hotrdd911

When seeling your baby how have others went about weeding out the test pilots. THe last few times I sold a decent car everyone seems to come out of the wood work. I had one fellow steal the owners manuals etc. IDEAS? Would charging a test drive fee hurt or be a good idea?

InTheAir

Insist that you accompany them on the test drive.

Ritter v4.0

My ads usually say at the bottom:
"No test pilots"

My wife said you can't say that, and I say watch me. -I'm not kidding.

Less calls (good) and tends to weed out the pilots (they know they've been fingered).

porschedog

Simple solution: Go with.

chris walrod

Charge a test drive fee, and the fee is refunded upon purchase..

hotrdd911

I live in a small town and am not even considering selling it here since I've never even seen another Porsche around let alone in town. I have a feeling that I'd get more "test pilots" than the usual. What do you think a fair "Test drive" price is worth?, towards the purchase. HEck I'll even give them the money back if I think their serious.

Marc Shaw

Advertise on eBay for wider exposure too.

I live in a small town too - whenever my car is parked at my friend's (non-Porsche) dealership, he gets a dozen your guys in asking for a "test drive"....they never ask the year, price, mileage. Just ask for a test drive.

I would think you could weed out the test pilots based on gut instinct of the person -- not to disparage young people, but not many late teens/early twenty year old guys could afford a 911.

Personally, if I were a serious buyer, a "test drive fee" would make me look elsewhere right away.

Marc

Ritter v4.0

Test pilots still waste time if you go for a drive with them. Sure, they can't thrash it but its a total waste of time and more than a nuisance.

Weed them out early on the phone if you can. If your car is worth your asking price (I'm sure it is) and the guy is serious he will not be disuaded by some questioning from you.

Jack of Hearts

when I sold my '72 911T one couple came over to drive it. I stuffed the wife in the back, explaining that I would drive away from the house and show them the car first, then he could drive back.

If you know the early cars first is on a dogleg off to the left. With practice one-two shifts are no problem. If you don't know what you are doing you go one-four and the car falls on its face.

I wound the car up sportingly for them and showed them it was quite easy to drive fast and smooth. Then I let him drive, warning him about the gearbox and that he might want to shift slowly until he got the hang of it. Instead he wound it up in first, then stuffed it in fourth--twice. I didn't have to say a word. With his wife bitching at him from the back he meekly drove back to my house, disappeared never to be seen again.

I drive out, show them the car.

They can drive back.

With the 993, if I ever sell, I will also take a digital pic of the plate on the car they drove up in as well as xerox their license. In fact, since this is LA, I may run them thru Nexis Peoplefinder too....

Mark in Baltimore

A test drive fee would dissuade me from even considering purchasing a car. As far as selling, I always go with the buyer and would never considering letting them drive without me.

epj993

Same here. I find I can weed out 99% of the bozos on the phone before even getting to the test drive stage.

mborkow

the last car i sold (craigslist), i let the couple test drive, but they also arrived with a certified check for the full amount of the vehicle (and even so, i still road with them).

ca993twin

I think Eric is correct... you can ask questions on the phone to get a good feel for their rediness to make a purchase:
"If you like the car, are your ready to buy?"
"Do you have your financing all lined up? Who is financing?"
"What are you driving now?"
"Do you need to sell that car first?"
"Have you driven any 911's before? Which ones?"
"How skillful are you with a clutch?"
"Will you bring a deposit with you, if you want the car?"
"Do you need help finding a place to do the inspection?"

etc.

Good luck.

Bull

I have never had a problem if I go with them. I always impress upon them that wasting my time is not a good thing to do, then a few questions qualifies them. Has worked for many years.

If I was buying, a seller charging a fee for a test drive would have me moving on quickly, allowing them time to get over themselves!

Lawrence_P

I was selling a 914 in Chicago, in 1984. Fella calls (he was, IIRC the only one) and asks about the car. Says it is a possible anniversary present for his wife and comes by. We chat about the car for an hour, he looks it over and we go for a ride. He is pleased but wants to think about it. He calls twice or three times over the next week and asks questions, and mentions that he really thinks it is a great idea but it is too much money and too out there to do as a surprise, so he wants to return with the missus. He does, we all chat, spend another half hour looking at the car and I let them go for a test together. They never return.

The look on the insurance adjuster's face when I tell him the story was priceless.