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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Car dealers .... generally.

40 replies

DGRossetti · 26/06/2021 13:55

Time to renew the lease car. For reasons that are no ones business but my own, I drive an automatic.

For reasons that are also my own I refuse to buy a car without a test drive.

So why are sales reps in new car dealerships surprised and a little bit tetchy when I walk away if they tell me they won't source an automatic for me to test drive ?

Age, I guess

So as a general AIBU ... if someone expects you to part with the equivalent of a deposit on a decent house without having a chance to try one out ... who's the unreasonable one ? Me for walking away, or them for expecting me to just buy it.

(The best one was a dealer who told me it would be "easy to imagine how an automatic would drive" ... to which I noted it was also easy to imagine winning the lottery and buying an island, but that wasn't going to happen either ....)

OP posts:

mog27 · 26/06/2021 14:00

I prefer to drive an automatic and completely understand where you are coming from with dealerships. It's almost as if automatic is a swear word to them and frowned upon, one salesman told me it's not real driving 😂 It's my money and I'll drive what I want and like you I'm prepared to walk away when they start with the patronising attitude.

araiwa · 26/06/2021 14:21

Will you be leasing through the dealer you visit?

covidcloser · 26/06/2021 14:42

So why are sales reps in new car dealerships surprised and a little bit tetchy when I walk away if they tell me they won't source an automatic for me to test drive ?

Because they can't pull an automatic out of thin air and they don't want to lose the sale?

JuliaLou · 26/06/2021 14:46

Do you tell them you are open to testing other specifications of the model of interest? I've found it easier to get a x car but I want y spec but they've only got w spec test drive. Or do you offer to go to another location?
I'm thinking you don't know how much work it is to source a car just for you to test drive in especially nowadays when people then say they will think it over and go lease with their competitor or online.

alfagirl73 · 26/06/2021 14:51

I'd always want to test drive a car; automatic or not! You need to feel how it will handle, how it accelerates, whether there is any lag in the gear changes - in fact that's a significant factor in an automatic - you don't want to have to give your car written notice every time you put your foot down!

Some sales reps are idiots. As a female who is a bit of a petrolhead, I get one of two reactions when I start asking questions about a car at a dealership... they're either REALLY upset that I won't fall for their BS and are even MORE upset if I ask technical questions they can't answer.... or... their attitude shifts into "respect" and that often turns into a good deal... but the former is the more common reaction.

JellyTumble · 26/06/2021 14:54

@covidcloser

So why are sales reps in new car dealerships surprised and a little bit tetchy when I walk away if they tell me they won't source an automatic for me to test drive ?

Because they can't pull an automatic out of thin air and they don't want to lose the sale?

Absolutely this.

A lot of dealers don’t have automatics there for people to test because they’re quite rare.

You’re being an arse here, OP. It’s nothing to do with you being female.

Treehaus · 26/06/2021 14:58

It's not like they are hiding the automatics out the back and won't let you test drive one out of spite, it's that its not really worth their while having one on the forecourt as they only constitute a small % of leases/sales. Its not unreasonable to want to test drive one first, but they are a business and do things that will make them money.

rosalie11 · 26/06/2021 14:59

I went from an auto to a manual and it sucks

Briarshollow · 26/06/2021 15:03

@covidcloser

So why are sales reps in new car dealerships surprised and a little bit tetchy when I walk away if they tell me they won't source an automatic for me to test drive ?

Because they can't pull an automatic out of thin air and they don't want to lose the sale?

This, essentially. What sort of price point are we talking, OP?

If they haven’t got an auto for you to test drive, then they don’t. And they won’t spend a ton of money getting one brought over if it’s not a very expensive car. 🤷🏼‍♀️ Can you not test drive a manual for an essence of the ride, cabin experience and power? Is it just a phobia of manuals or are you not licensed for them?

mog27 · 26/06/2021 15:37

@Briarshollow you wouldn't get the feel of an automatic from test driving a manual. They have different gearboxes and feel totally different. There's absolutely no comparison.

Briarshollow · 26/06/2021 15:48

[quote mog27]@Briarshollow you wouldn't get the feel of an automatic from test driving a manual. They have different gearboxes and feel totally different. There's absolutely no comparison. [/quote]
You would get a hint of the ride, such as the balance and power, and you would get the general experience of the car. A manual would be much more engaging to drive and an auto smoother, obviously. But if it’s just the transmission that would be different, then why wouldn’t you just test drive the manual if there’s no auto available? Which there rarely is on smaller engines models, as they’re a lot less popular. I was pushing the OP to consider test driving the manual to get a general feel of the car itself. I don’t know what it is about manuals that the OP doesn’t like/is frightened of, but I think it’s unreasonable to expect them to get an auto on the forecourt for her to test drive.

