another s5 test drive with a slight twist

[Monizzle]

so my friend (who is 22) who owns a CL 55 AMG and I went to my local Audi dearlship where I am known by all the sales people for my frequent service visits and random bored trips to look and drive all the cars (but not buy), and normally I am shut down when it comes to higher end test drives, but today was a completely different story. We conducted the test at several dealerships to see who will see the biggest potential dollar signs in my friend, and to see what we would be able to drive. Naturally (as expected) at our first stop (the Audi dealership) we went in asking to drive the RS4 and S5, and after seeing what car we came in with, almost needless to say the answer was a resounding "yes!", but with a twist, the sales person wouldn't come with us on the test drive...HA! Experiment was a success at Audi. The S5 (white on amaretto) drove AMAZING with power in every gear (as we've all heard before), the brakes were on freakin' point where we almost questioned whether or not they were ceramic, and my god, what a sound what a feeling to actually be in the cockpit. Some guy and his girlfriend in a rebadged 325/330i with an ///M badge revved on us several times with that little cute mechanical sound their inline sixes make, only to have us respond with what sounded like an earth shaking choir from the depths of hell, which resulted in him quivering and pulling as far back as possible. My friend was sold. The CL 55 although a beast, was not a drivers car and since he tracks quite often he will be looking into that as his next car. Second was the Mercedes dealership, went in, asked for the third most expensive car on the lot which was a CL 63 AMG (146grand for some reason), got a test drive. As ugly as it is, the technology in it is just amazing, and my god did it drive like a bat out of hell! When you rev, the whole car feels like it wants to go in any possible direction it will be allowed to. If you are at a stop and rev hard, it wants to just fly straight up, power like that is just something else. Anyway, all in all it was a pretty successful experiment and my friend was completely sold on the S5, and when I thought I was already sold, the drive solidified it for me. The second I can, I will buy one.
We are going to continue the test later this week at several other high end Ferrari, Lambo/exotic dealerships and see what happens. I will keep you updated... possibly.

sorry no cliff notes

[khyber]

Lucky you. I do the opposite. Drive my $1k canyon beater and see what I can get test drives in. I show up in my 1992 Mazda Miata (which is yellow...) and it was a no go on the S5. Wonder why? I did get a test drive in a used RS4 though . Twice actually, at two different dealerships.
-Max

[minira]

nice, that's crazy all depends on what you drive in. keep us updated!

[Tiesto]

Great to know you got to go fuck around in someone eles's upcoming brand new not broken in yet $50,000+ car and they'll never even know.

[Rippin]

Great to know you got to go fuck around in someone eles's upcoming brand new not broken in yet $50,000+ car and they'll never even know.

Well, when you put it that way it sounds sooo evil...

And Monizzle, I agree with you whole-heartedly. Next car...S5!

[Monizzle]

Great to know you got to go fuck around in someone eles's upcoming brand new not broken in yet $50,000+ car and they'll never even know.

hmm..hard to detect the sarcasm in this statement, could go either way quite easily...but regardless, we didn't abuse the cars or drive them hard, but we drove them the way they are meant to be driven, and in the case of the MBZ's, will likely never be driven.

[khyber]

Great to know you got to go fuck around in someone eles's upcoming brand new not broken in yet $50,000+ car and they'll never even know.

Luckily they have a warranty to cover any problem they've got . Chill, it's ok. And if they can tell the difference besides seeing an extra few miles on the odometer, then all I have to say is wow. I'll give 'em a free punch in the face (my face, not their's ) if I fuck up their car. And on top of that, I'm pretty sure the dealership would tear you a nice new asshole if you messed up their brand new $50,000+ car so bad.

[AudiA4Style]

Got room for another person in your trips to the dealerships?!

How much are the S5s going for anyway?

[YelloJello]

Great to know you got to go fuck around in someone eles's upcoming brand new not broken in yet $50,000+ car and they'll never even know.

Gotta try before you buy!

[Monizzle]

Got room for another person in your trips to the dealerships?!

How much are the S5s going for anyway?

haha the s5's are going for around 60k still, the one we test drove had 400 miles on it going for 61k.

[raulg_usa]

haha the s5's are going for around 60k still, the one we test drove had 400 miles on it going for 61k.

