How far would you drive to Test Drive a Renaultsport?

[The Boosh!]

Hello!

Really quick, simple question. IF you were in the Market to buy a New Renaultsport car, how far would you drive to test drive that vehicle, and speak to someone who knew the product inside and out?

Cheers!

 

[BoatNonce]

I live next to a pretty big main dealer so I'd hope they had RS models!

 

[The Boosh!]

I live next to a pretty big main dealer so I'd hope they had RS models!

Chances are, they don't! (at the moment).
Unless you live next to Wakefield. Regardless of that - how far WOULD you drive?

 

[Lal B3N]

If you could guarantee the dealership actually knew anything about the RS and they were going to let you take it out on a decent test drive, not just a lets go to the end of the road and turn back and it was the car I was 100% in the market for I would happily drive over 2 hours for it.

But chances are most of them haven't a clue and a test drive is generally a quick lap around the block.

 

[coverman]

Well, I'd certainly drive as far as Wakefield, as I only live in Leeds.
This reminds me of when I was considering buying a new Honda Oddysey in about 2000, couldn't find one anywhere to view in a showroom let alone test drive., and the dealers seriously expected me to buy a reasonably pricey car from the brochure , Happened to be in Tampa Fla the following week and even though he new I wouldn't be buying from him because we'd already established that he would lose his franchise if he ordered a UK spec car, the Honda dealer showed me all round the car,and offered me a choice of no less than 150 from stock,and then let me take 7 of us on a test drive in a vain search of a hill to confirm my suspicions(confirmed) about the 16V engine flexibility of a fully loaded vehicle.( I had just done 450,000 miles in a petrol Espace in the previous 9 years so was bored and looking for something different).Bought a Mazda diesel in the end, lasting only 268,000 miles over 7 years, at which point I sold it for scrap after the head gasket went on the motorway, the pumping pressure then blowing the radiator to pieces, all in the seconds it took to get onto the hard shoulder and switch off .

 

[TheEvilGiraffe]

I'd like to drive it as far as possibly really...

I've driven cars before and for a five minute jaunt, they're OK .. but on longer journeys things are annoying - comfort based or something like that. Things you can't figure out in 5 minutes that become apparent after half an hour or a week of driving a new vehicle.

 

[The Chubby Pirate]

I'd like to drive it as far as possibly really...

I've driven cars before and for a five minute jaunt, they're OK .. but on longer journeys things are annoying - comfort based or something like that. Things you can't figure out in 5 minutes that become apparent after half an hour or a week of driving a new vehicle.

I think he meant how far would you drive to a dealer to drive an RS model, not how long you'd drive the test car for lol. 🙈

 

[levaz]

Not specifically for an RS, but for any car I'd say around an hour travel time tops.
I'm probably restricting my choices a little, but say its an hour each way, plus a decent test drive, sales splat etc you're looking at taking 3 hours out of your day as a minimum

 

[DrR]

Hmmm I bought my ST without a test drive and my Leon FR without one. So if I was buying brand new I probably wouldn't even test drive it. I base it all on reviews tbh.

 

[TheEvilGiraffe]

I think he meant how far would you drive to a dealer to drive an RS model, not how long you'd drive the test car for lol. 🙈

Whups.
Luckily for me, my local RS dealer is almost a stones throw away from my house :grin:

 

[coverman]

I would never buy new or used without a test drive. I rejected the idea of a new Daihatsu after a 10 minute drive as the seat was the most uncomiortable I've ever experienced, previously and since. Made the salesman drive it back.

 

[The Boosh!]

Keep them coming in thank you guys

 

[withoutabix]

I'll happily drive upto an hour but I'd expect the sales person to really know there stuff, I find it very embarrassing sitting with a salesman and trying to talk about the car to find them try and bumble there way through the product and in all honestly not know what there talking about! They should know the cars inside out and be willing to bend over backwards to grab your attention.

 

[Sir_Dave]

I'll happily drive upto an hour but I'd expect the sales person to really know there stuff, I find it very embarrassing sitting with a salesman and trying to talk about the car to find them try and bumble there way through the product and in all honestly not know what there talking about! They should know the cars inside out and be willing to bend over backwards to grab your attention.

