed at times to decide on a vehicle.

When I bought the Aria and the Laura I took 3 test drives covering about 15 kms to decide on these vehicles. But had to go to 3 different outlets to try them out enough to decide. The Ford Ecosport test drive was short relatively speaking but covered a rough stretch and an empty stretch. I test drove multiple M&M vehicles over the years for 5-10 kms but decided not to buy them, but appreciated the test drives.

The Creta test drive was about 5 kms but insufficient for me as there were no rough roads on route.

Tata let me have the Safari Storme overnight for more than a day to thoroughly test it but decided to stay with the Aria then.

Bought the TCIC Safari with a very short drive though and kept it for 10 years. With the options available today and the differences between vehicles in the same segment reducing one needs a longer test drive for sure. Paid or unpaid.

[VeluM]

I voted Yes. I had in fact planned on hiring an Ecosport from Zoom cars just to test drive it over a few days and possibly a short outstation trip. The trip fell through and family said I'm nuts to hire a car just for the heck of it.

I'm not planning on buying a new car, just wanted to test drive the Ecosport without the constraints of a "test drive", particularly since Ford was so accommodating with test drives when I was interested, I have never driven one!

[ramb]

From my experience, in the luxury car segment the sales people have encouraged me to take long test drives without any hesitation. Even if i say that it it enoughf, they encourage me to take a longer drive. It all depends on the sales person
I dont think there is any point in charging for longer test drives. But they could cap a limit. In my home town, when we book a test drive the car comes from the showroom which a good 40kms away

[Geo_Ipe]

All my dealer test drive experiences have been quite good so far. In Kerala, my place is ~15 km away from the town. All the dealers were quite enthusiastic to bring their cars to my doorstep, depending on availability. That is an extra 30 km for them to drive, apart from my 4-5 km test drive. The only time it didn't work out was with the Fluidic Verna, when it was newly launched - understandably.

Even in Vellore (TN), test drive experiences have been similar. All the dealers are quite enthusiastic to bring their TD cars over to you.

Coming to the poll, No - I wouldn't pay extra for a longer test drive. For an average Indian, probably their car is the second most important investment, after their house. So when somebody is going to do that, the dealers do have an obligation to provide a test drive to the potential customer's satisfaction, before accepting the customer's cheque, and in turn, their profit!

Don't forget that all dealers charge an 'illegal' handling charges of 6-7k per car! So are the free test drives they offer really "Free"?

[heydj]

Good test drive depends dealer to dealer. Kaizzan motors in South Delhi gave me a test drive of 60kms on Terrano and their sales executive had good information.

Whereas two Ford dealers refused point blank to make a test drive of Ford Ecosport AT available near my place. As per them Ecosport AT is not registered in Delhi, what a joke!

I even raised a customer complaint with Ford India to get Ecosport AT test drive but they closed the ticket without resolution in 24 hours. I have dropped the idea of getting Ford vehicle.

[SmartCat]

Got this via email from Zoomcar -