test drive question

how do you guys handle things when someone shows up to test drive your car? i've always just traded in to the dealer and avoided this. do you go with? get a driver's license? meet at your house? any suggestions, well almost any, would be appreciated.

I would be very careful and recommend a PPI at a shop of his choosing to a prospective buyer. Let the PPI do the talking. No joy rides at my expense with me. If a buyer is willing to talk PPI, then I know he is serious and I do something different.

When I bought my C4S from an individual seller, he simply rode along on my test drive. I didn't have an issue with this at all.

I have always traded my car in at a dealer but have a friend who has this down to a science. Meet at a public place (store parking lot) let the individual look over the car. Never let anyone test drive it alone! My friend after a brife chat to see if he thinks the individual is interested will take him for a ride. Only after they agree to purchase does he let them drive the car. And never lets them beat on the car while in his ownership.

I sold my 2006 Mazdaspeed6 to a 20 year old kid about a year ago. He came with his parents from Virginia. They were a really nice family. I still sat in the passenger seat when the Kid took the car for a test drive. He was a little bit "fast & furious" with the shifter so I told him that he would be able to shift faster (and maintain more rpm) if he shifted more smoothly and slowly. The dad (in that back seat) said, "this isn't your car yet so do as the owner says". When I bought my 996 in July of 09. I walked up to the guy and we shook hands. Then he just handed me the keys and said "enjoy the test drive". It really freaked my wife out that he would just hand me the keys and did not want to come along. I can gauge in 1 minute whether a buyer is serious or not.

If someone pays for a PPI they are serious. I have no problem with almost anyone driving my cars if I am riding shotgun. In fact, I love to see someone drive their first p-car after a lifetime of crappy Fords and Chevys. One guy asked me "What gear am I in?" lol. (It was third.)

I test drove an G50 3.2 coupe yesterday. The owner had just recently listed it and the first guy who drove it had never been in a porsche. We took a nice sweeping downhill onramp to the free way and as I mashed on it coming out of the corner he said, "oh, you've clearly driven these before." Great guy. Great test drive. He sold it this morning to the guy who drove it yesterday.

Here are my precautions when selling my own cars: >Make a copy of the prospect's driver's license...have never had anyone object to this. >Have a proposed sales agreement ready...give a copy to the prospect to consider. >Recommend the prospect arrange for a PPI and have a couple of garages to suggest...stay on site when the PPI is conducted. >have a well organized maintenance file available for review. >Always accompany the prospect on any test drives...no exceptions. relinuca

It is interesting that we hold such a double standard when selling versus buying. Many of the post regarding buying suggest that you test drive it alone while many post in this thread suggest that you don't let anyone test drive your car or test drive it alone.

The last car I sold, the buyer left his car in my driveway(A4) while he and his son took my Audi TT for a test drive. His conversation with me on the phone and in person beforehand told me he was an interested buyer. I didnt copy his drivers license or get a deposit. He came back after a 15 min.test drive, said he loved the car...but then left without buying. Twenty minutes later, he was back in my driveway and did the deal with a healthy cash deposit to hold the car until he could go to his bank next day. Could I have been scammed or screwed? Yep, but I wasn't.

Quotes source post: 9299145

I don't think anyone has suggested that you, as a buyer, should be able to test drive the car alone. I have a simple strategy. -person expresses interest -I take them for a test ride with me driving...they can make requests (e.g. idle, hard acceleration, gear changes, whatever) -If that goes well, they pay for the PPI -If PPI passes to their satisfaction, they can take it for a test drive with me in the car.

Tell him you'll let his wife test drive it since she'll get it in the devorce anyway.

I think honestly having a conversation with potential seller is the key. If there is a gut feeling of something not right then I will tell potential buyer unless he/she is buying that a test drive cannot be performed. I am not a car dealer so I don't have the time to waste with tire kickers and lookers. I will also drive shotgun.

Quotes source post: 9299960

hillarious !

"I don't think anyone has suggested that you, as a buyer, should be able to test drive the car alone." Not in this thread but if you search for buying tips, there are a lot of posts suggesting that you test drive the car alone. I agree that you need to assess each situation. I just think it's interesting how some suggest that you test drive a car alone when you are on the buying side and many suggest that you don't allow someone to test drive your car alone when you are on the selling side. We need to put ourselves in the shoes of the other person sometimes.

As a seller, I've let interested parties test drive my cars alone - but these were much lesser cars - VW Passats and a Mazda Protegee. However, I've always insisted that they leave me with their car keys as collateral... Luckily, I've never had anyone show up with such a junker that I was worried. If I ever sell the 996, it'll probably be a different story... When i was buying my 996, I drove several cars - both 993 and 996s. The seller always rode with me, and a few times drove first. I would also communicate with them - such as, "I'm going to be hard on the brakes now" or "Do you mind if I run it up to redline?". I was a serious buyer, but obviously didn't buy every car I test drove.

When I sold a Honda Civic in the past, I let the potential buyer test drive it alone. When I decide to sell the C4S, that will be another story. I don't want to hand over my keys to someone who has never driven a "Porsch" before...

well i broke every rule despite ya'lls best efforts to help me... guy showed up yesterday - we met at a busy neutral site - had his wife with him, seemed on the up and up. i let him and the wife take the car without me. all was fine. i think if the PPI goes well he'll buy it, but kept hearing you guy's advice in my head the whole time. gotta trust the gut. or it's better to be lucky than good...

When I lived in Hawaii, I bought a new car and was less than diligent about selling the old. After a month or so, I got off my *** to sell the car. A couple showed up, and I threw them the keys. They were gone for over an hour, at which point I was getting VERY nervous. Turns out that some ants had infested the car during the idle time and they pulled over to buy some bug spray. The wife wouldn't get back in the car until the ants were all dead. Upon return they bought the car.