7 Tips For Your Test Drive: Why You Should Always Drive It Before You Buy It

The most important part of purchasing an automobile is to participate in a thorough demonstration drive and ride of any vehicle you are considering purchasing. Many people, however, aren’t sure what a test drive should consist of or what the should actually be looking for while test driving a car. with this in mind I am going to step out of my role as auto dealer and step into the shoes of an auto consumer to tell you how tyo perform the ideal test drive that will guarantee you get in your new car purchase what you are expecting to get from your new car purchase.

Here are 7 tips for your test drive that should help to make sure you actually get to know the car before you make the purchase.

Test Drive Tip # 1

Never buy a vehicle from anyone until you have driven the vehicle at the very least 15 to 20 miles. Just driving the car, crossover, SUV, truck or van around the corner could come back to haunt you. 15 miles is an absolute, bare bones minimum for a test drive. I recommend you take it on a 200 to 300 mile test drive.

Test Drive Tip # 2

If you are looking for a new car, your best bet is to go a national car rental agency and rent and drive what you are thinking of purchasing over a weekend. At the Tulsa airport you will find your best rates are for weekends. So rent a car for a weekend day and then drive the car everywhere between Tulsa and Bartlesville and simulate every possible driving, stopping, starting, parking, back-road, highway, scenario you can think of.

Test Drive Tip # 3

Take this vehicle on your daily routine. Make a note of what you like most and what you like the least. Drive it. Park it. Back it up. Get Gas. (Is the gas tank on the left side or the right side? can you live with that) Go to Mall. Go to Price Tower and try one of those tiny narrow parking spaces. How easy is it to park?

Go to the grocery store or hardware store and experience the ease or hassle of loading and unloading groceries or lawn equipment. Go through your favorite drive thru and make sure everything is comfortable and within reach

How is the visibility backing out of that space in a busy parking lot? Give it a workout.

Test Drive Tip # 4

This is an important one. After all this driving, how do you feel? Did you just give this vehicle a work-out or did the vehicle give you a work-out? How are the seats, the contour, the lumbar support, the leg room, the hip room? Are the seats easy to adjust? Do you get the proper height? How is the visibility over the steering wheel? How the visibility out the rear? Is there a blind side? How easy are the gauges to read during the day? At night?

Test Drive Tip # 5

Creature Comforts. Take your time before you drive off to check out all of the knobs, window and mirror controls, lights, windshield blades, washers, high-beam, low beam, horn, gear shift, parking brake and release controls for doors, gas cap and rear doors or gate if necessary. Ask your self if it all will be easy to control while you’re driving? Is it within reach for your height and stretch? Is it comfortable and safe to control?

Test Drive Tip # 6

Let’s say you have opted for the 6 cylinder instead of the eight cylinder. How is the pickup and acceleration? Can you live with that? How about the wind noise? How about the engine noise? How does it handle those potholes or bumps in the road? Next check out the radius in turning. How much more or less room do you need for making a turn. This is of particular importance where it is legal to make U-turns.

Test Drive Tip # 7

Now it is time to come finally visit your dealership of choice. If you are interested in a Ford, Mercury Lincoln or Toyota you will be standing in one of the showrooms of the Doenges family of dealerships. By this time you will probably have a good idea of the Make, Model, Trim, and Option Package and color your want. This is what you need to do next. Ask your sales consultant to take you on a two leg test drive and demo.

On the first leg of the test drive let the salesperson drive first. Request he or she tell you as much as they can about the Safety, Performance, Appearance, Comfort, Convenience Dependability and Economy of the vehicle that they know of while, they are driving. Pay attention to what they say. Did they perhaps mention something you had not thought of during your rental experience? And then next soak it all in from the passenger seat. How is it from that perspective?

After all of this, the total experience should come together for you. If you like it. Buy it. You will be glad you did.

For more information please contact Brad Doenges of Doenges Ford Lincoln Mercury Toyota in Bartlesville Oklahoma at (918) 333-0900.

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