Have you ever bought a brand new car without test driving it?

[gabster_26]

...and if so, why not?

I just want to know what the community thinks...I am finding it very hard to get test drives on the cars I am considering. So far I've managed to get test drives on the Tucson (Greenhills), Orlando (Shaw), and SX4 (Shaw). Sobrang hirap makakuha ng test drive sa CX-5 (Greenhills), Innova(Shaw), and Sportage (Greenhills/Makati).

- Some dealerships won't allow them without putting down a reservation on the car first
- A lot of them don't have vehicles available for test drives (oorderin pa raw, aabutin pa ng ilang linggo)
- Some of them don't allow test drives when it rains, or during the evening (want to test nighttime driving conditions)
- And they don't allow you to really test the car...ikot lang around the block.

I want to test drive every car I am considering. Kayo, if you really like the car and you've fully researched it (as in 100%, no stone unturned), would you buy it without test driving it? Sa lagay kasi ng mga test drive sa pilipinas, you can't really test drive it - as in test its brakes, speed, towing power, etc. - you can only test the feel of the ride, so I am wondering if it is really worth it (of course it is, but I just want to know your experiences).

Thanks guys

[April_Ryan]

I did!

8 years ago when I purchased my first car - a gen 2 RAV4. Why? I didn't know any better. Also, I was a new driver and I was too scared of driving then. He he. Di pa rin yata uso test drives dati.

Subaru is pretty good at allowing test drives of their cars for sale. Not sure if its among the brands you are considering.

[ghosthunter]

My brother and I did.... we bought a Merc E-class last year for our dad. Although we were able to see the display unit in the showroom, we never were able to get a test drive before buying.

[ghosthunter]

...and if so, why not?

I just want to know what the community thinks...I am finding it very hard to get test drives on the cars I am considering. So far I've managed to get test drives on the Tucson (Greenhills), Orlando (Shaw), and SX4 (Shaw). Sobrang hirap makakuha ng test drive sa CX-5 (Greenhills), Innova(Shaw), and Sportage (Greenhills/Makati).

- Some dealerships won't allow them without putting down a reservation on the car first
- A lot of them don't have vehicles available for test drives (oorderin pa raw, aabutin pa ng ilang linggo)
- Some of them don't allow test drives when it rains, or during the evening (want to test nighttime driving conditions)
- And they don't allow you to really test the car...ikot lang around the block.

I want to test drive every car I am considering. Kayo, if you really like the car and you've fully researched it (as in 100%, no stone unturned), would you buy it without test driving it? Sa lagay kasi ng mga test drive sa pilipinas, you can't really test drive it - as in test its brakes, speed, towing power, etc. - you can only test the feel of the ride, so I am wondering if it is really worth it (of course it is, but I just want to know your experiences).

Thanks guys

You can try reading up on test drive reviews done by local motoring journalists...

example: Test Drives

[Helios]

welcome *gabster_26 to tsikot. i could've test driven first like i would normally pero i was one of the first who placed an order for the '06 honda civic and since the supply<demand, it wasn't practical to see one in makati showroom, more so test drive one. nevertheless, i was happy with the purchase despite some known issues with the other units. go and (you should) do the test drive if it's possible

[BratPAQ]

depende rin kung gano mo ka-gusto ang kotse eh, in our case kasi reviews pa lang sa internet sold na kami, cheap sub-compact car, any cheaper we would end up with mini, nice fc, cheap maintenance, great discount. small percentage na lang ang chance magbago isip namin kung mag test drive man. besides our main concern is inherent problems on particular models of cars, which wont really show up sa test drive.

[blacksun25]

ganun naman talaga ang test drive dito sa atin, you don't get to drive the car to it's limits. you drive it just to get a general feel of the vehicle. most of the time, you just rely on other owner's feedback/ reviews to make an informed decision.

as for buying without test driving - yes i did. Got my Innova D4D Feb of last year and I have no regrets whatsoever. Inisip ko na lang sa dami ba naman ng tumatakbong Innova sa lansangan, di naman siguro sablay..

Good luck. Happy car hunting..

[gabster_26]

Thanks guys! My preferences are really the CX-5 and Sportage, but they're so hard to get test drives for. At least I know some of you didn't test drive before you purchased. The only thing you'll get nga out of a test drive here in the Philippines is a feel for the "hatak" and ride of the car, but not much else.

I also feel that since I was able to test the Tucson, I've pretty much test driven the Sportage as well...

[gabster_26]

I did!

8 years ago when I purchased my first car - a gen 2 RAV4. Why? I didn't know any better. Also, I was a new driver and I was too scared of driving then. He he. Di pa rin yata uso test drives dati.

Subaru is pretty good at allowing test drives of their cars for sale. Not sure if its among the brands you are considering.

Thanks for the heads up! I actually want to take a look at the XV so I'll do that sige

[m05tw4nt3d]

Since lumabas navara crush na crush ko talaga yun, so when the moment came na bibili na, walang test drive test drive bili agad. Hehe. So far no regrets naman sa performance

[CVT]

Kung wala kang ma-test drive, magbasa ka sa reviews tungkol sa brand/model(variant) ng kukunin mong sasakyan. Medyo tsambahan din na available ang eksatong variant ng sasakyan na gusto mong bilhin... Normally, nasa high-end ang mga test drive vehicles para ma-engganyo kang iyon na lang ang bilhin mo dahil kaunti na lang ang diperensiya ng presyo.

