If you’ve spent hours whittling down your preferred next set of wheels to one make and model of car, and you’re now ready to take the plunge buying your dream motor, then it’s time for one of the trickier aspects of the vehicle purchasing process – the test drive.
An essential ‘try before you buy’ routine to see if the car is as good for you in reality as it is in theory, it’s nevertheless something that can stress the unwary out, especially if the vehicle in question is either a new or approved used car at a main dealership.
Here are our top tips for how to do a dealer-based test drive in the best way possible, presented in order of what to do before, during and after the shakedown.
Schedule an appointment
We know it can be hard for those of us who work in an office or similar on the 9-to-5 grind but try and set up a test-drive appointment at a quieter time during the week. If you book for a weekend, they’re typically the busiest times for car dealerships and so the salesperson looking after you may be under greater time constraints on a Saturday or Sunday, while the you might also be given less time with the car if other buyers are interested in it. If you can manage it, make a lunchtime appointment if you get the full hour for your break, or take a morning or afternoon off to give it the proper care the test drive deserves.
Take items from your life
One of the main drivers (if you’ll forgive the pun) of purchasing a new car is that your family just got that little bit bigger. So if you’re trading up to something else, be it fresh out of the showroom or second-hand, you should take any child seats and buggies/prams you might have with you, so that you know they will definitely fit into the rear bench of the vehicle (in the case of the seats) or the boot. Otherwise, if you have certain bulky sports gear for your favourite hobby, like a surfboard, bike or large set of golf clubs, for instance, take those along so you know you can fit them into the boot of the vehicle, or at least fold the rear seats down easily to accommodate the equipment.
Check on the paperwork
Usually, a dealership will provide insurance for a test drive – but it’s not always the case. Check if you must provide proof of your own car insurance before you can conduct a test drive and make sure to take your driving licence with you too.
Start the car from cold
This will not apply to brand-new vehicles, but with used cars – particularly older ones – you should make a pre-test-drive request that the example you’re looking at is not started before you get to the dealership. If there are any problems with the engine, they usually most easily manifest when the car is started after a long period of sitting idle (i.e., overnight) – so things like a reluctance to start or turn over, or a great cough of black, white or blue smoke from first firing. If you’re going to look at a second-hand car and, when you get there, it has clearly been idling for a good 15-20 minutes, as all its gauges suggest it is thoroughly warmed-through, then walk away and reschedule the test drive for another time – demanding they don’t start it the next time you turn up.
Get comfortable
You should do this when driving any new (to you) car for the first time – be that borrowing a friend’s or relative’s vehicle or getting into your new purchase. But make yourself properly comfortable behind the wheel before you set off on the test drive. Adjust the seat and steering column to your preferred settings. Check you can move the exterior and interior mirrors to the positions you need to see clearly behind the car through them. Look all around from the driving position to check there are no blind spots. And check how easy it is to operate ancillary controls from the driver’s seat – better to try this for the first time, in an unfamiliar car, when it is standing still, rather than rolling along.
Choose your route
Assuming you are test-driving the proposed car at a dealership close to your home, or at least on roads you know well and use regularly, then don’t be fobbed off by a dealer suggesting a test-drive route to you. They might well pick a loop with very smooth, flattering road surfaces on it, but you want to know what it is like on the sort of cratered and pockmarked streets you drive on more regularly, so you can listen out for excessive tyre or road noise, and also sample exactly how comfortable (or not) the vehicle’s ride quality is on a day-to-day basis.
The sound of silence
If you are having an accompanied test drive with a salesperson from the dealership, then as politely as you can, ask them to stay silent for a portion of the route. This is so you can listen out for untoward noises from the engine, gearbox, suspension, brakes and interior trim while you’re on the move. In the unlikely event you can sort out an unaccompanied test drive at a dealership, then don’t spend your entire time in the car with the radio blasting out tunes at full volume, hiding noises of the vehicle itself.
Try out some manoeuvres
Without going into a full repeat of your driving test, and also making absolutely sure that it is safe to do so, you could perform a couple of well-known manoeuvres during the test drive, such as a three-point turn in a road or a parallel parking effort at the side of a city street. These will give you a better chance to assess the weight of the steering (is it light and easy to use, or heavy and a lot of effort?) and how quickly you can shift from forward to reverse and vice versa, and how good the all-round visibility of the car is while you’re performing the manoeuvres.
Make sure everything works
If you’re happy with how it drives, then once back at the dealership, take some time with the car parked up to try out all its onboard features, storage solutions and seating positions. This will first identify if there’s any tech which is malfunctioning, while also ensuring you know the car will be suitable on the usability front – for all occupants, not just yourself as the driver.
Make a voice note
Most people will have smartphones or devices on them that can record short audio clips, so as soon as you’ve finished the test drive, do a quick walkaround of the car, talking to yourself with your thoughts on the vehicle and recording the process on your device as you do so. This is especially useful if you’re testing lots of different makes and models on the same day, or even multiple examples of the exact same model of car at different dealerships – you can record your thoughts and then clearly go through them later, without struggling to remember which car’s specific foible annoyed you.
Don’t be pressured into signing there and then
Obviously, if the test drive goes swimmingly and you adore the car, and you’re certain it’s the right one for you, then you can do all the relevant purchasing paperwork from thereon in. However, if in any way you’re unsure or you just want a bit more thinking time, do not be pressured by the salesperson to sign up for anything there and then. You just politely tell the dealership you want to go home and think on it before deciding, and that you’ll be in touch the next day.
Leverage any observed flaws
If it’s a used car, in particular, and you’ve spotted problems that weren’t described in the advert – such as small patches of rust which need attention, or tyres which don’t have that much life left in them, for instance – then don’t be afraid to use those to haggle on the price. After all, that’s the chief purpose of the test drive: not only to make sure the car is a good ‘fit’ for you and your lifestyle, and that you enjoy driving it and sitting in it, but also to pick up on any faults the dealership may or may not be attempting to gloss over in an online ad.