400 miles? I don't think you guys were the only one test driving that car harder, in 400 miles there are quite a few others who pushed the car HARD.

What they should do is to have a car only for test drive, already broken in, so you don't feel bad you can't step on it. Actually when I test drove the S5 the guy told me I can push it harder, and I did. Also in the new C350, the dealer said I can try anything I want with the car. So, if they let you do it, why not? Not on the point of destruction, but you still need to step on it to feel the car for real, otherwise ... it's just an A5 not an S5.

[Monizzle]

400 miles? I don't think you guys were the only one test driving that car harder, in 400 miles there are quite a few others who pushed the car HARD.

What they should do is to have a car only for test drive, already broken in, so you don't feel bad you can't step on it. Actually when I test drove the S5 the guy told me I can push it harder, and I did. Also in the new C350, the dealer said I can try anything I want with the car. So, if they let you do it, why not? Not on the point of destruction, but you still need to step on it to feel the car for real, otherwise ... it's just an A5 not an S5.

exactly!

[burner799]

hmm..hard to detect the sarcasm in this statement, could go either way quite easily...but regardless, we didn't abuse the cars or drive them hard, but we drove them the way they are meant to be driven, and in the case of the MBZ's, will likely never be driven.

not true. I know an older cl63 owner, he rapes the shit out of his car. as do other benz owners in the area.

[Tiluleshpingen]

Great to know you got to go fuck around in someone eles's upcoming brand new not broken in yet $50,000+ car and they'll never even know.

those cars will never be sold as new, they will remain in dealers rooms for quiet a long time. later on then they will be poseted for sale as pre owned audi cars

[AUDITOPGUN]

so what dealer did you go test drive the car at

[audiwop]

so my friend (who is 22) who owns a CL 55 AMG and I went to my local Audi dearlship where I am known by all the sales people for my frequent service visits and random bored trips to look and drive all the cars (but not buy), and normally I am shut down when it comes to higher end test drives, but today was a completely different story. We conducted the test at several dealerships to see who will see the biggest potential dollar signs in my friend, and to see what we would be able to drive. Naturally (as expected) at our first stop (the Audi dealership) we went in asking to drive the RS4 and S5, and after seeing what car we came in with, almost needless to say the answer was a resounding "yes!", but with a twist, the sales person wouldn't come with us on the test drive...HA! Experiment was a success at Audi. The S5 (white on amaretto) drove AMAZING with power in every gear (as we've all heard before), the brakes were on freakin' point where we almost questioned whether or not they were ceramic, and my god, what a sound what a feeling to actually be in the cockpit. Some guy and his girlfriend in a rebadged 325/330i with an ///M badge revved on us several times with that little cute mechanical sound their inline sixes make, only to have us respond with what sounded like an earth shaking choir from the depths of hell, which resulted in him quivering and pulling as far back as possible. My friend was sold. The CL 55 although a beast, was not a drivers car and since he tracks quite often he will be looking into that as his next car. Second was the Mercedes dealership, went in, asked for the third most expensive car on the lot which was a CL 63 AMG (146grand for some reason), got a test drive. As ugly as it is, the technology in it is just amazing, and my god did it drive like a bat out of hell! When you rev, the whole car feels like it wants to go in any possible direction it will be allowed to. If you are at a stop and rev hard, it wants to just fly straight up, power like that is just something else. Anyway, all in all it was a pretty successful experiment and my friend was completely sold on the S5, and when I thought I was already sold, the drive solidified it for me. The second I can, I will buy one.
We are going to continue the test later this week at several other high end Ferrari, Lambo/exotic dealerships and see what happens. I will keep you updated... possibly.

sorry no cliff notes

Glad to hear your running experiments with guys who work for commision only.

[cellg8]

What do dealers say to you (in a polite way I assume) when they don't let you test-drive?

[ToMMyRsK04]

Glad to hear your running experiments with guys who work for commision only.

loll

[Monizzle]

What do dealers say to you (in a polite way I assume) when they don't let you test-drive?

two things, one. that hasn't happened yet,
and second regarding "guys who work on commission only", if you had read the post you'd know that they didn't do ANY "work" with us, they gave us the keys and let us go on our way, that and it was a weekday and the dealership was empty.

