so i went to the dealer today to check out the BROAD selection of Z's they had. and after a few mins of ********tin w/ the salesman i ask him if they had one available for a test drive. he said they require a credit check for a test drive. i mean damn, i know the Z is a nice car and all, but its not a ferrari. i told him im not gonna buy a car w/o driving it first and im not gonna let them run a credit check if im not planning on buying it yet. he said "sorry bud, its company policy" until im serious about buying it then no credit check. plus ive heard that when companies check your credit it actually hurts the rating a little bit. have yall had to go throught the same ****, or did the dealer just say "ok" and let you take one out?? i mean hell, i test drove a rx8 w/o any problem and that was maybe a month after they came out.

 

I had that BS at one dealer, too. I walked and bought a couple of weeks later at another more helpful dealer.

 

My dealer did a credit check on me before letting me test drive my Z. I think it was a good practice because you don't want punks lining up wanting to drive the car just because it looks cool. If you're a serious buyer, let them spend a few minutes running the check. No free lunch....you have to give before u take....applies to anything.

 

You are correct. The reason why it's a bad idea is because any time someone besides yourself does a credit check, your FICO score drops. So if you go to 10 dealerships and every one runs a check on you when you test drive a car, your credit rating will be low enough that theoretically a dealership could ding you with higher interest rates if you decide to finance a car. Not to mention the other bad stuff that comes with a lower FICO score.

Sounds like the dealer is giving you a load of BS. There is absolutely NO reason why a dealership needs to run a credit check on anyone for a test drive.

Another thing I've read about to watch out for is when the dealer asks for your driver's license and/or social security card so they can "photocopy" it before your test drive. Apparently some dealerships have been caught running unauthorized credit checks using that information. Apparently a way to fight this is to bring your own photocopy, with the words "I DO NOT AUTHORIZE THE BEARER OF THIS COPY TO RUN A CREDIT CHECK" printed on it, and if they still do it, you can open up a nice can of lawsuit whoopass on them.

 

Anytime someone checks your credit it will hurt your credit history minorly. But it still hurts so I am very cautious about that.

They tell you they need to run a credit check you tell them to have a nice day and go somewhere else. All they should need is a copy of your license and a copy of full coverage auto insurance.

I've been to some dealerships that asked for contact info, current vehicle's info, etc., etc. I told them that I was only interested in a test drive right now and was not going give up that information. I proceeded to tell them after the test drive if I'm interested THEN we can talk business. If the dealership has enough confidence in their product, then they should not object.

 

You would think nobody every buys a car with cash anymore, either. It happens.

 

thx for the info fellas. im gonna try another dealership next week when i go back home to charlotte. im pretty sure i want the 350...i'd just like to drive it first and make sure i can live with it. im already not exicited about lack of storage space...but oh well. it just sux thats its not gonna be til after i graduate in may or june til i can pick one up.

 

A bit off topic, but I don't exactly understand why the system is setup so that your credit rating decreases every time a credit check is ran on your name. Why?

 

I'd have to call BS on that one as well. Good luck with your search. Patience pays off.

 

Because there is a lag in the credit reporting system. You could have 10 credit checks and not have actually taken out any credit relationships, or, you could have just signed up for a large car payment, a mortgage, and 8 large revolving lines. Those won't show up immediately, so I as a creditor have to have some way in my formula to account for that small risk.

 

The credit check tell them if you can get a loan and make the payments

 

Again, some pay cash.

 

i understand that, i just dont think its really necessary. i could see it for a porsche, ferrari, z06, viper or something...but not a 350.

 

I read somewhere that if you apply for a car loan from several sources only one will show up on your report as long as all applications are for the same transaction. If this is true,I don't know how the bureaus determine which goes on the report.

 

Good luck with your search. As far as the small storage space - don't let it bother you too much. I was initially concerned too, but after I drove the car home and after 3 months of ownership I've noticed that it's not THAT small - it coule have been a lot worse. Besides, the car is just too dang fun to drive to care about the storage space.

 

As for running a credit check, that's complete BS. I've NEVER had anyone try to pull that one me, and if they did, I'd be sure to let them know that not only is the legality of that dubious, I'd not buy the car from them and let every person I know who might ever consider doing business with their $tealership that this is not a place they should patronize. Furthermore, I'd have a well dressed older friend, maybe your dad, go in and ask for a test drive. If you can establish a track record of how this $tealership only requires certain "types" of people for a credit report, they can be sued for discrimination. You can also contact your local media outlet (tv station/radio station) about how this $tealership may be discriminating against people.

 

I'll say go try another dealer too
As for the storage space, it's enough for everyday driving, unless you're going on a raod trip or some serious Christmas shopping, I found it bigger than I thought before I bought the car

 

I've had the credit check for a test drive BS pulled on me at Burien Nissan up here in WA. They claimed it was so they could make sure the buyers were serious and not just there to try out cars. I never expected it as I never was asked that when shopping for a car two years ago (went to Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Acura dealers).

Needless to say, I fell into that newbie trap and yes, from everything I've heard including what the salesman said to me, it will hurt your credit score a bit. I didn't buy from them in the end though. They were asking for too much $.

 

Redshift, i bought my Z at Superior Nissan in Charlotte and i was test driving it in less than 5 minutes. Didnt even ask to see my license. I did pull up in my old Acura though so maybe the dude figured i could afford the Z or something. If i pulled up in a bucket they might have been a little more particular.

 

When the 350Z first came out I went to a Carmax that sold new Nissans to check it out. They had about 5 on the lot and the sales guy told me that they weren't allowing test drives at present but that in a few weeks they would be allowing them pending a credit check. Of course I was like WTF and he agreed that it was a stupid policy that the sales manager had imposed. Oddly, a few days later I went to another dealer and the sales guy practically begged me to test drive the 350Z. To this day I know of at least 1 dealer in my area that doesn't give test drives of their 350Z's, I still don't understand it. In fact, the sales manager at my dealer told my dad flat out that he hates allowing customers to test drive his 350Zs but that he would lose business if he didn't (the sales manager and my dad go way back). Ironically, the Infiniti dealer directly across the street from my dealer let me take a new G35 coupe out by myself. The sales guy just handed me the keys and said "have fun" and I definately did . I thought that was pretty cool. It seems like it's up to the sales manager on how they want to run their dealerships.