1. Forums
  2. Mystery Shopping Discussion

Test Drive Car Accident

June 16, 2023 01:04PM
I am wondering if anyone has had a car accident and then had to pay the full price damages?
Reply
Log In
x

Create an Account or Log In

Membership is free. Simply choose your username, type in your email address, and choose a password. You immediately get full access to the forum.

Already a member? Log In.

More About Car Dealerships
June 16, 2023 01:42PM
This is my biggest fear with car dealership shops. I do not test drive outside of the parking lot and I drive very slowly. I just tell the salesperson that I have too much anxiety to test drive on the highway and I will need to come back with my husband when I have narrowed down my choice. If a shopper were to have an accident and be at fault, then its on the shopper.
Reply
June 16, 2023 02:55PM
A friend of mine shops in the Seattle area. He took a car for a test drive several years ago and "high-centered" the vehicle and then aborted the shop. I don't think he paid any damages.

Of course any accident you get in no matter who's car it is (your own/a friends/a dealer) would come down to insurance investigating who's at fault. So if it was your fault, then you would owe your deductible.

Are you saying you are afraid to do a car dealership shop because you might get into an accident? What if you get into an accident on the way to the dealership in your own car, or after leaving the shop to go home? This is not a way to live life (in fear). Then you could just as well get into an accident when you are out doing an apartment shop/bank shop/restaurant shop/etc.
Reply
June 16, 2023 03:05PM
Test driving a car that one is unfamiliar with is always a risk. I do not think it is irrational to be wary of a test drive (especially of a car that I may not be used to or would never consider driving). I drive a Ford SUV and the Kia shops do give me a little bit of anxiety. The car sits lower, drives differently. I don't think this is living in fear, its a calculated risk that one must consider when taking on these shops. The same holds true for shops in high crime parts of town.
Reply
June 16, 2023 03:10PM
No I did get into a car accident and have a hefty bill to pay.
Reply
June 16, 2023 03:24PM
So you don't have insurance? At most...you are responsible for your deductible and insurance takes over from there. Unless you were doing a high-end sports car shop like Porsche or Ferrari and have minimum coverage that won't pay much.

@granolagirls wrote:

No I did get into a car accident and have a hefty bill to pay.
Reply
June 16, 2023 03:57PM
I once was test driving a Smart Car- I turned out of the dealer lot and was nearly broadsided by a landscaping truck that was speeding. I quickly ended the test drive. Was a bit too much fright for me!
Reply
June 16, 2023 04:16PM
What is high centering a car?
Reply
June 16, 2023 04:21PM
Years ago GM used to do these things where you could test drive all their cars and some rival cars at an event. It was fun. I got to try out the Civic, and some other non-GM cars. But this was also when their Hummer came out.

So you get to take the Corvette around a track -pretty lame- with their associate grabbing the stick so they could slow you down. What ever. But the Hummer had a course with it. So the associate would sit in the back and you and your people would pile into the thing. So the Hummer course had a bunch of hills set up for you to go over.

Ok!

I was a new driver, and respectfully listened to the literal backseat driver (figurative?) as he told me exactly how to line up the Hummer for the hill. It looked completely off. Are you sure? Yeah yeah, go ahead. Straight. Ok? The thing immediately high centers on the dirt berm and is immobile. All 4 of the 4x4 wheels are not on dirt. Guy doesn't panic. He just goes. Hmmm. Ok. Er, try reversing. Nothing. Er, try going forward. Then he begins rocking the thing like a see saw, and we eventually get off the hill. Not sure if I hurt their car. Oh well! That's their prerogative. They wanted to show off how cool their tank was. It was basically a minivan.

Ha!

Don't stress so much. None of us are making it out alive.
Reply
June 16, 2023 07:10PM
Insurance follows the car not the driver. Dealerships have insurance on the cars on their lot. Unless you're doing something egregious they should be covering damage.

That being said, I had a mess with a personal test drive a few months ago. I went where the dealership employee told me to go and scraped the bumper on the under side because it was a truck entrance and wasn't meant the sports car I was in. They tried to charge me 200 bucks to fix it and I ended up disputing it with my credit card company for a various host of reasons. I got my money back.

It has made me very leery of test driving both for personal and for mystery shops.

Did not buy the vehicle and will never do business with that dealership again.
Reply
June 17, 2023 06:56AM
I have had to give proof of insurance to test drive a car before. It was on me, not on them for the coverage.
Reply
June 17, 2023 11:35AM
Dealerships have insurance on their lots. And the cars on their lots. You are not obligated to have insurance to test drive a vehicle. Look at your own car insurance. It's on your vehicle not on you. Doesn't mean they can't try to subrogate.

I don't think I've ever been asked for insurance to test drive. I have been asked for my license though. Just like if you let someone drive your car your car's insurance covers them even if they crash your vehicle.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/17/2023 11:35AM by foodluvr.
Reply
June 17, 2023 11:49AM
I have been to dealers where if you did not give them proof of insurance, you could not test drive the car. I have done around 100 car shops.

For example, you need to show proof of insurance to test drive a Tesla.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/17/2023 11:59AM by Niner.
Reply
June 17, 2023 04:14PM
This came up in the forum a few years ago. The dealerships are insured for situations like this.

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton
Reply
June 17, 2023 05:41PM
I have done many car shops, gratefully, without incident. I have never been asked for proof of insurance. On a couple of occasions, I wasn't even asked for my driver's license. I always assumed the coverage in the event of a problem would be provided by the dealership unless the driver was being reckless. Not everyone who visits a dealership to buy a car has insurance since they may not yet own a car. Seems like a cost of doing business for the dealership.
Reply
June 17, 2023 09:40PM
I have test driven many cars when looking for my own car to buy and the dealer staff has always offered to drive the car for me during times it seemed a kind of scary driving situation. I sit in the passenger seat. That would fulfill the need to "test" drive the car unless the guidelines actually say YOU must be in the drivers seat.
Reply
June 19, 2023 01:34AM
I've never been asked for insurance for a test-drive, including at Tesla. Only for my driver's license.

Not everyone buying a car already has one, so they wouldn't already have insurance.
Reply
June 19, 2023 02:22AM
@Susan L. wrote:

I've never been asked for insurance for a test-drive, including at Tesla. Only for my driver's license.

Not everyone buying a car already has one, so they wouldn't already have insurance.

That has been my experience both for test drives for purchases and for mystery shops. In fact, prior to this last test drive, my car had been totaled by another driver. Once the car was totaled and the title handed over to the insurance company, I canceled the insurance policy and didn't have insurance until I purchased the new vehicle since I had been injured and was unable to drive for several months. I was not asked for insurance when I went to test drive the car I ultimately bought.
Reply
June 19, 2023 08:31PM
In the 50 years (yes, I am youth challenged) that I have been buying cars including 15 years of mystery shopping, I have never been asked for proof of insurance in order to test drive a car. If I ever am, I will refuse. mystery shop or not. My personal car insurance does not cover me when I am driving someone else's car. The sole exception that I am aware of is when I rent a car.

Shopping South Jersey, Southeast Pennsylvania, and Delaware above the canal since 2008
Reply
Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.

Click here to login