This always happens tbh, primarily as a car geek you will have researched the sh1t out of that specific car before going to look, whereas the sales bloke "theoretically" knows a little about the whole range. Id travel up to an hour, but there is a Renault dealer in Weybridge (SMC) who i could use, if they actually had a RenaultSport and i was interested in buying one again. Which currently, im not.

 

[BoatNonce]

Is it too much to ask for me to book a test drive say a week in advance, and the demo car be delivered to my local dealer?

I wouldn't even mind paying the fuel for that.

 

[cat171]

Up to an hour if I was pretty certain I'd be getting it.

 

[-Jamie-]

I drove over 4 and a half hours to test drive/buy my Megane, I hadn't even driven one before that.

TBH if you know anything about cars then you should know how good an RS is and what to expect, I went all the way down south never even having sat in a RS250 but had done my research properly.

 

[dann2707]

I drove 3 and a half hours to look at mine :O

 

[JD_RS172]

I live about 2 minutes from the Renault garage in Wakefield and to be honest at the moment they don't have much in and haven't for a while. I sometimes call in to see what they have.

A couple of years ago they used to have plenty but seems to have died down. They had a V6 in not too long back. It was in terrible condition.

I'd probably travel anywhere in the country for the right car to be fair. We are pretty lucky in the fact we live in a shoebox size country. Doesn't take long to get anywhere. What's a 10 hour round trip for the car that could be right or 3 hours round trip for something that's not quite right?

 

[Matt W]

There are two renaults within 40 minutes of me, both of them refused to let me test drive a 200 EDC though. The one salesman said 'it's like your current 200 but loads faster so you don't really need a test drive'.
Good selling.

 

[Rob]

I've noticed similar attitudes Matt, used to turn up in my ph1 and I'd get told it wasn't available for test drive unless I had a deposit ready, or had no fuel, or was basically the same engine or imilar things. It's like Renault dealers think people are coming for a jolly when they ask to test drive a Renault sport. If I asked to drive a diesel Megane I bet they'd be fine.

In direct response to the question, I'd be happy to drive an hour if i was assured it'd be more than 5 minutes and I'd actually be able to get a feel for the car.

 

[Knuckles]

Hello!

Really quick, simple question. IF you were in the Market to buy a New Renaultsport car, how far would you drive to test drive that vehicle, and speak to someone who knew the product inside and out?

Cheers!

There should be a RenaultSport 'specialist' at every dealer imo.

But because there isn't, there are barely people who know 'this is a RS!' Id drive up to an hour. Because that's how far basically everywhere is from me lol.

 

[levaz]

I'll happily drive upto an hour but I'd expect the sales person to really know there stuff, I find it very embarrassing sitting with a salesman and trying to talk about the car to find them try and bumble there way through the product and in all honestly not know what there talking about! They should know the cars inside out and be willing to bend over backwards to grab your attention.

Like the guy selling the £1.2m supercars on that documentary, but for 100x less money

 

[ilovewilly]

I assume Renault are asking you to gather this info? Are they intending to limit the number of dealers who offer the RS range?

 

[dmallett]

I wouldn't drive far, however I'd drive 4hours to pick up a s**t ph1.

This says volumes about my mentality lol

 

[withoutabix]

This always happens tbh, primarily as a car geek you will have researched the sh1t out of that specific car before going to look, whereas the sales bloke "theoretically" knows a little about the whole range. Id travel up to an hour, but there is a Renault dealer in Weybridge (SMC) who i could use, if they actually had a RenaultSport and i was interested in buying one again. Which currently, im not.

Oh I do understand that they have to spread there knowledge but its not like Renault have a huge range of models to contend with.. can't imagine what its like to sell BMW's for example after what @Daniel posted on his thread must be a mine field try to talk about them to customers but Renault i don't believe they should have that problem.

Would be interesting to know if BMW have a dedicated M/// salesperson at most stores?

They must be able to get a dedicated RS person in each store especially in the larger RS approved dealerships or what ever they call them that actually can tell the difference between cup packed car etc

 

[Gally]

I think getting a test drive should maybe be Renault's first port of call. I can only remember one guy on here when the MK4 RS was released getting an actual test drive without handing over a decent deposit. Utterly stupid on such a unique car that isn't even close to a MK3.

