damn, some crazy stories. i look young, but i was able to take a test drive on a brand new '04 with no probs at all. the secretary was a bitch telling me no salesman was available, and to wait, yet when i said i had to be at work, she found a salesman real quick. anyway, to make a long story short...the dealer wanted me to take it for a test drive. we took it out and he was telling me to redline it so i could feel the VTEC kick in. i didn't let him down we were doing about 90mph and he still wanted me to take it further. great salesman, but i didn't want an S2K that day, just wanted to see if i liked the car, and i fell in love with it. I also took an STi out for a test drive last year. 1 dealership told me NO Subaru dealerships allow the STi for a test drive...i guess all but 1

 

Well i called ahead today talked to a guy and he said if i put down 2grand deposit i could test drive the car.
i went down there and the guy wasnt there soo i talked to the manager and he said there wasnt any ones i could test drive. They only had one and it was in the show room

i live in Edmonton Alberta

So i drove over to the subaru dealership and check for STIs
but they didnt have any

I tried another honda dealer but they gave me the same bullshit

I think i may just put a Deposit on a 2006 STI instead.. they were alot nicer to me then the honda guys which is odd.

 

I too live in Edmonton Alberta and i went to test drive a 2004 S2000 and they said the same things to me so i went and test drove a STI and man that car can move!

 

and u got a s2000 then ? rather then STI?

 

It is unfortunate that you do not have a wider selection of Honda dealers to choose from. Here in Pensacola the local dealer was only interested in selling what was on the lot, and I had to have yellow. After going to the Honda site and building one, I received the location of three other dealers within driving distance that had what I wanted in stock. One of the dealers in Alabama even offered to bring it to me to test drive. I ended up going to Panama City. The one they had only had 18 miles on the OD and was inside on the show room floor. This was the second time the Pensacola dealer lost a new car sale to me this year. An '04 Accord for my youngest daughter and the '04 S2000 for me.

 

Any great salesperson knows that you can never judge a potential buyer by thier appearance. Your experience is from the twighlight zone. I would call Honda and report the dealer, advise them that you are a serious buyer and that you were hindered by the dealer...

I wouldn't blame you for never going back to that dealer. The first time I drove my S2K I drove about 6 other car, when I asked to driive another, they hesitated. The guy at the dealership asked me if I was going to buy the car I wanted to drive (It was a Lexus) I couldn't beleive it. I told him, "I don't know, I haven't even driven it yet!"

I went back the next week and bought my S2K. The sales guy said I made him work for it.
I know it's not a house, but still, it's a lot of money. Take your time and dont take any crap! You don't have to jump into bed with the first car you drive.

I played 2 dealers off of each other to get the deal and the financing I wanted. I took my time and did my research, and it's all good now. I got what I wanted for the right price, with the right financing.

Good Luck!
Colleen

 

this is true and false too.
if you roll in with a shitty car you should dress like a professional. the salesman has to judge you on something. it's human nature. but if you drive in with a nice car you can dress like a bum. i've been to ferrari/asto martin/etc dealers and the buyers dress like scumbags
if you parents have a nice car like a benz/bmw, doesn't hurt to roll in just to save time. they are human.

 

me...no no i wish i had the cash .....still saving up...i guess i'll just have to borrow my friends S2000 lol till i get my own....i can't wait till that day comes lol

 

If you want to test drive a fancy car, show up with your checkbook in your hand and you'll just about have any car salesman drooling.

If the salesman throws the credit score BS (do not let them run your credit score), say, "I'm a cash buyer and I brought my check book. Is this a dealership that I can do business with? Do you expect me to buy a car here without test driving it?"

Give them the same BS they throw at you. If you're not going to buy it, have some consideration and go to the dealership at a slow time of the work week. You shouldn't pull a salesman away from making a living at peak times because you want a joy ride.

There's been a couple of times I went a dealership and they knew I wasn't a buyer but the saleman just wanted to go out for a spin vs. sitting on his ass at slow point of the day.