Backhills · 26/06/2021 15:51

I think they just can't in many cases. The test drive vehicles don't exist if you don't want one of the ones they turnover most.

I once went into a dealership fully intending to buy a £35k car. I was all ready to sign up, I "just" wanted to test drive it first. For weeks they strung along saying they'd have one soon, but it never materialised.

It must be very frustrating for the sales staff as individuals.

StevenYerTeasReady · 26/06/2021 16:43

I once had a complaint that we didn't have a demonstrator of every model, in every spec, manual and auto, petrol and diesel in every colour. We'd have needed a multi story car park to store them all.

Manufacturer standards are one or two of each model - small dealerships don't even have to run all of those. Completely unreasonable to expect exactly what you want to test drive. There might be a used one with the right engine/gearbox combination though.

Duchess379 · 26/06/2021 22:30

If they can't source an automatic for you, find someone else. I only drive autos because I have arthritis. When I test drove my current car, the demo was an auto. I wouldn't want to test drive a manual if I'm only buying auto. You don't get the same response from the 2 gearboxes.
Best thing to do is email the dealerships first, explaining your interested in a particular model but it needs to be an auto. It will give them the opportunity to source one from a different dealership.
Good luck.

Duchess379 · 26/06/2021 22:34

The drive is totally different. Absolutely no way would I be satisfied with test driving the manual then buying an auto. Pulling away from junctions, overtaking, simply increasing speed, negotiating inclines.. very very different between a manual & auto car.

mrstea301 · 26/06/2021 22:37

Are automatics that rare these days? In the last two months, two of my relatives have purchased automatics, both with test drives and no hassle that they spoke of (apart from my dad blowing out the engine of the car he was test driving!).

We're looking at purchasing an automatic for our next car, just for a change really, and we're looking at some today, no one batted an eye when we asked about automatics and had plenty of options for us!

Maybe you've just been unlucky OP.

uhtredsonofuhtred1 · 26/06/2021 22:45

Are you buying the car through the dealer? It costs them several hundred £ to get a car brought in from a different branch just on the off chance you want to order that model but not actually that car which they'd then be stuck with on their forecourt. You might have more joy asking them which of their branches do have one of those models available to test drive.

I'm a trade plate driver delivering cars for a living and some automatics I've driven are shocking so I totally understand you want to try it out first. The better brands of cars have all been good autos, it's been the cheaper brands that have been rubbish.

Shamoo · 26/06/2021 23:11

Have you looked into which car manufacturers have high levels of automatics? For example,
Volvo have loads and it’s easy to test drive them. Think Vauxhall are similar. Fiat much harder.

StevenYerTeasReady · 26/06/2021 23:29

I work at Vauxhall and there aren't a great amount of automatics around. Rule of thumb is the bigger the car and the more prestigious the brand, the more likely it'll be an auto.

NutNutmum · 27/06/2021 00:17

What Makes of car are you looking at OP?

If you were to go to a Toyota garage for example, all the hybrids are automatics and so are majority of their other cars.

FaceyRomford · 27/06/2021 01:25

Is it a particular dealer? Our local SEAT guy got me an automatic to test drive from their branch 15 miles away.

Biker47 · 27/06/2021 09:50

So you're going to renew a lease, probably with the same company you're already with or no doubt; an online leasing company. And you're wondering why a dealer isn't bending over backwards to get you the exact car you want to test drive when they know it probably won't result in a sale?? Why are they tetchy? Because you sound like a time waster.

Phineyj · 27/06/2021 10:52

If you'd consider second hand, if you go to one of the car supermarkets you'd be able to test drive as many as you like.

worktrip · 27/06/2021 11:16

I drive an automatic and a manual and would happily not test drive the automatic. I would need to sit in the drivers seat and feel where all the pedals and controls are because I am quite small. My automatic drives itself so I can't see a different model acting differently. Not like a manual with their different biting points etc. Even that you get used to.

Blossomtoes · 27/06/2021 11:21

I haven’t driven a manual for over ten years and I’m pretty sure I couldn’t now. There must be thousands of people who only have an automatic licence so couldn’t legally drive a manual.

Go for a hybrid, OP, they’re all automatic. And you’re not remotely unreasonable.

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