In response to Larry let me reiterate that I was referring only to the used car lot. I have had nothing but positive experiences and great service in the new car area of The Collection and have been able to drive anything I wanted. Also, I did order my new 991 from a different dealer because The Collection refused to move off MSRP and I got a 3% discount elsewhere. It was nothing personal and I would have gladly bought the car at The Collection had they showed some flexibility. When I went to the used car lot both the turbo and the GT3 were priced in the high 80's so I knew the ball park of the price was acceptable and it was just a matter of seeing which car I liked better. The only way to do that given the completely different nature of the GT3 and turbo, neither of which I have ever driven, was to drive both. I drove to the dealer in my 997.2 so regardless of how I was dressed they could clearly see I was a serious buyer. I stand by my original point that it is bad business for a dealer to not allow test drives much less to existing customers. Again, in fairness I did get a call 3 days later and they apologized profusely and offered to flat bed both cars to my home for me to drive until my hearts content. The reason for my post was that my friend who just bought a Cayenne at another dealer was also refused the opportunity for a test drive at The Collections USED car lot so in spite of my experience the policy or at the least the behavior of the sales staff has not changed.that any buyer should be allowed to drive any car the

 

At age 23, I bought a brand new Honda S2000 and had a hard time getting a test drive from the dealership. I can somewhat understand given it was the sportiest car at a Honda dealership and had a lot of teenagers and 20-something followers who couldn't afford it but just wanted joy rides. However, signing papers before a test drive? That's ridiculous. After some hassle, I got the test drive and bought the car.

At age 27, I went to the local Porsche dealer who let me test drive a pre-owned 997 C2S by myself, no questions asked. Quite a difference, but I think there's a lot of variables that determine whether or not a dealership profiles clients for test drives...cleint's age, appearance, and current vehicle, but also the dealership's inventory - used vs. new and whether the car you want to drive is considered exclusive in comparison to other cars on the lot.

Remember it works both ways. I sure as hell wouldn't want to buy a car (used or new) that every Joe Blow who stopped by has taken for a joy ride!

 

No disrespect intended, but this is one of the very best examples of why Demos are BAD news. I remember driving an S with PDK and about 160 on the od when they first came out. Salesman knew me from previous purchases, went along on the test drive, and encouraged me to run the crap out of it including several launches. Told him when we were done that I felt sorry for the the poor b...ard who bought this when it had 1000 miles on it and thought he was getting a good deal.

 

This was how I was dressed the day I bought my last car from them two years ago . (jeans and T shirt) . https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...f-my-face.html

 

Yes, but you still look rich!

 

Well, after analyzing your pictures I come to realize the mistake the OP made when looking for his car and I'm surprised I didn't come to this conclusion quicker. Perhaps it was the dark side of the force that was clouding my thoughts.

Nonetheless, the big mistake the OP made when showing up to buy/drive the P-cars is that he did not bring his beautiful girlfriend/wife with him to properly distract the sales person and allow himself an enjoyable buying experience.

OP Take you wife/girlfriend with you tomorrow to look at the same cars and get back to us with your experience.

 

Flew in for a test drive from the other side of the country after putting down a deposit, we went for a 15min ride, the salesperson kept looking on his watch.
Ridiculous, but hey I knew I was buying the car anyways. I never really felt a 911 until I owned it
Gosh I love my 911

 

I haven't read this entire thread. I don't respond well to others trying to manipulate, strong arm, or force me to do anything that I don't want to. But if the salesman wanted you to agree on a price first before a test drive and if you absolutely positively wanted to test drive a car at that very moment and no other car would do, then I would have just agreed to pay full sticker. He wanted a number, so I would just give him one. Just don't sign anything. I would take that used car out for a long test drive (after all, you have conditionally agreed to pay sticker price), and then walk away/seriously talk numbers.

These salesmen think they are so smart, but 6speeders are smart too.

 

Hm.. well I guess I have no problem with that policy. I can work with that. I'd proceed, and rightly so, to say, "OK, I will offer you, for a used car that hasn't been mechanically inspected, verified as being an undamaged and authentic Porsche nor test driven to verify its function and my taste of its feel.... I'll commit to buy it for $5,000.00 cash". I think that's a fair price for the unknown item in the Porsche shaped box on the lot.

 

Exactly. No dealer would accept on trade in, any vehicle they do not test drive themselves - to verify the mechanical condition.

Why would they hold us to a different standard?

New car? Okay - but even then. Maybe I've never driven a 991 GT3 (obviously none of us have), and I'm curious what I'm about to spend $100k+ on. Instead of showing up here on 6speed complaining about the stiff suspension that my wife realized she didn't like.

 

The whole "you gotta look rich" mentality to get good service at ANY dealership is a stereotype IMO. Yes, there are salespeople out there that pre-qualify every person that walks in the door. However, there are also many good salespeople (that typically work at higher end dealerships) that do not.

My sales guy has told me stories of guys that pull in a Honda Accord and trade it in on a Porsche. Conversely, he's seen guys pull up in Lambo's that simply want to joy ride.

If you're a commissioned sales person I have no idea why you would want to pre-qualify someone based on their appearance. Same goes for servers at restaurants - YOU WORK ON COMMISSION! Why act like an *** when ONLY a positive outcome (happy customer) PUTS MONEY IN YOUR POCKET?

 

As I said in a previous post, I do think a lot of salespeople are just bad at their jobs and push legitimate customers away.

And I think customer profiling is a subtle thing. Depends not just on how one is dressed (I'm always super casual on weekends), but also age, demeanor, whether you bring your spouse with you, etc.

 

I'm a dealer and a vendor on this site. Anytime we have a client interested in a car we BCA (Borrowed Car Agreement) to them for 24 hours.

Our goal is to have you fall in love with the car. It works most of the time. I'm lucky to work at a dealership that really does treat the customers like they want to be treated.

 

Honestly, I don't know the fix for this problem. I haven't had many problems with porsche, but I experienced major problems at BMW dealerships.

My typical experience is that people will think that I am just there for a joy ride. They will bring the car to amuse me and let me sit in it but really they have no intentions of letting take it out for a test drive. But when I ask intelligent questions, then they realize that I am serious and their whole demeanor changes. Other times, salesmen will realize I have money (something clicks in their head) and then they take me seriously. But there are times where salesmen (specifically BMW ones in socal) don't realize it until I refuse a test drive and go to other dealerships. Then I will receive calls from the sales manager apologizing or get an offer to some garbage catered lunch/dinner at the dealership. By that time, they lost my business. I have better things to do that to sit in their car, eat their free garbage food, or drink their cheap wine.

 

It's just the nature of the business and (for most of us) it's tough to process how these salespeople would let a qualified buyer walk. I'm with the majority here in that my attitude is if you want to dick me around and treat me like a second class citizen I'll walk and find another dealer. I couldn't care less about having to flash a Panerai on my wrist or make sure they see me pull up in a nice car to get their attention. I simply walk away.

These stories reminded me of one of my negative experiences at the BMW dealership here in Atlanta (the largest or one of the largest in the world actually). The guy tells me that there's no test drives on a USED M6 (I was looking at a new one but tried to bargain to get a feel for the car). I politely thanked him for his time, mentioned that I never had that issue with the last BMW I purchased from them (my old sales girl had left) or the Mini Cooper S I bought my wife at their sister dealer, and walked out the door.