[audiwop]

two things, one. that hasn't happened yet,
and second regarding "guys who work on commission only", if you had read the post you'd know that they didn't do ANY "work" with us, they gave us the keys and let us go on our way, that and it was a weekday and the dealership was empty.

First off, I did read your post and know oh to well what you and your buddy were all about that day. You had ZERO intentions of buying a car or putting a deposit down to order one. What you seem to have over looked is the little fact that the saleman most likley works on a rotation system at his dealership. The only thing he achieved by taking you and your buddy as an UP, was risk. The minute he handed you the keys you were his customer and would have been prohibited to talk to other potential buyers. Second, had you have crashed the car, he most certainly would have been fired for lettting you go on a test drive without him. Third, once you left the dealership he was now at the back of the line and further away from making a sale. Contrary to popular belief car dealerships are not for Joyriding. And please don't give me any BS about needing to flogg the shit out of the car before you buy it. The only thing you wanted to see that day is if your buddies car could get you a test drive. And congrats, it did. Those guys at dealerships spend 10-14 hours a day just trying to make a living (regardless of how scummy you think they all are). They have a hard enough time trying to get someone who is actually in the market to buy, let alone go through UP after UP of young Kids who just want to get their rocks off.

[Monizzle]

^^not even going to read that whole thing, but i'm sure a lot of assumptions are involved, basically we didn't drive in a wreckless fashion, no one was on the road, my friend and i BOTH have intentions of buying another car soon (especially my friend, he wants a 6 spd again and the CL 55 just isn't cutting it in the fun factor department), so technically we are in the market to buy, the cars are both excellent, and finally i don't think ALL sales people are scummy but rather not play the game on their terms at any point.

[marcus1701]

well just to add my 2 cents salesman do work off of commission but many do well for themselves making close to 80grand/ year. If sales are slow one month there's a safety net where they get paid off of hours for the month. If Monizzle did crash the car I don't think the salesman would be fired, it could have been anybody's mistake. Also, I understand Monizzle had no intention of buying this car like many people in this world. Even so, dealerships hope to attract attention with a test drive because people tend to fall in love in a test drive. I frequently negotiate prices over the phone with a sales manager or show up in my beater. If the car you arrive in looks more expensive than the one your buying, people figure you're probably not in the market to buy. That's my strategy at least. What the salesman did was offer the keys to the car w/o him in it as a courtesy to show they trust him. As Monizzle said, both him and his friend were sold on the car. They would buy it if they could. So at least they drove it b/c they really liked it. Not to be dicks, hopefully. I don't think it's a big deal these guys got to drive a car w/o buying, but I know I limit myself on certain car's like the 08 M3 for fear of falling in love and doing something drastic like pull out a loan or trade in my car that day! I understand the issue is wasting the salesman's time, but really I think they are just wasting their own time because they're trotting around in a car they right now can't afford. Why do that to yourself?

[audiwop]

well just to add my 2 cents salesman do work off of commission but many do well for themselves making close to 80grand/ year. If sales are slow one month there's a safety net where they get paid off of hours for the month. If Monizzle did crash the car I don't think the salesman would be fired, it could have been anybody's mistake. Also, I understand Monizzle had no intention of buying this car like many people in this world. Even so, dealerships hope to attract attention with a test drive because people tend to fall in love in a test drive. I frequently negotiate prices over the phone with a sales manager or show up in my beater. If the car you arrive in looks more expensive than the one your buying, people figure you're probably not in the market to buy. That's my strategy at least. What the salesman did was offer the keys to the car w/o him in it as a courtesy to show they trust him. As Monizzle said, both him and his friend were sold on the car. They would buy it if they could. So at least they drove it b/c they really liked it. Not to be dicks, hopefully. I don't think it's a big deal these guys got to drive a car w/o buying, but I know I limit myself on certain car's like the 08 M3 for fear of falling in love and doing something drastic like pull out a loan or trade in my car that day! I understand the issue is wasting the salesman's time, but really I think they are just wasting their own time because they're trotting around in a car they right now can't afford. Why do that to yourself?