At least maupo ka lang sa driver's seat and assess kung ayos sa iyo ang taas ng upuan at comfortable ka sa posisyon ng instrument panel et al...

Yup, bought a couple of vehicles in the past na walang test drive-test drive (wala kasing variant na ganuon na test drive vehicle)... No regrets naman dahil maganda naman ang reviews sa kanila at ito ang naging basis ng aking purchase....

16.9K:spam:

[meledson]

Twice. Avanza and Innova.

Suwerte naman na hindi Lemons.

[Syuryuken]

Kung wala kang ma-test drive, magbasa ka sa reviews tungkol sa brand/model(variant) ng kukunin mong sasakyan. Medyo tsambahan din na available ang eksatong variant ng sasakyan na gusto mong bilhin... Normally, nasa high-end ang mga test drive vehicles para ma-engganyo kang iyon na lang ang bilhin mo dahil kaunti na lang ang diperensiya ng presyo.

At least maupo ka lang sa driver's seat and assess kung ayos sa iyo ang taas ng upuan at comfortable ka sa posisyon ng instrument panel et al...

Yup, bought a couple of vehicles in the past na walang test drive-test drive (wala kasing variant na ganuon na test drive vehicle)... No regrets naman dahil maganda naman ang reviews sa kanila at ito ang naging basis ng aking purchase....

16.9K:spam:

yaman ni ninong. lapit ng pasko yung regalo ko ninong ha.

[CVT]

^^^ Bro.syur,- nandito ka ba sa Pinas?

Dayuhin ka namin sa norte(tama ba?), at doon kami mamamasko....

Puro run-of-the-mill variants lang kasi ang kaya kong bilhin, kaya walang available na unit for test drive.... :hysterical:

17.0K:out:

[Noel Salisipan]

Thanks guys! My preferences are really the CX-5 and Sportage, but they're so hard to get test drives for. At least I know some of you didn't test drive before you purchased. The only thing you'll get nga out of a test drive here in the Philippines is a feel for the "hatak" and ride of the car, but not much else.

I also feel that since I was able to test the Tucson, I've pretty much test driven the Sportage as well...

Sa mga bagong car lalo na walang issue ang handling at comfort, ok lang na walang test drive. Importante makaupo ka driver's seat para maramdaman mo kung compatible ka sa upuan, steering, accessories...

Sa akin, mostly test drive bago ireceive yung car o bago ko iaabot ang check.

Pero sa case ng CX5 at sportage, I doubt na hindi mo magugustuhan ang handling after the test drive. Pwede mo ring I-PM yung mga owner sa thread nila para malaman mo mga pro & cons sa mga actual owner.

[ghosthunter]

Thanks guys! My preferences are really the CX-5 and Sportage, but they're so hard to get test drives for. At least I know some of you didn't test drive before you purchased. The only thing you'll get nga out of a test drive here in the Philippines is a feel for the "hatak" and ride of the car, but not much else.

I also feel that since I was able to test the Tucson, I've pretty much test driven the Sportage as well...

The CX-5 is a good car, having been able to test-drive it over a stormy weekend.

LINK: http://www.kotse.com/home/index.php/...-6mt-testdrive

[_Qwerty_]

yes, kasi di nag o offer nang test drive noon sa Avanza.. kaya basa basa lang.. then hintay nang ilang months bago bumili baka may mga lumabas na problema..

[baludoy]

dalawang beses na din siguro

the first instance was when we bought our '06 honda civic (fd) 2.0 s-l. pero todo research naman sa net at tanong-tanong albeit it was a relatively brand new release back then and units for this variant were kind of sparse.

the second was just recently when we purchased a montero gls-v. but i did test the ride of my tennis buddy's 2010 or 2011 montero (not sure) a few days before placing an order and paying for the unit so i guess technically it was a test drive in a round-about-sort-of-wayish

swerte naman at ok din kinalabasan

[IMm29]

Good question. Actually, come to think of it, of the cars that were purchased and passed thru me, I had only test driven one. And that test drive was not even c/o the casa, but via a good friend lending me his ride for about an hour while he was on a date. Hehehe!

So, my suggestion would be, look for a friend with that unit, or befriend someone with one. Hahaha!

The other cars did not have test drive units. Di pa uso at the time ang test drive units. Hehehe! Age showing. So research was mainly via visiting showrooms and riding inside them, buying imported car magazines (since the internet was not up and extensive yet), trying to talk to the random car owner at a gas station, accessories shop, driver's lounge, etc. When the internet was up and running, it took away the need for buying imported magazines. The rest, was a leap of faith.

Chose the Toyotas because of their reliability, in my experience. Chose the Ford for its heft and machismo, regretted its American reliability. Enjoyed the leaps and bounds improvement of the Grand Starex from previous models, but am feeling the more jarring ride. Hehehe! Oh well.

The Mazda Pasong Tamo branch has a CX5 test drive unit ready for use. A friend and I just walked in and got a test drive within 10 minutes. Try looking at other dealers as well. It might be farther or more out of the way, but if you really want it, you'll have to stretch out a bit.

[userfriendly]

Yung Innova namin di ko na test drive. I got the J model. 100% driver driven naman at wala akong balak i drive kaya inisip ko ok lang wag na mag test drive. At saka may innova ang sister ko so alam ko na rin ang performance at ride quality.