Ask To Extend Your Test Drive If You Haven't Thoroughly Assessed These Areas
Posted on: 23 June 2017
When you test drive a vehicle that you're thinking about buying, you might find that the salesperson who rides with you will give you an approximate amount of time for the test drive. For example, he or she may suggest that the test drive should last between 15 and 20 minutes. It's fine to spend this long in the vehicle but still not be ready to make up your mind about buying it. You can conclude the test drive and return home to evaluate what you've just experienced — and schedule a second test drive another day if you'd like. Or, you can ask to exceed the salesperson's suggested time and continue driving. Feel free to do so if you haven't yet assessed these things.
Highway Driving
A test drive can fly past before you get a chance to experience driving on the highway. Or, you might only have time to travel on the highway from one exit to the next. This won't give you enough information to make up your mind about how the vehicle performs on the highway. You'll want to extend the test drive and travel farther on the highway so that you can effectively check how stable the vehicle feel, how quiet it is, and how well you can see as you change lanes.
Comfort
Nearly any car can feel comfortable when you sit in the driver's seat for just a handful of minutes. However, a short test drive won't necessarily be enough to allow you to truly assess the comfort of the vehicle you're thinking about buying. If you're the type of person who has a bad back, for example, and you get sore in certain seating situations, you'll definitely want to extend your test drive to give yourself more time in the driver's seat. The longer you spend, the easier you'll be able to tell if the seat is comfortable enough to suit you.
Response
It can take a little time to get a feel for how the vehicle responds during your test drive, depending on the road conditions. For example, you don't want to formulate an opinion about the vehicle until you're able to accelerate sharply a handful of times and brake hard — and doing so may be difficult if the roads are full of traffic. Extending the test drive so that you can travel to some areas of the city (or even just outside the city) that aren't as busy will allow you to test the vehicle in the above manner.
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