I agree with you on many points about the need to attrack customers, but he claims in his own post that all the saleman know he is always there asking to drive everything, but never buys. I sold cars for many years at an Audi dealer and can promiss you this, if a guy crashed a car because a salesman was not in it with him, that salesman would garanteed be held responsible. And as far as the salesman just being cool, I would lean more on the side of he didn't want to be jacked around. All they did was put him in a bad situation. If he thought they were serious, he would have driven with them and pointed out the stand out features on the car. Test drives are necessary, but he himself called the whole thing a test and experiment. That is vastly different from someone narrowing down a future purchase.

[Monizzle]

actually aside from the CL 63, the S5 is on my possible next cars list, and my friend certainly can afford one right now even with the terrible way they are currently leasing. the salesman knows me, i bring him customers all the time, the whole dealership knows this, they also know that i'm the one who is schooling them on future audi's, and technology/features in the cars so he knew i'd sell my friend on it better than he could. i've been offered a job by this dealer many a time because of this fact alone. experiment? yes. but doesn't mean we won't be seriously considering the cars.

[b4ds33d]

actually aside from the CL 63, the S5 is on my possible next cars list, and my friend certainly can afford one right now even with the terrible way they are currently leasing. the salesman knows me, i bring him customers all the time, the whole dealership knows this, they also know that i'm the one who is schooling them on future audi's, and technology/features in the cars so he knew i'd sell my friend on it better than he could. i've been offered a job by this dealer many a time because of this fact alone. experiment? yes. but doesn't mean we won't be seriously considering the cars.

a little in love with yourself are you? the fact you THINK you know more about their cars than they do is complete bullshit. they get training on those cors on shit you dont even know about. sure, you prolly know a few off the wall facts about an audi they could care less about, way to go internet hero.

[kevin12]

a little in love with yourself are you? the fact you THINK you know more about their cars than they do is complete bullshit. they get training on those cors on shit you dont even know about. sure, you prolly know a few off the wall facts about an audi they could care less about, way to go internet hero.

Thats pretty much the stupidest thing I ever heard because almost every new car that I've purchased and also when I've gone with friends and relatives to help them out, I already know everything the salesman tells me and usually more. I even most the time end up correcting the salesman about different things. Its just knowing what your talking about and being experienced. I don't think in anyway he's in love with himself, he is just very knowledgeable about automobiles and something I also consider myself.

[Audi05s4]

what a epic tale

[Monizzle]

a little in love with yourself are you? the fact you THINK you know more about their cars than they do is complete bullshit. they get training on those cors on shit you dont even know about. sure, you prolly know a few off the wall facts about an audi they could care less about, way to go internet hero.

ahh, assumptions.
you don't know me, and for the record I DO know more than 99% of the sales people i've talked to, and I visit dealerships frequently, i'm the person people goto when they want to buy a car and not get fucked by the dealerships bs tactics. So way to go internet douchebag.



p.s
Here is where you go e-thug.

[Monizzle]

Thats pretty much the stupidest thing I ever heard because almost every new car that I've purchased and also when I've gone with friends and relatives to help them out, I already know everything the salesman tells me and usually more. I even most the time end up correcting the salesman about different things. Its just knowing what your talking about and being experienced. I don't think in anyway he's in love with himself, he is just very knowledgeable about automobiles and something I also consider myself.

thank you sir.
b4ds33d is probably the type of person that goes into a dealership without any questions or knowledge, asks what car he should buy online in internet forums, and pays mark-up.
How's THAT for assuming you know someone!

[Cargo8]

I went to a local mercedes dealership recently. I test drove an E63 without the salesguy, although we are very close with him and own 4 cars bought from him already. Although I agree with someone that you really never know what kind of driving the first few miles were on that "new" car you bought off the lot were. Unfortunate. in any case, we actually applied for a dealer transfer e63 that day. I kind of disagree on your stance of test driving them for test driving them and getting to romp on them. At least consider buying it in the NEAR future. As in you're looking for a car to buy very soon and get rid of your car, IMHO, not oh if I get a new car soon, which i might or might not, this could be it maybe... sorry.

[AUDITOPGUN]

HI MONIZZLE SO IF YOU ARE SO SMART WHY DON'T you get a job selling the cars and what dealer do you do this so i can tell my friends not to go there Mr Audi Specialist

[jloh]

ahh, assumptions.
you don't know me, and for the record I DO know more than 99% of the sales people i've talked to, and I visit dealerships frequently, i'm the person people goto when they want to buy a car and not get fucked by the dealerships bs tactics. So way to go internet douchebag.

