How NOT to crash your car while taking delivery

dr_TJ · 3rd November 2021, 11:28

Right now, I am driving the 4th car in my family.
So far, Never drove the car out of the showroom's delivery area myself.
Always made it a point to ask the sales rep to get a driver to get it out of the showroom floor or any ramp if present, to the main road and then a driver drove the car to my place. While I follow my new car in my old car.

I follow it up with a early morning drive the next day in the new car, and in a week or so, I get accustomed with my new car.

DetectiveMiles · 27th February 2024, 09:56

One more incident of delivery gone wrong!!

Maruti celerio delivery goes wrong

Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7JSDtVrzKA&t

Source: https://www.rushlane.com/new-maruti-...-12489249.html

Thad E Ginathom · 27th February 2024, 17:05

People should not be afraid of driving a new/different car, unless there is some really fundamental difference outside of their experience, like eg, an AT driver suddenly faced with gears. Or even the other way around!

I somewhat regret that I have driven the same model of car for more than a decade now, with only a couple of short breaks when a friend was kind enough to lend me her car whilst mine was under repair.

My driving life back in London (UK) was very different, especially before I had my own cars. I would hire cars: one may book one's favourite model, but it might not be available at the last minute. Or one might be offered an irresistible upgrade! So, one goes to the hire company, maybe Friday-afternoon rush hour, and drives an unknown car. I agree absolutely with taking time to check seat/mirror position, clutch biting point, gear positions, etc all before taking to the road. Confusing 1st and R can be very embarrassing!

One of my most difficult driving experiences was a loan car (It was a company car of the relative-owned hotel that I was staying in) which had a hair clutch. Literally, the entire pedal movement was tiny. It was rural Lake district: difficult or not, hill starts were there right from the off.

One of my more pleasant experiences was needing to drive to a work-related training course some fifty or sixty miles away. The company had two cars: an old Toyota for the workers, and a lovely Audi for the MD! First day, I took the Toyota and it broke down. I called in, and was told, Oh, you'll have to take the Audi tomorrow

. I think it was an A6: I was used to driving both AT and MT, I think it was AT. It was lovely! Nothing new in the controls, but the acceleration was able to surprise me.

I have several decades experience on the roads of Britain and India. What wouldn't I drive? There are now cars with rotary controls and electronic parking brakes. Outside my experience. Of course I'd drive them --- but after studying the manual!

Mostly, I wouldn't hit the road in a real high-performance car. I'd need to read the manual and take instruction to that! But hey, a Polo driver going to the showroom to pick up a new Ferrari only happens in dreams. None the less, we've seen, on this site, what valet drivers have done.

I'd prefer not to drive a much bigger car, first-time, in the road by my house! It's a busy, congested, scratch-fest of a road.

I echo the thoughts of others here that delivery should not be in the showroom. It should be outside.

As drivers, we should be able to drive any car within the sort of limits I've just mentioned. And we should do so with care and absolutely not with overconfidence.

The lady in the last post might indeed not have been ready to drive at all. She was not ready to take that car out of a showroom. In fact she seems to have crashed in a straight line. Maybe steering was going to be tomorrow's lesson?

I joke. But I do feel sorry for her and anyone else, for whom this special new-car experience goes wrong. But if they (or their family) have not been realistic about whether or not they are ready, then they have only themselves to blame.

Hope she has many years of happy driving ahead.

3rd November 2021, 11:28	#91
dr_TJ BHPian Join Date: Aug 2021 Location: Dibrugarh Posts: 476 Thanked: 1,080 Times View My Garage	Re: How NOT to crash your car while taking delivery Right now, I am driving the 4th car in my family. So far, Never drove the car out of the showroom's delivery area myself. Always made it a point to ask the sales rep to get a driver to get it out of the showroom floor or any ramp if present, to the main road and then a driver drove the car to my place. While I follow my new car in my old car. I follow it up with a early morning drive the next day in the new car, and in a week or so, I get accustomed with my new car. Last edited by dr_TJ : 3rd November 2021 at 11:30.
	(1) Thanks

27th February 2024, 17:05	#93
Thad E Ginathom Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 11,005 Thanked: 26,445 Times	Re: How NOT to crash your car while taking delivery People should not be afraid of driving a new/different car, unless there is some really fundamental difference outside of their experience, like eg, an AT driver suddenly faced with gears. Or even the other way around! I somewhat regret that I have driven the same model of car for more than a decade now, with only a couple of short breaks when a friend was kind enough to lend me her car whilst mine was under repair. My driving life back in London (UK) was very different, especially before I had my own cars. I would hire cars: one may book one's favourite model, but it might not be available at the last minute. Or one might be offered an irresistible upgrade! So, one goes to the hire company, maybe Friday-afternoon rush hour, and drives an unknown car. I agree absolutely with taking time to check seat/mirror position, clutch biting point, gear positions, etc all before taking to the road. Confusing 1st and R can be very embarrassing! One of my most difficult driving experiences was a loan car (It was a company car of the relative-owned hotel that I was staying in) which had a hair clutch. Literally, the entire pedal movement was tiny. It was rural Lake district: difficult or not, hill starts were there right from the off. One of my more pleasant experiences was needing to drive to a work-related training course some fifty or sixty miles away. The company had two cars: an old Toyota for the workers, and a lovely Audi for the MD! First day, I took the Toyota and it broke down. I called in, and was told, Oh, you'll have to take the Audi tomorrow . I think it was an A6: I was used to driving both AT and MT, I think it was AT. It was lovely! Nothing new in the controls, but the acceleration was able to surprise me. I have several decades experience on the roads of Britain and India. What wouldn't I drive? There are now cars with rotary controls and electronic parking brakes. Outside my experience. Of course I'd drive them --- but after studying the manual! Mostly, I wouldn't hit the road in a real high-performance car. I'd need to read the manual and take instruction to that! But hey, a Polo driver going to the showroom to pick up a new Ferrari only happens in dreams. None the less, we've seen, on this site, what valet drivers have done. I'd prefer not to drive a much bigger car, first-time, in the road by my house! It's a busy, congested, scratch-fest of a road. I echo the thoughts of others here that delivery should not be in the showroom. It should be outside. As drivers, we should be able to drive any car within the sort of limits I've just mentioned. And we should do so with care and absolutely not with overconfidence. The lady in the last post might indeed not have been ready to drive at all. She was not ready to take that car out of a showroom. In fact she seems to have crashed in a straight line. Maybe steering was going to be tomorrow's lesson? I joke. But I do feel sorry for her and anyone else, for whom this special new-car experience goes wrong. But if they (or their family) have not been realistic about whether or not they are ready, then they have only themselves to blame. Hope she has many years of happy driving ahead.
	(1) Thanks