Katie22

I stopped at the dealership in Melborne Florida and wanted to take a 3lt z51 for a test drive. The sales people told me that in order to do that one has to be committed to buy the car. He further said that that involved applying for a loan and all that as if I was wanting a loan or something.

Needless to say I was a bit miffed and explained I would put 1000 down to drive it and take one of his vultures with me..........

So needless to say are there dealerships that allow a gal or guy for that matter to test drive one of these cars so as to help one make a decision on buying this car?

Katie

promocop

Had the same thing happen to me in Socal. So, I bought a car from a dealer in Bismarck, ND. Great experience, saved loads of money. There guys have no clue. Call Don at Puklich Chevrolet. Easy

rcooper

I don't live in Fla. but others have talked about Stingray Chevrolet being a good dealer. Might look them up on the net. Somewhere in Fla.

Katie22

I forgot to say that the two sales people acted like these cars were some sort of master work of art and that they cant have test drive miles added to them. I responded by saying I can go drive a Jaguar or Cadillac and they would not bat an eye. I was annoyed with the whole thing. Especially since I was offering to take his vulture salesperson along with me.......

runner61627

If you are close to one of the Forum dealers or another volume dealer, they usually have no issue with a test drive - and without anything more than a valid drivers license. The smaller corvette volume dealers are very protective of putting miles on their cars. I am about 100 miles from Kerbeck and went there to look and test drive a vette. No issues and subsequently ordered one exactly how I wanted it (at a discount).

Gymbow

I think that's fairly normal with Vette's. My local dealer wouldn't let me drive a brand new one, but they let me drive one of their used ones. That was fine by me as it told me all I needed to know about the car.

Note, I ordered mine from a forum dealer (McMulkin) and had it delivered to a courtesy dealer (not the same one where I did the test drive as they would not do the courtesy delivery). Saved a LOT by doing it this way and only took less than 5 weeks from order to pick-up in South FL.

promocop

You can see that many GUYS here have had the same issues, so its not just a GAL thing. To hell with them, at the end of the day, you will most likely never see the salesperson again anyway. My car was shipped in PERFECT condition, no fuss, no muss. Easy to do business over the internet. As you are on the East coast, I hear the folks at Kerbeck are great to deal with and they can send the car down the coast to FLA

PapaLeo67

That sucks... Stingray Chevrolet is great and they have the best selection. I bought from Ferman Chevrolet, and they FORCED me to take a free test drive!!! LOL
They even had the car set aside with my VIP name on it before I arrived.

Now, go buy one somewhere else and take it to this dealer for service!!! Be sure the sales manager knows you had to buy it somewhere else.

Katie22

Thank you all. I am really trying to do research. I got enough no loan money to buy a c5 or c6 and a c5 would probably make me very happy. I simply should actually drive a new one and determine if I just want to save more money and wait to buy one of these.

I have NO desire to get a loan since I am debt free...........

EcoBrick Bob

Stingray Chevy is in Plant City by Tampa. Bought my15' Vette there from J.C. Benitez. They have up to $8,000.00 off plus up to $2,000.00 GM $$$ currently.

Also, Hendrick Chevy here in Naples has over 100 16's in stock.

ViewSonic

Welcome to GM and Corvettes. That's the lame policy most Chevy dealers have. They want you to just buy a $70k car WITHOUT a test drive.

I can go to a BMW or Mercedes dealer and test drive a $100k+ car without any deposits or problems. Just a quick run of my license and I get a pair of keys or keyfob

GM thinks the Corvette is made of glass and it cannot be test driven. That is what makes GM so lame. In one instance they act like the Corvette is priceless and then in another instance they act like it is just another cheap Chevy product when they hand it off to be serviced by some 19 year old kid.

L8ter

You probably should not drive a new one if you want to remain debt free.
The C7 is a very enticing vehicle.

If however you decide you have to taste it, both Stingray and Ferman were very easy to work with, as far as test drives go. Ferman let me test drive a Z06.

The_Gretz

As others have said, Stingray Chevrolet in Plant City is awesome and not really that far from you. Call and talk to Sean McCann. He's a great guy: very friendly, knowledgeable, and professional. I had the same experience with other dealers as you did, Katie. I called Sean and he was happy to let me test drive a Z06 and a Z51. When it came time to decide on a color he waited around for me to stare at them for what probably seemed like hours and was happy to do it. I am the type that does a ton of research and has to make sure every detail is covered and while other dealers might get exasperated by that, Sean just smiles and does everything he can to help. I seriously can't recommend Stingray or Sean enough.

wonka12_98

At least you had a possibility of driving the car. I bought from McMulkin Chevrolet and they informed me they don't allow test drives but I can always rent one from somebody. California dealerships are also the same way. I remembered when the C7 first came out lots of dealerships here wouldn't even let people sit in them.

owc6

That's too bad that they treated you like this. The car (model) is almost three years old, so this is crazy possessiveness of the dealer, and that dealer just lost a potential sale.

At this point, unless you want to test drive a Z06, that is just BS. Even then, if they have one and you appear serious, they should let you drive it. I bought a C6 Z06 after a test drive lark (w/o any regrets), so it does happen.

Even if you are a girl.

Chiefkat50

Momentum Chevrolet in San Jose Ca insisted I test drive my 2016 3LT Z51 A8.

///ADMAN

If you drive there in a Corvette you'll probably have better luck. If not, just go rent one for the day at Enterprise Exotics.
That is what I did for my extended test drive. Funny thing, I didn't really like it at first. But, I bought one anyway.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...est-drive.html

Vetteman Jack

Yes, there are dealerships out there that will not let you take a test drive without jumping through a lot of hoops. They would lose my business very quickly.

05XLRtoC7_San Diego

Same thing happened to me in SoCal- went to 3 dealerships that would not let me drive the car.
Bob Stall Chevrolet stated "We have sold 250 C7s, and not a SINGLE person drove before buying."
Jimmie Johnson's wouldn't even let me test-drive a USED C7 with 15k miles. Their advice was "You can rent from Enterprise for $400 a day if you want to try it."
City Chevrolet let me press the ignition button to hear the engine, but I wasn't allowed to move it.

RIDICULOUS. I test-drove a $105k Jaguar F-Type, V12 Aston Martin DB9 and Rapide, Audi R8, etc with no issues at all from the dealers.
Finally found a 4th dealership in San Diego (Courtesy Chevrolet)- and they said "Sure- you can drive whatever you want in order to make your decision."
Compared the 7 speed manual coupe to the automatic convertible, and figured out what I preferred the most. Placed my custom order and gave my deposit check immediately after the test-drive.

My advice is to just keep calling around until you find a place that will let you testdrive. Give your business to them!!!

JameyTurner

Go to another dealer. If you purchase there, drive it back to dealer that wouldn't let you test drive it, walk in and ask for the owner &/or sales person and walk them out to your new car and simply say "THIS is what happens when you let me test drive a car", thank them for their time and leave with a smile on your face!!!