So what? what does this have to do with beating on cars you personally have no intention of buying?, because as you were saying you were "experimenting" with a way to get test-drives in fast cars.

[Sizzle]

Read through all the drama and I don't think it's cool at all to do experiments just for the heck of it, but if you can get away with it then good for you I guess. I think it's pretty immature to be honest.

I am curious as to why you called the brown S5 interior "Amaretto" with your vast knowledge of the Audi brand.....

[s vier]

well just to add my 2 cents salesman do work off of commission but many do well for themselves making close to 80grand/ year. If sales are slow one month there's a safety net where they get paid off of hours for the month. If Monizzle did crash the car I don't think the salesman would be fired, it could have been anybody's mistake. Also, I understand Monizzle had no intention of buying this car like many people in this world. Even so, dealerships hope to attract attention with a test drive because people tend to fall in love in a test drive. I frequently negotiate prices over the phone with a sales manager or show up in my beater. If the car you arrive in looks more expensive than the one your buying, people figure you're probably not in the market to buy. That's my strategy at least. What the salesman did was offer the keys to the car w/o him in it as a courtesy to show they trust him. As Monizzle said, both him and his friend were sold on the car. They would buy it if they could. So at least they drove it b/c they really liked it. Not to be dicks, hopefully. I don't think it's a big deal these guys got to drive a car w/o buying, but I know I limit myself on certain car's like the 08 M3 for fear of falling in love and doing something drastic like pull out a loan or trade in my car that day! I understand the issue is wasting the salesman's time, but really I think they are just wasting their own time because they're trotting around in a car they right now can't afford. Why do that to yourself?

Please allow me, an Audi Brand Specialist, clear up a few misconceptions:

#1.) We are 100% COMMISSION always, everyday, every month. Come September-October and Jan-March when no one buys cars guess what? We don't make much. During the good months 80k salaries used to exist but have gone away over the last decade. A GOOD salesman might pull 40-50k now.

#2.) I go on ALL test drives. Policy. If I gave you the keys to an S5 and stayed behind you wouldn't have to crash it for me to get fired. You showing up without me would have been enough to do that.

#3.) If the car you arrive in is more valuable than the one you are looking at I assume nothing. What's there to assume? You are smart with money and don't need to buy "up".

#4.) We see it all. We know when you are lying. We know when you think we're lying. Sometimes it is just easier to humor someone and give them the "show" knowing that not much will come out of it.

#5.) Maybe I'm different. I see body language as a better gauge of what your intentions are at the moment than what you say to me. Walking through the lot with our hands in your pockets and looking indiscriminently at A3's-R8's? Guess what, I know you're just looking. I'm still going to see if you have questions.

#6.) What's that,? 4 kids getting out of a yellow SRT-4,? no we do not have any R8's in stock for you to drive. If we did have an R8 in stock you would likely not be able to drive it. We're not having trouble selling them since we get 2 and both went for $30K over MSRP. (This leads me to another possible "misconception"; we don't see a penny of the $30k over MSRP. The owner "packs" cars like that. Pack = keeps profit over MSRP.)

#7.) Friends. Don't bring them. 95% of guys with a buddy or two girls out on a nice day will never be there to buy a car. I understand it. You're bored and we sell shinny Audi's, Maybachs, Porsche's, Astons, BMW's and Mercedes. It's fun. But guess what? I am funding your good time. There is a reason I don't call up realtors to schedule showings of mansions on lakes that I cannot and will not ever buy. It is their job to show the place yes, do but it is my job as a courtious person NOT to waste there time.

#8.) An S5 with 400 miles will not be sold as a "Used" car. It will be sold as new with a slightly larger discount than a typical zero mileage car. I have NEVER had anyone beat on a car on a test drive and I would feel very comfortable picking up one of our "demo" cars.

#9.) To the guy who said that it was fine for the S5 to be beaten on because whoever gets it will have a warranty; I give you a truly heart felt......Fuck you.....

On that note;

[Tiesto]

#6.) What's that,? 4 kids getting out of a yellow SRT-4,? no we do not have any R8's in stock for you to drive.