 

[...]

i would expect Renault to do as all other manufacturers have on my new car purchases and that is get a car to my door or to my nearest dealer without fail .
if they didn't i'd seriously be looking at another brand .

I also consider those that offer 24 or 48hr test drives are likely to actually get my business , you will find nothing about your purchase in 20 minutes with it .

all in my opinion of course but its not been a problem so far when selecting new cars .

 

[brisa4984]

it depends on the deal offered for me.

 

[Mikeyjp]

I would not Base my decision on time I would Base it on miles, a lot of things can change that would effect journey time

 

[Daniel]

Oh I do understand that they have to spread there knowledge but its not like Renault have a huge range of models to contend with.. can't imagine what its like to sell BMW's for example after what @Daniel posted on his thread must be a mine field try to talk about them to customers but Renault i don't believe they should have that problem.

Would be interesting to know if BMW have a dedicated M/// salesperson at most stores?

They must be able to get a dedicated RS person in each store especially in the larger RS approved dealerships or what ever they call them that actually can tell the difference between cup packed car etc

Every BMW has at least one M specialist. We have 2 because we're cool.

 

[JD_RS172]

To be fair I took a 265 out at Wakefield with not issues. Just turned up in my Meg. He looks at my car and me, I think this was a compatibility check haha.

Before I bought my Megane though I took a 197 out. The guy knew nothing about the car, I knew more from extensive research and he wouldn't let me give it any boot. He said " you can drive it when you buy it ".

 

[Matt W]

i would expect Renault to do as all other manufacturers have on my new car purchases and that is get a car to my door or to my nearest dealer without fail .
if they didn't i'd seriously be looking at another brand .

I also consider those that offer 24 or 48hr test drives are likely to actually get my business , you will find nothing about your purchase in 20 minutes with it .

all in my opinion of course but its not been a problem so far when selecting new cars .

Then there's no way you'd be buying a renault then.
I wasn't even allowed a test drive of a clio until I was driving away in my new car ffs!

 

[...]

Then there's no way you'd be buying a renault then.
I wasn't even allowed a test drive of a clio until I was driving away in my new car ffs!

If that was their attitude then i would head straight to renault uk

No problem ever getting at least a 24hr drive though audi in the past have been difficult

 

[raptor600]

I couldn't get a test drive anywhere so ended up getting a Golf GTD instead.

 

[FatRS]

Personally I think a brand like Renault needs be local, same as the brand I sell of Ford. (I appreciate the additional brand of Renaultsport, but many still know it as Renault and the diamond on the front). People refer to it as an everyday, bread and butter brand so will expect each dealer to have one. If not, the normal, non enthusiast buyer will simply go to another brand and will likely never approach Renault again.
Buyers can be fickle. I see buyers that have tried a different brand, not been able to see a car and some in to us saupying that brand has effectively lost their business and wont go back. I'm sure I've been on the receiving end previously.
End result, for mass buyers, it needs to be local.
Enthusiast buyers, can't take the risk and expect everyone to do an hour or 2 hour drive. You run the risk of diluting the brand.

 

[CapitalC]

New here, as a soon to be owner,but thought i would add my comments. Really wanted a 220 Trophy and have today drove hour and half to drive the car, and boy it was worth it, and all the rubbish spouted about the gearbox is rubbish.I would also be surprised that many people have actually driven the car as apparently the first batch of dealers cars have only just started arriving and i was one of the first at Masters in Beckenham to try one. Apparently only 20 dealers have opted into being specialists because of the limited numbers built and sold. So i voted with my wheels and bought with my head and heart not opinions of armchair experts that probably couldn't afford one anyway.Will upload a pic when its on the drive.

 

[BoatNonce]

The gearbox comments are generally directed at the normal 200, not the 220 trophy.

Look forward to pics!

 

[CapitalC]

Thanks, but we all know all about the armchair experts who know so much and are already slating the car because of the badge.Think its going to be about a two month long wait.They posted this
https://www.facebook.com/MastersRenault

 

[chaski]

I'd driver over an hour. Possibly even over two if I was really keen. If I wasn't allowed to test drive it it probably wouldn't leave the house for it though. Would never even consider spending a large sum of money on something I wasn't allowed to try out before buying.