My Review: 2010 Camaro SS

[MX793]

Making commitment to buy before test driving is the ultimate paradox.  Why would I bother wasting my time test driving if I'm already sure I'm going to buy the car?

Honestly if some dealer said that to me I'd definitely tell them I'm definitely going to buy it, then test drive the FUCK out of the car, and then tell them to fuck off.

I agree.  The first dealership said something to the effect of "we only let people who are serious about buying this car test drive it", at which point I walked and will never go back (to that dealership or any other owned by the same parent company since I've been treated poorly at a couple of their dealerships).  I was very tempted to say "what a coincidence, I only buy cars from dealerships that are serious about selling me one", but I held my tongue.  With a bit of arm-twisting, I did get the second dealership to let me take it on the road, but they only let me take it a mile up the highway and back (which really wasn't enough to get much of a measure of the car).

Chevy dealer seemed pretty willing to let me drive a Camaro, but between the piss-poor visibility I found in the car I sat in in the showroom and a salesman I didn't particularly care for, I opted to just walk away.  Maybe when the temperature gets above freezing again, I'll venture back and see about driving one.

[GoCougs]

Sounds like the dealers in your area need to get a reality check.  This is a Camaro, not a Ferrari.

That would piss me off to no end.  For me, a car that doesn't get test driven doesn't get bought.  I don't remember anything similar when I test drove vettes.  I guess they didn't have that no test drives policy on used vettes, but even then a salesmen offered a test drive in the then new C6 for comparison purposes.

Maybe Camaros are still rare in your area.  The local dealership around here has a ton of them piled up and some salesman suggests I take a look at a Camaro and take it for a spin everytime I take the vette in for an oil change (my ramps aren't low profile enough, and I don't feel like buying new ones for a once in a year event)

Or, maybe I just looked real shady...

These guys had only four on the lot (all new), and only 1 V8 6sp (small dealership).

Again, this was through a guy I kinda new who invited for me to test drive both, so it was a known fact I wasn't buying.

[Rich]

I got the same treatment from the dealer in Utica, NY.  I sent an e-mail the the Chevrolet dealer in Boise about what happened in NY and that they wouldn't make a sale unless I could test drive it, and the Boise dealer had no problem with me test driving one.

I felt bad for the nicer dealers (Boise Mazda) that let me take take the car out for as long as I wanted with no pressure, but I needed to know if I enjoyed driving the car or not

[Raza]

LOL - Romper Room and Straw Man Cometh. Nice work guys.

Anywho, I gots stymied for the test drive. Apparently, now they have a policy that unless you're ready to write a check there are no Camaro test drives. Reasoning is that their inventory is too small and the interest too high which was putting too many miles on their Camaros. Turns out they've always had this policy for the Corvette. I think that's been their policy all along, and this "contact" was just talking big about letting me take either for a spin.

As to testing driving other cars just for the heck of it we'll see. This place was really close and I thought I had a good line on getting an easy test drive. Oh, well. Some other time.

Too bad you're not around here.  I picked up lunch around a local super dealer, and they had a half dozen visible (4 SSs, at least) from across the street; where they usually don't put large quantities of stock (they're kept on the other side). 

[Raza]

Dealers where I am are the same way about many cars (though not the Camaro, surprisingly).  I had two Hyundai dealerships tell me that I couldn't test drive a Genesis without making a commitment to buy first.

Any time I get that, I counter with something a bit more eloquent than "fuck you", but the effect is about the same.  A simple "I'm not putting any money anywhere or signing anything without a test drive" and turning around gets their attention.  I once had a dealership pull out an STI from the showroom to give me a test drive.