[Noffy]

Please allow me, an Audi Brand Specialist, clear up a few misconceptions:

#1.) We are 100% COMMISSION always, everyday, every month. Come September-October and Jan-March when no one buys cars guess what? We don't make much. During the good months 80k salaries used to exist but have gone away over the last decade. A GOOD salesman might pull 40-50k now.

#2.) I go on ALL test drives. Policy. If I gave you the keys to an S5 and stayed behind you wouldn't have to crash it for me to get fired. You showing up without me would have been enough to do that.

#3.) If the car you arrive in is more valuable than the one you are looking at I assume nothing. What's there to assume? You are smart with money and don't need to buy "up".

#4.) We see it all. We know when you are lying. We know when you think we're lying. Sometimes it is just easier to humor someone and give them the "show" knowing that not much will come out of it.

#5.) Maybe I'm different. I see body language as a better gauge of what your intentions are at the moment than what you say to me. Walking through the lot with our hands in your pockets and looking indiscriminently at A3's-R8's? Guess what, I know you're just looking. I'm still going to see if you have questions.

#6.) What's that,? 4 kids getting out of a yellow SRT-4,? no we do not have any R8's in stock for you to drive. If we did have an R8 in stock you would likely not be able to drive it. We're not having trouble selling them since we get 2 and both went for $30K over MSRP. (This leads me to another possible "misconception"; we don't see a penny of the $30k over MSRP. The owner "packs" cars like that. Pack = keeps profit over MSRP.)

#7.) Friends. Don't bring them. 95% of guys with a buddy or two girls out on a nice day will never be there to buy a car. I understand it. You're bored and we sell shinny Audi's, Maybachs, Porsche's, Astons, BMW's and Mercedes. It's fun. But guess what? I am funding your good time. There is a reason I don't call up realtors to schedule showings of mansions on lakes that I cannot and will not ever buy. It is their job to show the place yes, do but it is my job as a courtious person NOT to waste there time.

#8.) An S5 with 400 miles will not be sold as a "Used" car. It will be sold as new with a slightly larger discount than a typical zero mileage car. I have NEVER had anyone beat on a car on a test drive and I would feel very comfortable picking up one of our "demo" cars.

#9.) To the guy who said that it was fine for the S5 to be beaten on because whoever gets it will have a warranty; I give you a truly heart felt......Fuck you.....

On that note;

You would agree that sometimes someone comes out to the lot to test drive a nice car and does end up loving it some much tat they buy. I know it happens because I have done it. I go out to Audi and bmw quite a bit to look at the new cars and check them out. Sometimes I ask for a test drive sometimes I don't. Most of the time I have no intention of buying a car. But when I going to buy a car it is those dealerships that have treated me nicely and give me test drives that I return to to buy from.

[s vier]

Yes I would agree. The points I made had nothing to do with that. I was addressing someone elses points.

[SoleMate]

It still amazes me the difference in people between the Audi and Mercedes crowds/foums!

But good on you, I wish I could test drive an S5! Amazing ride I'm sure.

[khyber]

#9.) To the guy who said that it was fine for the S5 to be beaten on because whoever gets it will have a warranty; I give you a truly heart felt......Fuck you.....

On that note;

Wow. Well same to you, my friend. You clearly can't read. Keep your crude, immature comments to yourself unless you've really taken everything into account. Go re-read my comment, and then keep your mouth shut because you clearly don't know what you're talking about, dolt. Thank you though, Mr. Audi Brand Specialist, for clearing up all our misconceptions, as we are merely Audi Brand Drivers. We know nothing compared to your vast knowledge.

[s vier]

If that's not what you meant then re explain it differently. I read it 5 times now and keep getting the same unfortunate message. And the "everything" I needed to take into account.....I have no idea what that means. As far as being called a "dolt" goes, I am somewhat impressed. The term "dolt" comes up so rarely that you would think only a true word-smith would be able to conger it up in an appropriate manner. Kudos to you sir!

Finally, you gained my utmost respect with your final sentence. I do, in fact, know more about my job than even a large collection of people who have never done it.

Food for thought;

I use plumbing. Daily. So do my friends. How about we gather up all we think we know about plumbing between us and find a plumber and tell him what's what with his job. Maybe said plumber would correct a few "facts" for our knowledge and understanding.