[Endofdayz]

Yes it was test drive car. it had temp no plate and when tyre busted of cruze, A showroom guy, a lady, driver and a kid got down. the luckiest part that could happen to me is this chevy cruze missed me inches or two. the air blown when the car passed made me loose balance. but since i was in low speed i could control.

NICE road has become the happening spot to check high speeds. whatever may be the case they should be in limit. this kind of test drive would have killed me for no mistake of mine.

audi SUI was taking reverse and was going back and forth where the speed of the lane is written as 80 kms in middle of the road. and i came to know its a test drive when customer got down in the middle of the and bend on his knees and was checking something. god knows

[Thad E Ginathom]

One takes the most care of one's own car. One takes less care of a company car, and even less of a hire car. --- For good drivers, there may be very little difference,a nd the best drivers may realise that it may not be their car, but it is their body!

There has to be temptation, at least, to find out the performance of a test-drive car, especially if it is a high-power car --- but rash and dangerous driving is just that, whatever the car. The place to test out capabilities such as high speed and braking, if track is not available, is an empty road.

If there is any place where the police might come to know that potential (or maybe not-so-potential) buyers are test driving like this, then they should take action (Oh dear, I am sounding like a letter writer to The Hindu!). It is not forgivable.

I would imagine that the dealers' staff must have some hairy scary moments with these guys. It is also well known that dealers' staff and mechanics are some of the worst abusers of cars. Some of the latter deem it acceptible to speed test customers' cars in the workshop!

[sgiitk]

I have seen new cars with the odo's disconnected being routinely used for test drives by dealerships. In fact I have myself been given TDs in two such cars. When my own car was delivered I found the odo cable disconnected. Only I know the car had arrived less than two days previously.

[shubhodeepdas@g]

There are many problems within this scenario.

People taking a Test Drive

1. A person on a TD is most certainly looking to buy a car, and in all probability it's an upgrade over his existing wheels. If someone suddenly switches from an Alto to a Ford Fiesta 1.6s, the sheer thrill factor just blurs the though process of even the most sane guys. lack of practice and control of high speed cars result in accidents there after.

2. Second scenario is of the person that has just learnt to drive and buying his first car. IMHO, dealerships should just not give them cars to drive and test. Most of them do not have any experience on road, let alone on empty stretches like the NICE. It takes a lot of self discipline to push a car on empty stretches safely.

3. There are thrill seekers and other such people who take to the NICE to push their colleague's car. Again, the driver is unaware of the little nuances of the car and in most cases are at risk of putting themselves or others in danger.

Now about Test Drive itself

1. 'Morning shows the day', and simply holds true for any car. The way it starts moving and shifts up the gears, the response from the right foot, and one 90° bend in 2nd, slightly fast should tell any good driver what the car is capable of. If you don't get that in 15 minutes of driving the car, you won't get it after 3 years either.

About NICE road

1. The road is fast losing its lane discipline, probably already lost. There are trucks going every which way on the road. There are small loaders that generally prefer the inside lanes at 30 kmph. And there are some who come there to practice their 'Drive while you Talk' theory going at 30 kmph right in the middle of everything. These fellows are as dangerous as the guys pushing an Audi at 180+ speeds, if not more.

2. Bikers who ride without helmet, and rear view mirrors are common on NICE and other highways due to lack of policing. Even if a car maintains the designated 60 kmph and 80 kmph, they are dead as they overtake trucks without signaling or using a rear view mirror.

3. Almost all cars sold in the market today come with at least one, if not two rear view wing mirrors. Though its surprising to see that most cars on road have them folded fearing breakage from collision (some with team BHP stickers on them as well). When on NICE road, do expect the odd ANHC with folded mirrors to suddenly change lanes from left to right without signaling and get in your way, after all, sense and skill does not come with the brand.

Last but not the least - The Speed Limit

Most of us consider exceeding the speed limit as dangerous, whereas it holds true for both ways. It is as irresponsible to drive 40 kmph above the speed limit as it is to drive 40 kmph below it.

