[IN07KL0484]

This is slightly surprising for me too but turns out I have bought four vehicles till date for my personal use and two of them without a test drive!

1. Yamaha RXG: During my engineering days, saved enough from my pocket-money to pick up a used bike. Was in love with two-stroke and an RX-135 was going slightly above my budget. A friend found a Yamaha RXG and I paid the amount even without looking at the bike. One of the better things I have ever bought in my life.

2. Maruti Swift: My ride for the past 6 years and I intend to keep it for another 4 at least. This is bit of a story as I had done an extensive research with final shortlist of Figo and Polo. Swift at that time was not even in the running, hence never bothered with a test drive. I wanted a handsome safe car and the Polo fit the bill to the T. However, after two months into booking and running around for paperwork (for some VW finance offer) along with the callous attitude of VW guys, I ended up cancelling the booking. I was majorly annoyed at them as well.

Got in touch with my personal banking guys and had the loan approved within 24 hours. As now I was without a car for almost 3 months, I had reached the end of my patience, especially in Delhi weather. So per my banker's suggestion, met with this Maruti representative and he promised to get my car delivered within 2 days and Viola, I had bought myself a white swift without even a test drive. I did do an extensive PDI though, the car was delivered to me by end of November 2013 and per the VIN it was manufactured just two months before.

But have to say, coming from an Old Honda City Vtec (2002 model), the reliability of the Swift has been a new experience for me. In six years I have hardly visited the service centre or a mechanic for anything apart from the regular maintenance requirements. Swift has its own issues as well, but man this car has served me better than a Polo ever could have. What I wanted was a safe reliable car for highways and what I really required was a nimble almost maintenance-free city car. A swift divine intervention! I tip my hat to the car gods!

[pganapathy]

Technically, the Alto I bought was without a test-drive. I knew the car though. It was owned by my cousin who was selling as she moved overseas. The price was good and the car had done under 10K km in 2 years, so I didn't hesitate. Never regretted the purchase

[TSEA]

Yes, bought the new Swift without actually test driving it. I got my swift in last week of March 2018. At that time, the new Swift model(s) with dealers around my area, was not available for test drive.

I however, did a test drive of the Dzire, before booking the swift.

[dksv]

Strangely, the first car of my family members were never test driven

My dad bought his first car in the early 80s, a Premier Padmini, before learning how to drive. He has his business at a different town. On the delivery day he had a member of his staff visit our city just to drive the car home. He still is looking after the same business and that staff member is still working for him. My dad has changed several cars ever since, all self-driven.

History repeated when I bought my first car 8 years ago, the Punto, before I could drive. My dad drove the car home upon taking delivery. I have test driven all cars I bought henceforth.

My brother had not test driven his first car, which was actually pre-owned, but he could drive then.

[Sheel]

Pulsar 180 V1 - 04/11/'03 - Mr. Adil Jal's review sold this to me.

I got myself a Karizma-R on 24th Feb 2007 and realized, it [Pulsar reviews] was a paid review by Bajaj. The Karizma was better in all aspects.

Ford Figo - sat in Tithankar's Figo [Drivoblog] and that was it, though had booked it by then and was expecting delivery in another week. And had read about it all in our review section.

R 15 - Had a small test ride on someone's bike [500 meters] and I never wanted a bike that bad. The Karizma suddenly felt wooden and all novelty was gone, I know this doesn't qualify, but still.

I know whenever I get another bike, it mostly would be without a test ride as test rides won't be available for niche products.

[chintu_91]

I bought nexon xza+ diesel without test driving last year on dhanteras (2018).
I had finalized to buy the vehicle just 3-4 days before the auspicious day but I was looking out at other options since 2-3 weeks before that but never test drove any other as well. Boy oh boy, it's been an amazing experience owning an AMT 12L vehicle without test driving. Pretty satisfied with the mileage especially. I get 20-22kmpl (MID figure) for a mix of highway and city drive.

[Wolfconsole]

Yep, I did! This was back in 2015 when I was completely smitten by the new Ford Fiesta. Had to upgrade from my Wagon R and never thought twice. Walked straight into a Ford showroom, told them I am buying the Fiesta (they did offer a test drive and I said that won't be necessary) and drove out a few days later. From then on, till today, I've never regretted it. The car remains as tractable and fun to drive as ever.

[ashikthomson]

I bought the Elite sportz (O) 2014 without any test drive. My dad was not interested in showroom visits or model discussions. He earlier used to have a Mark 3 ambassador and it was sold off when I was less than one year old. So this was going to be a car in our family after 17 years. Ever since i20 launched, I wanted to have one with number registered as 120 .
And now, when elite i20 came we were instantly sold by its looks and features as well as comfort. While we were about to buy, I just had learnt to drive, but still was not 18, so didn't have license. Still I wanted to take a test drive, but showroom people wanted a copy of my license.

So it was just a matter of my heart and I went ahead and booked one. Now looking back I feel I should have taken a testdrive.Though I love the car so much, have an emotional attachment towards it, and the comfort it offers both for driver and passengers is unmatchable, sometimes I just wish I had a more powerful machine just to floor the pedal and feel the adrenaline rush.

[ant_vas]

I had bought my 2nd car (Fiat Palio 1.3 MJD) from the first owner without a test drive! i was looking to replace my palio 1.1 Stile and wanted a diesel as my daily commute was close to 90KM.

saw the ad for this used Palio 1.3 SDX model, spoke to the owner on the phone and saw the car in the parking lot of Krishnaih chetty and sons besides safina plaza.

