Test Ride Cost?

[OnHellas]

In my experience, the question ‘what demos have you got’, means ‘I just want to go for a free ride’.

Charging isn’t the way to go, but qualifying someone by going through the numbers of the deal first and sorting out a deposit is fine.
Especially with secondhand bikes. A test ride is to check the bike out before purchasing.
A new bike is a bit different, running a demo fleet isn’t cheap though.

[Oblix]

I’ve found dealers have made it difficult to test ride bikes, more so on weekends too, any bike i’ve ever bought was blind faith.. most often because a mate let me ride his bike.

This approach shafted me when i bought from cambridge motorworks, the bike had a defect and had to go back 4 times(100 miles away) not been back to buy anything more from them, do they care for loosing my business?

[Tonibe63]

I once wanted a test ride on a used fjr 1300 at strathstones in Leicester , they wanted to charge me apparently because it was a trade sale bike ! When I said no thanks the sales manager said to the salesman we'll take it out of your comission but I didn't bother I didn't like the sales managers attitude.

Ian.

The dealership is now closed ........ I wonder why.

[Richard Simpson Mark II]

the only new bike I bought without a demo ride at all was the Suzuki DR350S.

But I'd decided I was having one before I'd even seen one in the flesh.

"Hands down, this is the best four-stroke trail bike ever to come out of Japan." I think that was in Dirt Bike...in an American magazine anyway.

It didn't disappoint.

[Scott_rider]

I’ve bought 5 bikes without a test ride and I was only disappointed in 1...a brand new ‘94 Yamaha WR250 2 stroke. Didn’t like that and switched to KTM for ‘95.

[bigfoot]

Hi

to answer a previous question, it was a £50 charge but I was deciding between 2 bikes so £100.

It was my local dealer who charges and they were made aware of why they lost the sale and probably future sales.

Bigfoot

[AlanHolt]

When I went to look at a ZX10R and asked for a test ride, the dealer wanted the full amount per-charged to a credit card. I did it as I wanted the bike, after the test ride, he refunded the amount and then we negotiated a trade-in deal. The dealer soon went bust, but I ended up with the bike I had spent months looking for.