I went to look at a KFX700 today and I asked the salesman if I could test ride it. He said that they don't do test rides. He went on to explain that they used to do that but stopped because of the liability issues. He went on to explain that few dealers here (Rochester, NY) allow test rides for the same reason.

Is this normal practice or no? It seems to me that most people would want to try out a $6000 ATV before buying it.

 

I was going to bring this up but you beat me to it.
In my neck of the woods you could not find a dealer to give you a test ride if you begged him and gave him $100 for a 5 minute ride.
The fire marshal gets cranky if he finds quads in the show room with gas in them around here.
No need to test ride the V. EVERYBODY likes them!!! JK [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

Never! Where you going to ride it, around in the paved parking lot??? What's that going to tell you about how it will handle in the dirt??? It is virtually useless to you the buyer and means great liability for the dealership.

 

Same thing around here they stopped all test rides in my three local dealers. But I got away w/ test ride the KX250 (it was used and on consighnment)(can't spell).

 

well when i was in wyoming i stopped at a dealer in the boones and they had a test drive track. it had a big steep hill. and a few jumps and a circle for doing other stuff in. i test drove a grizzely and a 400ex

 

I do see that point, I just wanted to get a feel for the speed and power. But I totally understand the liablity issues.

According to this salesman there is only one dealership in the area that allows test rides, and it's nearly an hour away. I would have no prolblem driving that far to take a test ride. But they sell Suzuki, Honda, Yamaha, and Polaris. In other words they are the "not Kawasaki" dealer. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] I guess I will be buying without a test ride, I just thought that was part of the normal buying process. It sounds like it's not though.

 

I wholly disagree, you can tell a lot about a machine just from starting it up and taking a few laps around. Most dealerships in my state have some type of open area be it paved or not where you could ride if you were permitted. There are still a couple dealerships I know of that allow such things and these locations are my first stop when I go to purchase a new atv. I made the decision to purchase a prairie (rode a tp) over a vinson based upon a side by side test ride session with the two bikes. I also tried out our rancher before I bought it at another dealer. From even a short ride you can assess things like vibration, top-heaviness, basic cornering, ergonomics, and other nuances that you simply cannot feel sitting on the bike on the showroom floor. While its not as good as a full on trail and track test drive its still much, much more information that trying out the seat in store. This is especially useful if you dont have access to these machines before the sale, meaning you didnt get to ride a friend's before you buy. This is a significant investment for most people and I believe that if a dealership is gracious enough to permit test rides then they should be rewarded with more business and positive reviews from buyers.

 

Almost all the dealerships in WI and MN will allow short rides. Im not sure about the inner city, urban dealerships, but the small town ones do. Some even have 4x4 test tracks, with hill climbs and challenge areas.
But then , theres this thing called reality, which right or wrong, is gonna control the decision. If youre 18, good luck finding a test drive, but if youre 50, theres no problem. Its kind of like buying a new car, once you get to a certain age, they just toss you the keys and say, have fun...but when i was younger, they always had to drive along.

It may be one of the only benifits to getting older.

 

I have only been to 1 dealer that did not allow test rides. Needless to say I did not buy there. Granted some only have parking lots others are right on the trail. If I am going to drop 7000$+ I am gonna try it.

 

I actually did find a dealership about 20 minutes away that has a small test area and allows test rides. I just went there tonight and after riding a KFX700 signed the papers on it tonight.

If anyone is in the Rochester, NY area, and looking to test ride a Kawasaki, head out to Soper Powersports in Farmington.