The car had no scratch/dents, the owner had installed alloy wheels and a music system (don't remember the brand, but was very good). closed the deal and took possession of the car few days later with the odo reading of 38K KM.

after riding for few thousand KM, started suffering punctures on all wheels and then i found out that the tyres are worn out in patches (like they have been used for drifting). Got all 5 tyres changed immediately.
The car faced another issue: It would stall after crossing speeds of around 100KMs! the ASC identified the issue to be with a sensor and replaced it, which fixed the issue.
had to get the timing belt also changed along with clutch couple of times as well.

But the car started to give white smoke from the engine oil level checking stick hole. There was thick black smoke from exhaust too. Had to sell off in exchange for a new Punto evo 1.2 as my commute had reduced to just 20KM / day

over all it was a mixed experience of purchasing a car without test drive and would never do that again

[Tgo]

Yes I have. In fact, it was the first and the current car I own. Excerpt from the ownership thread:

Originally Posted by Tgo

I was in Jaipur on one of my visits home in May and my dad accompanied me to the bank to enquire about the loan procedure and the documents required. As the officer checked the documents I was eagerly awaiting the final number that he would say I’m eligible for. And it was way above my expectations. Needless to say we agreed to proceed with the loan without having decided on the car, and I heard my dad say, “ How about a Duster again?”. Till that point I never considered it as an option, probably because I was thinking from my head. But listening to that, it felt like a valid suggestion. Called up Renault Jaipur for the OTR pricing and the AWD could be squeezed in. Went back home for lunch and I replaced the Avventura with the Duster AWD in all those plots and replayed the day dreams. It fit in superbly. The deciding factor was the extra boot space, which was a must since it was going to be full of stuff (groceries, winter wear, furniture, plants) whether it would be a to or fro trip home. Having a hatchback would have made spending that money useless. Came back to the bank after lunch, the salesperson met us there. Handed over the booking amount cheque to him and he handed over the receipt to the loan manager. Walked out of the bank with the loan sanctioned without even finalizing the colour. Without even a test drive. Yes, technically I hadn’t driven the AWD (advertised as the new gen Renault Duster). Later, the colour Amazon Green was decided upon for the uniqueness.

It was only later when I found out that it is quite a different car from the first gen Duster we already owned and based on which the decision was made. Different yes but better indeed.

[SID2997]

We bought the Honda City VX AT (2014) without even going to the showroom to get a peek at the new vehicle. Dad and me were so taken away by the new "silhouette" and also the feature list which could give cars a segment above a run for their money. The 17-yr old me thought of it as the perfect future prospect for ambling around town after having perfected my chops on our old Jazz.

[Sk8r]

Great timing of the Post GTO!

A 50 Lakh Vehicle is gathering dust since the honourable former speaker did not take a test drive of the Vehicle I believe. What a waste of Taxpayers money !

Sumitra Mahajan also added that she did not find the Jaguar XE very comfortable, especially the rear seats. Further, she complained about the limited space in the rear seat and very limited leg space, which is why she stopped using the vehicle after some time. The exact period for which the car was used remains unknown. When Sumitra Mahajan was spotted with the vehicle, it still had the temporary registration on it, which indicates, it was only a few days or weeks old. The former speaker also says that she thinks that the Jaguar XE is fine for people who are driving it but not for people who are chauffeured in it. Also, she does not remember who recommended her the vehicle.

Source : CarToq

[PrasannaDhana]

Yes, this!


2 reasons:

1. Tata dealers had no Storme test drive vehicles available, let alone the Varicor400

2. I just sold my 6 year old 1.4 lakh km run Safari Dicor, and I believed the Dicor and Storme were essentially the same car

But no, they are not the same. Though the chauffeur driven wouldn't find a difference, the ones who like driving the behemoth would definitely find. Firstly the front seats aren't as comfortable as the Dicor, secondly the Varicor400 feels faster and more car like . The Dicor felt like a proper truck, with its enormous 5.9 metre turning radius. Storme feels like a car with 5.4 metre radius. I somehow liked the Dicor driving experience better. To make it simple, it's the same difference between CI block Bullets vs Classic 350. A bullet purist will always prefer the former.

So its a mixed feeling to have bought the car without a test drive.

I also used to have a Maruti 800 5-speed bought brand new in 2007. Dad bought it as a surprise, intended to be a city run about, without test driving it, but ended up selling it in 3 months as we didn't find it comfortable for our 6+ ft frames to drive or be driven in.

[hkborah]

Bought Ford Ikon TDCi on 2009 without even a test drive.
Knew the car
Knew the engine
Both together couldnt have been bad

And yes, it served us effortlessly, efficiently and entertainingly for well over a lakh kms.

And my next beater will probably be one with the same engine as Rush's Sunny - a Duster. Preferably pre owned.

[livetodrive]

Both my first car (Santro) and first bike (Hornet) were purchased without TDs. Reason was same for both : I did not know how to drive a car or a bike. I had license, took driving lessons and drove few other cars before I bought my car.

But back 2005, I had no idea of TD, PDI or even how to purchase a car. For Santro, requested and paid Hyundai Engineer to drive the car to my home and park it safely. Hornet was driven by my brother in law to home. Both cases, first 6 months I used to clean the vehicles, start it and revise the algorithms several times on what to do next..was scared to be true.

Do not regret buying either of them without TD. Might be because they are my first vehicles. But after driving other cars and few bikes, I think they are not bad purchases either to start with.

Other vehicles in my life have come through TD and I think future ones will go through multiple TDs before I zero in.