I’ve been selling cars for 43 years – why you never want to rave about the car during test drive, don’t get rolled over

A veteran car salesman with 43 years of experience has revealed some shady tricks salespeople might use and how to avoid being taken advantage of.

A retired car salesman who has spent 43 years of his life selling cars has revealed a few shady tricks other salesmen might use when selling a car and how to avoid leaving the dealership disappointed.

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Zach Shefska, along with his father Ray Shefska, runs CarEdge (@CarEdge), a YouTube channel dedicated to educating the public about the intricacies of buying a car from a dealer.

Ray spent 43 years selling cars and now works with his son to teach people how to negotiate price, look for red flags and how to avoid scams.

Recently, the Shafskas uploaded a video about what a potential buyer should and shouldn’t say and do during a test drive in a vehicle.

Ray also describes how a salesperson might interpret a person’s reaction, whether positive or negative, and how it could lead to the salesperson taking advantage.

When training his salespeople, Ray said he taught them how to get a customer to take a test drive of the new car.

“The first thing I taught my salespeople was to be excited and get the customer interested in a car,” Ray said.

“Once you land them on a car, you want to take that car for a test drive and make sure it’s exactly the car you want.”

Ray says it’s important to note anything that isn’t ideal during a test drive – a noise when reading, a rough ride, a rough idle – and bring it up when you return to the dealer.

Gushing about the car and how wonderful it is only triggers a seller’s instinct to sell the car at full speed, which could come at the customer’s expense.

Instead of expressing excitement about it, Ray advises neutrality by saying, “I’m interested in the vehicle and would really like to take it for a test drive so I can determine if it’s the right vehicle for me.”

“If you’re raving and raving about this car, the seller thinks, ‘Well, I have a chance, I have someone who will say yes to the first offer,'” Ray said.

“So you want the seller to be excited that there’s a deal, but you don’t want them to be so excited that they think they don’t have to do any work to act.”

Zach also points out that having a dealer sign a credit application in order to test drive a vehicle is a shady and terrible practice and that any potential buyer should walk away from the dealer.

Ray then says that his salespeople are trained to ask the customer questions such as, “You want to drive home in that new car, don’t you?” or, “You’re excited about your new car, aren’t you?” “so that the customer feels more comfortable.

As the test drive ends and the party returns to the dealer, Ray says he has taught his salespeople to tell a customer three things: “You loved that car, didn’t you?”, “This car is equipped just like you.” “You’d like to have this fitted to your next car, wouldn’t you?” and “You’d like to take the vehicle home today, wouldn’t you?”

To each of these questions, Ray and Zach suggest cautious, aggressive answers because it’s important to express interest but not get too invested in buying a particular car.

As always, Zach and Ray say, it’s important to focus on the out-the-door number and make sure it’s within your budget.