My father and I were test driving a car that he was considering buying. During the test drive the car ran out of gas. We had to walk to a gas station and get a gallon of gas so we could drive the car back to the dealership. After we got back the salesman reimbursed us for the gas and apologized for the inconvenience. My father did like the car and he ended up buying it. Because the salesman did the right thing he ended up not losing the sale.
Funny... a few years ago my wife and I were about to test drive a Camry, and the salesman said "Uh... that car needs gas. If you wouldn't mind to put $10 in I'd appreciate it." and handed us a $10 bill. We offered him the receipt when we got back and he said "Nah, I'm sure you did."
I had a car run out of gas and they almost reported it stolen after dodging my calls for over an hour. I wasn't reimbursed. Stay away from offleaseonly in Palm Beach County, FL lol
Recently drove a UHaul to move an entertainment center, it wasn’t full & actually was on ‘E’. I pointed this out & they told me to put the gage where I found it. Before I got to where I was to the pickup, the gas idiot light came on. I hustled to a station en route & put $15 in just to be sure & did what I needed done. Was somewhat above where I found it when returned & haven’t heard anything since.
I noticed that cars at dealerships only have about 1 or 2 gallons in them. I also saw on that big sticker on the car with all the prices and options it said in small print " full tank of gas included". When I bought the car car I said "Yo dude, a full tank of gas is included." I think they were hoping I was going to not notice that and drive away with 1 gallon in the tank.
When I sold cars one of my custromers was a young woman who fell in love with a car with a manual transmission but didn't know how to drive a manual. I took her to an industrial area and spent a half hour teaching her to change gears, upshift, downshift, and burn out. She bought the car and her parents ended up buying from me too. That was the most fun sale I ever made.
about half, but yes. Your premise is accurate. There is also the aspect of "Can I physically operate this vehicle?". I stand 6 ft 5 inches. I obviously don't fit into small spaces. I have to test drive about anything I buy just to make sure I can fit. Kia Soul? can't fit. Nissan Cube? Those are surprisingly roomy. Ford F-150, is cramped. Ford Ranger, I fit comfortably... Sometimes it's counter intuitive. Minivans can leave you blind or give you the best lines of sight on the market. A pickup can be great as a work truck, that same truck might beat the hell out of you when it's not loaded with cargo. Lots of reasons for a test drive. Mechanical failures IS on the list though :)
I test drove a brand new Nissan Altima in 1990 & immediately could hear that the engine was making a weird, growling noise & immediately went back to the dealership! Years later, I went to test drive the new"Smart Car", but was asked to sign a paper, making me responsible for any damage, so I declined to drive it!
@@rongendron8705 Eff the car, YOU were the "smart" object there lol Here in Oregon there isn't really a great lemon law structure in place. as a result, a shockingly high number of folks wound up getting utterly reamed by those "You break it, you bought it" contracts. The dealership didn't care, they could get whatever random crap from the auction, polish it up, and then send someone out in a car that was due to die anyway. If the car blew up, they got paid. If the car completed the test drive, they had a potential sale to get paid... Win-Win for the dealership with the customers taking all the risk.
@@200130769not really. You can see the exterior of parts under there but not how the operate or what condition the parts are in, just if they are clean or dirty. No you need to feel and listen while driving. Turn the radio off, turn the air con on and off, mess with the fan speed. Then turn that off too so it’s silent. Can you smell anything? Hear any constant popping, grinding or ticking? Mess with the steering turning it side to side. does it pull? Does it feel like there’s a knot in the tire? It might not be the tire. Accelerate fast, does it respond well? Does it shift well? Then make sure no one is near you and brake decently hard ( be smart, don’t do it hard enough to be in danger) How does it brake and downshift? Finally make sure it can go at a constant slower speed, higher gears and higher revs can hide problems. Visual inspections are important. Leaks and damage are issues that can be seen but dealerships usually keep their cars clean so that you cant tell there’s a transmission leak or whatever. Nothing can replace feeling the car in action.
I once had a dealer hold my driver's license while I test drove a vehicle. I didn't want to buy it after test driving it, and the dealer wouldn't return my license unless I talked to the sales manager, who stepped up the pressure to try to get me to buy. He wouldn't give me my license immediately upon demand, until I took out my cell phone and started to call the police. I ended up at a different dealer down the street who was honest and I bought a car from him. When I told him what happened at the other dealer, he told me he's had several customers tell him similar stories. The first dealer went out of business a year later.
