I am in the market to buy a new car and one in my list is the Camaro. I got a chance to test drive the auto in the texas state fair, but I really want to test drive a manual before I make a decision. I contacted my local chevy dealer and they said they had one, I expecified I wanted to test drive it. Once I get there, the car is an automatic and he goes to tell me that they do not allow test drives. Who would buy a new car without test driving it first? I understand they wish to keep the miles low, but their logic makes no sense at all.

Two weeks ago I test drove a Porsche Cayman S, another car in my list and I did not get any hassle. Weeks before that I drove a Jaguar XKR and I did not get any hassle and the story goes the same way with other manufactures with the exception of Chevrolet and a terrible experience in Toyota. I love the Camaro, but if I am going to have to deal with these kinds of people it is not worth my time.

I know that I am ranting and I am sorry, but it is not so much that I am pissed, it is that my heart is broken knowing that the future of the camaro is in the hands of such dealerships.

 

Do you have any other Chevrolet dealers in your area that you could contact?

 

Let us know where you are at. I am sure we could find you a dealer who actually wants to sell you a car.

-Geoff

 

I live north east of Dallas, the described dealership was Lakeside Chevrolet in Rockwall. I pick that one because it is close to work. I am thinking of maybe giving Reliable Chevrolet in Richardson a try.

-RAR

 

Long drive, but Eric Hall at Classic Chevrolet in Grapevine is who you want.

 

It's dealers like this that Chevrolet wonders why the Mustang outsold them for the year (see other thread). I know GM supposedly has no control but come on already. I can see why people walk out of these places with some of these dealers.......................

 

you have a porsche and jag on your list with the camaro?
i bought my car and didnt test drive it. i didnt even know exactly how it looked before i bought it. just one of those things. people still think the car is so new and rare that they arent letting people test drive them. my dealership was the same way when they first got their cars on the lot. some places let you and some dont. because if you didnt buy that car after driving it, and they let everyone and their mother test drive it, who wants to buy a new camaro that has hundreds of test drive miles on it? just because someone wanted to see how it drive? not knowing if they are serious to buy or not. i totally understand dealerships doing this.

 

 

That is B.S.

It is called a demo car. Dealer doesn't want to let me drive a car before making a $30K purchasing decision then they will not get my business period. Not acceptable.

 

I wouldn't dream of buying a car without a test drive. Demo cars exist for this reason.

 

I bought the SS without ever driving a SS... i did drive the V6 before.. but that really doesn't count... lol

 

Are you serious? Because comparing 9 months to 12 months of production is pretty meaningless. Camaro has outsold Mustang 7 months in a row.

-Geoff

 

Yeah, I am considering Porsche, BMW, Jaguar and Infiniti. I believe that Chevrolet has closed the gap between quality and peformance and that cross shopping with those brands is not out of the ordinary. The Camaro team has done a great job.

With regards to demo cars, I did not drive demo cars in the previosly stated places, I drove a similar car to what I was considering.

I do understand that the dealership wants to keep the miles low in the car, but when I submitted my request to test drive the vehicle from the chevrolet website, I tough that it was clear that I was a true shopper. If a shopper comes and drives a camaro in a small loop, he will probably add one mile to the car, if one shopper comes every day of the year, he will add 365 miles, which is still relatively low for a new car.

At the end of the day, when you are buying for anything, let's say jeans, you look at them, try them on, and if they fit, you buy them. Why is it that when buying a 38,000 dollar car it is not even allowed to try it on and take it for a spin.

 

You may want to report this dealer to the main GM headquarters as they may have a few thoughts about their dealers not giving test rides.

 

I've tough about it since I did it via Chevrolet.com and it would directly affect GM internet business practices.

I just do not know who to contact or if they can do anything about it. I remember the dealership having a proud banner saying GM kept them back when dealerships were being closed, also part of the reason I started with them since I figured they may be good. I guess some bad ones got in there too.