Chris S

Look at the kind of drivers that S2000's attract, can you blame them? Also, dealers rarely have an S2000 demo, so it'll come out of new car inventory...and who wants to buy a new car w/ many miles? Same phenomenon w/ the Corvette.

OTOH, my local Porsche dealer is really cool w/ solo test drives...I was just looking/dreaming in the showroom, not even seriously interested, and the salesman took me for a quick spin to show me what it would do, then let my wife and I off to have fun. Same deal at the BMW dealer in town.

dangators05

It's all about the dealer's perception of you.

For example, walk into a Porsche or BMW dealership in a suit/tie after work and you get a solo test drive, no questions asked. Walk into a Mazda dealership on the weekend in shorts and flip-flops and they might let you sit in the MX-5 by yourself, but only for a few minutes.

Same thing at jewelry stores, or anywhere else that sells high-end or expensive merchandise.

wills2k106

I bought my S used and the dealer let me have it over the weekend, Saturday to Monday. Dealers are closed on Sunday in Jersey by law. I drove it for about a half hour looking for bumpy roads, home to see if my golf clubs fit, etc. I knew the car would handle well and would be fast when I wanted it to be, but I needed to see if I could live with it everyday. After the half hour, I knew I could live with the car on a daily basis and called the dealer. Told them to start the paperwork and that I would be back Monday to sign everything. No problems whatsoever.

New car dealers don't always have the luxury of extended test drives, extra mileage on a new car doesn't help sell it. Dealers tend to be more leniant with used cars, the mileage isn't as important. I know I wouldn't buy a new car with more than 100 miles on the clock.

erliuic

+1

Chris S

That kind of perception would be a huge mistake in Austin. There are tons of wealthy techies in this town who don't dress to impress.

My wife and I were dressed very casually when we test drove the Porsche and BMW - certainly not like the stereotype you might have of people who look like they could afford a Porsche. I suspect enough bums in t-shirts, shorts, and sandals have bought expensive cars around here for them to know better.

S2Kdance

Yes, my S had 115miles on it when I bought it. I've had no problems with it now at 16k+ miles. It doesn't even burn oil.

Heysus

I've been tossed the keys to some cars before, and I drove to do all of my errands.

shotgunjimmy

i test drove an S not too long ago. had it all to myself, salesmen said he was too big to fit in there. tossed me the keys and told me to keep it under 100. took it out, let it warm up, then tromped on itin 1st till redline, chirped 2nd, looked at the spedo and decided to slow down. after that, i put a bit of gas in it (had no bars), and drove for another 20 minutes or so. was really impressed. too bad the dealer didnt want to come off the price a bit. 03 silverstone with 30k miles CPO. asking 22k.

Mystiqueskillz

When I test drove a 335i the sales guy was with me and it was a short drive. While on 1addicts, i recently read a post where the salesguy let a 19 year old for a drive by himself for an hour.

dyhppy

are you guys all talking about used car test drives?