[apachelongbow]

Originally Posted by Speeding@160mph

How do you know it was a test drive? And i dont think test-drives have anything to do with rash-driving- if you're concerned about how people drive, it should be addressed accordingly.

There was a thread somewhere here, on fast driving during a test drive and its consequences. The person in concern was testing .. i believe a desire or a sx4 and for some reason lost control and damaged the demo car. He was thrashed by the public or the car salesman and they i think recovered the cost of damages from him. It was an unfortunate situation for our poor prospective buyer, but in India we must be aware of such situations occuring, when we go ahead and test a car's performance.

[CrackedHead]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

I have seen new cars with the odo's disconnected being routinely used for test drives by dealerships. In fact I have myself been given TDs in two such cars. When my own car was delivered I found the odo cable disconnected. Only I know the car had arrived less than two days previously.

Do manufacturers encourage this "disconnect the odo cable" practice i.e. Is the cable disconnected before loading the vehicle on the trailer for transit OR does this happen en route OR once the car is at the dealership?

I remember taking apart a 30 year old Premier's instrument cluster for repair and found that there were signed PAL stickers to seal the speedometer cable at both the gearbox and the instrument cluster end. What happened to this practice (even though this is only a deterrent).

It would seem that manufacturers knowingly ignore this problem because the general car buying public doesn't know/care.

[lohithrao]

One very important factor while you do a "TD" is that you dont know anything about the vehicle, the behavior at high speeds, braking and top f that the condition. Pushing it hard means taking a big chance and according to me its plain stupid!

[sterlingjames]

Originally Posted by Endofdayz

Hi All,
With this thread i want to ask all those guys who are test driving cruze, BMW's Audi's or VW. will a hour long drive or driving cars in dangerously high speed will make you very familiar with the car.

the chennai audi dealership is no better. i am sometimes shocked to see brand new cars streaking away at absurd speeds with potential customers frozen to the seats not knowing what is going to hit them!

[high_octane]

When I was testdriving a swift few months back, the showroom person sitting next to me was telling me about the way people mis-handle testdrive cars especially when they know they can take the car on NICE road. He was also telling me about an incident where the TD car actually met with an accident(while on NICE road) so bad that both the driver and the sales guy sitting next to him had to be admitted to the hospital.
It seems, such accidents during testdriving on NICE road is increasing in number and during all such occasions, the driver has to pay the difference between the actual price of the car and the insurance money.
But its painfully shameful to see paying up thousands of rupees even before purchasing a car just because of a stupid deliberate mistake while on your testdrive !!!

[cooldude1988765]

When i go for a test drive i usually rev the engine to hit the limiter in 2nd or 3rd, drive at decent speeds on potholes, take curves at good speeds and slam the brakes from 60-80. By revving the engine to the limiter i get to know how smooth the engine is at various rpms, driving fast on potholes gives me an idea of the suspension, going fast on curves gives me an idea of the handling and slammng the brakes from 80 lets me know how the brakes are.
I take utmost care that these are done on empty roads. How can i buy a car without checking all these ?

[kkr2k2]

A 15 min drive is not enough for everybody. I, like many dont have so much of experience with cars to judge in mere 15 min. Almost all the cars I have sat in the driver's seat, I felt comfortable. But after a driving the car for a hour or more with no one inside the car, or the people sitting inside the car are not talking for some time, then only I get to understand the car well. For my height, I didn't feel all the cars comfortable.

Till date only three cars I felt comfortable for continuous driving - NHC, Hyundai Elantra and Chevvy Optra. All the other cars, left something missing after a drive. And the cars, I dislike - Skoda Octavia, Indica platform based cars, OHC. Currently we own a Hyundai Accent CRDi, its niether that great nor poor. Its a good compramise between comfort, FE and performance. Again, this at the first instance felt good in the driver's seat but after a drive of two hours, I started feeling the discomfort in it!!

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by CrackedHead

Do manufacturers encourage this "disconnect the odo cable" practice i.e. Is the cable disconnected before loading the vehicle on the trailer for transit OR does this happen en route OR once the car is at the dealership?

