SLegacy99

My dad has always wanted a Corvette. The lease on his BMW is up in under a year, but he's hesitant about the Corvette for two reasons.

1. He loves the Lexus hybrids...thats a given.
2. We had a very strange dealership expirience.

So I'm wondering if anyone has expirienced the same thing.

We went to the Chevy dealer. They had one Corvette. An automatic.
So my dad (who pulled up in an A6 mind you, which to me says he serious about buying an expensive car) talks to the salesman a bit. And the salesman says, "Oh, we don't let people test drive them."

My dad was shocked. Who buys a car and doesn't test drive it? He finally convinced the guy to allow him to drive it. However, he had to schedule a time. The salesman said that next week my dad could drive the car and that they would call to set up a time. They never did.

The salesman also starting going over how you wouldn't be able to drive this car in the rain or any other type of inclement weather. Then the salesman says, "I don't think I'd be able to even get one for ya."

My dad says this is the first car salesman who talked him out of buying a car. No test drive. Can only drive it in the sun. And Chevy wouldn't even give the dealer one to sell. Do they not want to sell these?

Anyway, I feel dissapointed for my dad because he has always talked about getting a Vette and this lousy dealership has turned him off.

tex2670

My guess is that this is what happens when you sell Aveos next to Corvettes. He wants a Corvette--so he shouldn't just bail. He should call the sales manager directly.

Threxx

Sounds like a crappy dealer or at least a retarded salesman.

Go to a different dealer... lots of Chevy dealers out there.

thetopdog

Yeah, go to a different dealer. Not only will you get a better experience, you'll most likely get a better price as well, some Chevy dealers only get a few Vettes to sell per year, so they treat them like they're made of solid gold, and try to overcharge for them. The high volume dealers should have no problem giving your dad a test drive and will most likely get him a better price. With gas prices the way they are, Vettes aren't in high demand now

The dealer I bought my Vette from offered me a test drive over the phone without even speaking to me (I left a message for him, he called back and left a message for me offering me a test drive). Last year when I bought my 2006 Vette, I was 23 at the time and they didn't hold that against me.

The salesman obviously was an idiot, since the Vette is extremely easy to drive in the rain. I drive mine year-round, even in the snow.

Tell your dad to not let one bad dealership experience turn him off a great car. If he's ever in the Boston area, I'd be glad to take him for a spin

Faymester

different dealership for sure ... when my friend was trying to buy a porsche, the porsche dealership said 'you can drive it after you buy it' ... we went else where.

also, people i know that have had and do have corvettes did and do drive them in the rain (it rains a lot in vancouver)

bagwell

test drive locally at a different dealer that has more than 1 corvette.
go to corvetteforum.org and look under the C6 forums - there's dealers on there that will give you the employee discount, order it for you and drop ship it to your local dealer.

better yet -- do a museum delivery -- they will go over the car as long as you desire -- they have a lot of pride in their work at the factory.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

I believe in letting the management of businesses know if I get bad service. It's in everyone's best interest, including the lame salesperson who either needs to get a clue or find a new line of work.

I encourage you to talk to the sales manager at that dealer and calmly explain what happened and ask him or her if this is their normal 'approach'?

Can't hurt, and they might roll out the red carpet for you next time.

okcfunky

that reminds me of when I was told I couldn't test drive a 04 Cobra... in 2005. "to ensure low miles and heritage" I laughed so hard I almost blew my dr. pepper all over the paperwork, waltzed on down the Subie dealership within an hour.

Find a different dealer. The only car they aren't supposed to let you test drive is a Z06. I honestly can't think of the last time I heard a dealer saying no test drive to a non-Z vette. Grrr... dealerships are growing anti-friendly in general. Some dealers are cool as heck about stuff, others have an ego-inflation problem.
What's the dealers name?

Please post this story over at corvetteforum.

joshthorsc

Whoa! Never heard of a dealer turning down a test drive before. I know for some places and for certain cars you'd have to be prequalified before they let you test drive it, but never turned down for a test drive.

tex2670

When I was 19, the Mitsubishi dealer wouldn't let me drive an Eclipse AWD Turbo. That's about the only time its understandable.

geko29

A BMW dealer refused to let me drive a USED M3. Said it was their policy. Granted, I was fairly young at the time, but I also drove up in a Millennium Yellow C5 Corvette, so you'd think they'd let it slide.

In my late 20s, an Infiniti dealer also refused to let me drive the G35 Coupe 6MT when I was looking at it to replace my 3-series, so I left, and eventually lost interest.

I will never buy a car from either dealer. When I went shopping for an M45 last year, I never even thought about going back to the one in Lisle that snubbed me. Likewise for the BMW dealer. I didn't even consider them when I bought my first one, and won't when I buy my next.

SLegacy99

Yeah I guess I could see that one from both sides. I thought that it was interesting that when we went to BMW they brought out the cars and gave the keys to each and let us go.

And when I was 19 I was waiting to be picked up from Subaru as my car was in for service and a salesman came out and asked me if I would like to test drive a WRX. I was like, are you serious? I would have too, but I had to get to work.




Anyway, I don't imagine that this is a high volume Corvette dealer. I know where one is, but we would have to drive some to get to it...but then we drive 45 minutes to get to Lexus. I just can't get my dad to go.

yaro1

I would highly recommend Kerbeck in Atlantic City, NJ. It may be a few hours of a drive, but it may well be worth it. If they had had the specifications I wanted, I would have driven the 2 1/2 to buy mine there. We were dealing with a great salesman there when we visited, but the next day we called and they had sold the car we wanted, so we found the same spec at a local dealer to get the car before the 0% for 60 month deal went away. Kerbeck has dozens or Corvettes on the lot (most dealers have one or none), and they will gladly let you test drive the cars. It is the highest volume Corvette seller in the world. As a Corvette freak myself, the dealership is such a great place. (I think they also sell Bentleys and Ferraris or something exclusive).

okcfunky

I highly recommend Kerbeck. Great dealer to work with, and I believe they are the largest 'vette dealer by volume. They also have other highline marques.

PVlexus

Selman Chevrolet in Orange California has at least 6 Z06's sitting out front, with more corvettes behind those. They have a huge stock of corvettes and every other Chevy on the road. Very popular in this area. But I hope you continue looking for a Corvette, they are one of America's finest!