StangMahn

So yesterday, I went to my local Ford dealership; I really wanted to take my first test drive of a 2007 Mustang. I go out there, and the salesman comes and talks to me about the car, he was wrong on several different parts of the car, as all of them seem to be. I really hate having to correct them. A minute or two into the conversation he asked me how old I was, I told him 18. My birthday was a little over a month ago. So he kept talking to me, and talking to me, and eventually said "well, I'd let you go for a test drive, but you have to be 21 to test drive a Mustang." I said "are you serious?" He said it was an insurace thing. That really made me angry, I kind of feel like my time was wasted there, and besides that, at age 18 you are a fully fledged adult responsible for your actions, so why would you not be able to take a simple test drive? I mean, seriously, noone would drive a car at like 100 mph with the guy sitting there, I wouldnt anyway, Im usually the guy that is holding up traffic by doing right around the speed limit. If that wasnt irritating enough, he kept trying to sell me the car! He said, you can have one of your parents come out and drive it for you. I told him flatly "there's absolutely no way that I would sign a contract to pay $30k for a car, and not drive it first." After that I just left. I dont think that it would be their insurance paying for it anyway, in the case of an accident. Is this just plain and simple , or is this true at all Ford dealerships? I know its not true at every dealership, because I took a test drive today, as I am trying to find a decently priced used car for the moment.

By the way, I think Vapor may be one of my favorite new colors.

ShowGT

If you have a valid license and current insurance there should not have been an issue.

StangMahn

I do, on both accounts, and it's not like a stock Stang has that much power. I could see if it was a friggin Ferrari or Mercedes or something like that...still not really though.

codeman94

I test drove cars all the time in college....its was my hobby....most of them freshman year...including a 2005 Mustang GT......He's full of it...he just assumed you were not going to buy and blew you off so you wouldnt waist his time.....which on one point, I can understand.....but seriously....its WAY RUDE for him to do that....and you might be super rich and want to pay cash for the thing and he would have just lost a sale........

StangMahn

^haha
It wouldnt have been so bad if he didnt keep talking about it, and suggest that I have a parent drive the car for me.

97svtgoin05gt

Some dealers treat you this way at your age. I had it done to me as well. Just go somewhere else.

rocket88

He could have offered to take you for a ride in it if it was in fact against policy to let you drive it. I've had dealers do that to me with Vette's.

RedDragon777

that is pure BS man, i test drove my first 05 mustang when i was 16 and bought one the month after my birthday when i turned 18 even test drove a Shelby GT and a GT500 a few months ago so they can not say you have to be 21. He probly thought you were not going to buy one. I say when you buy one drive over to that dealership and ask to test drive another mustang and if they say no then tell them "well then how did i test drive and buy this and pay the whole thing in cash" that is how i got one of the dealerships that treated me like $hit. I also caught a dealership charging $18k extra for a Shelby GT

MustangLynda

Get your car someplace else and then let them know their STUPID policy lost them a sale. I mean really, how much damage can you do with someone sitting in the car with you?

Martimus

Its quite possible that the dealership DOES have a policy regarding test drives for folks under 21 years of age. It's also possible that the salesman either had something else to do or was simply too lazy to take you on the test drive. Which scenario really doesn't matter... what matters is that you simply blow off this stealership and go elsewhere! There are lots of other Ford shops that would be happy to have your business...

DarkFireGT

More than likely the salesman didn't think an 18 year old would be able to really get the car.

I had a similar experience. I had just purchased my '03 GT, it was maybe 3 months old. The Goat had come out recently, and thought I'd go test drive it. I told the guy where I worked, so he knew I made good money. We told him it'd be mostly the old lady's car. I kept hinting at driving it. Finally, he took me into his office and wanted to run numbers. I told him I wouldn't talk about buying anything I hadn't driven, and he told me to come back when I changed my mind. When I bought my '03, I pulled up in a POS '89 Mustang LX vert, rusted out and full of crap. I knew I had no chance of test driving one. But this time I pulled up in pretty much a brand new car and the guy knew I made money. I never went back there. Funny thing is, 1 year later, I pulled into a different dealer with my g/f's '95 Aurora, and the salesman did everything he could to get my test drive my Magnum R/T. Same thing happened with my other 2 Mustangs. There's just some dealers like that, and you have to avoid them. If they treat you like that, what's their shop like?

JonW

So you wanted to test-drive a car that you had no intention of buying? I wouldn't let you drive it, either. That car is going to be someone's new car. So why should you feel like you should be able to put miles on it? Maybe you should look at it from that point of view, rather than your point of view of just wanting to take a joyride.

Silver99v6

Some salesmen are like that. One day I went to a dealer looking at Vettes, and the guy didn't ever offer a test drive, and two weeks later I wen't back and another salesman insisted on letting me drive. The look on the other salesman's face was priceless as I drove by him.

MustangLynda

Yeah I guess if there was no intention of buying the car that's not cool. It is wasted miles on a new car, but also the dealer's stock is an asset and they must hate it when people come in and want to waste away miles on assets they need to sell.

futuresvt

I'm pushing 30, look much closer to 20, probably make more than the dealership manager and still get this BS unless I come in wearing my work suit and tie.

I use the experience to weed out the good dealers and bad dealers.

Good companies know, and teach their employees, that everyone's money is green and looks the same in a bank account, regardless of how old they are...

Its just one of those ****ty things you have to live with...

StangMahn

Well, this particular dealer has about 15 Mustangs sitting there, have been for the better part of 2 months, they wont be sold anytime soon, cuz those guys are major jerks, most of them. They had an 05 Vista Blue Stang there for well over a year. I personally want to drive one, before I waste alot of time actually looking for one. I could buy a SN95, and almost did, but luckily, Ive driven one of those, and found out that I am too tall, and the car is not comfortable to me.

MustangLynda

Well yeah, if you're considering buying one of course you should be able to test drive one!

StangMahn

Well, of course I am, this is the car of my dreams! I'd take a Corvette over one, sure, but just so I could sell it for 60k, buy a Stang, put on 25k in mods, and smoke the same Corvette!

JonW

Well, when you're truly ready to buy, by all means go in and ask for a test drive. Most dealerships require that the salesman go with you, so don't take offense at that. But in all fairness, test drive the car that you have a genuine interest in buying. And you're right. If they treat you bad, so somewhere else. I'm 52 years old, and I've had the worst sales experiences at Ford dealerships.

ShowGT

Vista Blue did not come out until 2006