I remember taking apart a 30 year old Premier's instrument cluster for repair and found that there were signed PAL stickers to seal the speedometer cable at both the gearbox and the instrument cluster end. What happened to this practice (even though this is only a deterrent).

It would seem that manufacturers knowingly ignore this problem because the general car buying public doesn't know/care.

The connector had been removed at the Gearbox end. No changes at the speedo end. The stickers/seal etc. are at the speedo end. I did not see any evidence of place for a seal wire in the connector.

[Gandhi]

Yesterday I was test driving Ritz Zxi and the sales guy was telling me the horror stories of customers abusing the TD vehicles. One customer who apparently didn't knew how to drive, wanted a test drive of Swift Zxi. He banged the car in a wall at around 40KMPH head on, and both the airbags got deployed. One more customer almost stole the TD vehicle by playing some tricks with the sales guy. It took them 2 days to trace the car.

Regarding getting the feel of car in few minutes, I must say that I can't judge a car in few minutes. I too am a novice driver with very little experience in driving, so it takes time for me to understand the car. For example, I test drive a car and come back here and post my experience (search for my thread in "What car" section). When somebody suggests me to look for a particular factor in a car, I have to go back and test drive again as I didn't pay attention to that the first time I drove. For experienced drivers (10K+ kms) it may be a matter of few minutes, but for first time car buyers like me, it simply takes time to judge a car as I don't want to take a hasty decision and repent later.

[anainar]

Originally Posted by Gandhi

I too am a novice driver with very little experience in driving, so it takes time for me to understand the car. For example, I test drive a car and come back here and post my experience (search for my thread in "What car" section). When somebody suggests me to look for a particular factor in a car, I have to go back and test drive again as I didn't pay attention to that the first time I drove. For experienced drivers (10K+ kms) it may be a matter of few minutes, but for first time car buyers like me, it simply takes time to judge a car as I don't want to take a hasty decision and repent later.

There is a lot of groundwork that can be done without even a test drive. Like the interiors,engine power, acceleration data switches,dials, etc can all be gotten without even test driving a car. I regularly read auto magazines( Overdrive/AutoCar India ) and they do a decent job of providing this data without even you visiting the showroom. So, at the showroom before the test drive, one can check the ergonomics, interior feel etc without even starting the car. The last piece is test drive and that is primarily for checking out the handling,braking, engine power/torque/acceleration/body roll - the parameters that can be seen only in driving, whether it is acceptable to you or not. If done this way, one does not need more than 30 minutes of test drive, whether experienced or a novice. This is my view.

About long term fatigue, I dont know how that can be assessed in an hour long test drive.Because it could be as simple as wrong seating position and one did not pay attention to adjust the height of the seat properly.

Nainar

[Gandhi]

Originally Posted by anainar

The last piece is test drive and that is primarily for checking out the handling,braking, engine power/torque/acceleration/body roll - the parameters that can be seen only in driving, whether it is acceptable to you or not. If done this way, one does not need more than 30 minutes of test drive, whether experienced or a novice. This is my view.

May be you can assess all these things in a single test drive as you are an experienced driver. My driving experience with M/T cars in India is less than 500 kms and am still not confident with my driving. Most of my concentration goes in making sure that I am not hitting somebody or not damaging the car itself. Also, as I have not driven different cars, I don't have much data to compare with.

For example, I am test driving i10 and Ritz right now. The more I test drive, the more I am learning about both the cars and then can take informed decision about the same. Is there anything wrong with taking multiple test drives as long as I am not damaging the car and the sales guy is not complaining for the same?

I have read every single piece of information available here on the forum about both the cars, so overall I am well aware regarding those things. But I do have to convince my heart as well as brain that this is the right car for me. To give you an example, yesterday night I took a test drive of Ritz in crawling traffic. Both my thighs were paining a lot till late night after I came back. Now I don't know if this was because of the hard clutch in Ritz or merely because I am not used to drive in such situations. How do I confirm?

I think we are going way off topic here. Let's get back to the discussion of why people abuse test drive vehicles.