@@kellismith4329 The salesman held my license during the test drive. By refusing to hand it back he thought he could force me to buy the car. Just plain stupid.
had this happen to my sisters friend she test drove a car and the dealer ran he Ford Ranger thru the shop since she wanted to trade it in. she got back wanted to think about it and waited to get her truck back. the dealer closed was putting the screws to her wouldn't give her truck back after like 2 hrs she called me. i told her to call the police and tell them they stole the truck.
I used to sell cars and I’ve had this happen where the engine gave up on a test drive. We towed the car back and said goodbye to the customer. It’s ridiculous to ask the customer to pay for it.
Idk if it had onstar or other vehicle monitoring computer system. And they can see that the test driver was abusive they might have a ccase.i heard a story of two young men in the 80s took a brand new Cadillac out for a "test drive" joy ride. And brought it back to the dealer with all the lights and bells n whistles going off. They told the dealer "we'll think about it" just could see where sometimes this could be a legitimate suit.
@@mattmatt6572 The sales person should have gone with her. That way they could have controlled the situation. Some sales people are lazy and skip the test ride.
@@sampleowner6677 yeah am sure is all kind of would've and could've always and I'm sure some don't like the sales person on the ride guesse idk all the facts in the case just thought might be some situations where this could be a reasonable suit.
@@teekay_1 That is so weird. Last time I was shopping for a car the sales guy (some kid) just handed me the keys and said, "keep it under X miles" (I don't remember the exact miles) I didn't feel comfortable taking the car by myself and so he begrudgingly went with me. Not the way they used to do things.
Mid point of 2000, my new wife and I decided to loo for a vehicle capable of carrying our NEW family, 2 adults and 5 children. We found a Dodge SUV (Ohio) with only 23 miles on the clock and was told to take it out for a test drive. The salesman told us of a 15 mile round trip that would include, interstate, city, county, and a bit of dirt road. We made it as far as the interstate portion when the automatic transmission began to smell of rotten eggs and speed dropped quickly, no matter how the accelarator was depressed. Pulling off the road, we raised the hood, fastened my red handkerchief to the antenna, and turned on the 4-way lights. We sat there for almost 2 hours before a state patrol officer showed up and was about to arrest us for theft of the vehicle. After explaining what had happened and when it occured, he called the dealership and asked for them to send a tow and alternate transportation for my wife and I. Flatbed showed up and we were told we would have to find our own way back to the dealership. The patrol officer took us back in his car (only time I've been in the backseat of a patrol car). Dealership refused to return the keys to our car until we could find a way to fix theirs. I called the police to report the dealership having stole our vehicle. Same officer responded and threatened to start taking people to jail until our keys were returned. Needless to say, we never returned to this Dodge dealership!
Wow what a trip to have to go through that, you should have got it on the local news channel, they need to be put out of business. I worked for a dealership and our owner would never do something like that.
LOL. Had this happen at a Chevy dealer in the 80's. We wanted to leave and they said they'd "lost" our keys to our own car after appraising it. I asked if I could use their phone. They handed it to me. I called the police to report a kidnapping and auto theft! My big voice could be heard all over the showroom and customers started paying attention to me. Dealer minions started scrambling all over and suddenly our keys reappeared. I thanked 911 and told them the kidnappers suddenly changed their mind. The next day we wound up buying the car there we were looking at because my wife really liked it. They didn't pull any more slimy stuff on us after that and the sale went OK.
There was a lady when I was living up in Maine that was getting her car inspected for the annual inspection sticker. She didn't like the prices they were telling her she would have to pay to get things fixed to pass inspection, and when she asked for her keys to take it somewhere else they refused. They told her "we can't allow you to drive the car on the road in its current state." I kid you not. Right after they said that, a State Trooper walked in to get some things, and she turned and asked the Trooper if they had the right to steal her car. Trooper told the people that they couldn't take peoples' cars away from them, no matter the state of repair or whether the sticker was valid or not. Come to find out, they had already started working on her car before getting permission, and they wanted her to pay for the work done. They were S.O.L and the Trooper told them they learned a valuable lesson, and unless they wanted to get arrested for Grand Theft Auto, to return her keys.
I took a 2009 Cadillac for a test drive and the brakes failed. The dealership tried to bill me to have the brakes repaired and to have the vehicle towed back to the lot. They even tried to keep my vehicle which was legally parked on a surface street. I recall them flagging a patrol man down and trying to get him to keep me from leaving. He was like yeah you're free to go. Needless to say I didn't buy the car and all Threats of lawsuits never materialized.
OMG a friend of my grandmother had a 2009 Cadillac that had a brake failure, no injuries but he ended up jumping the center of a roundabout at like 30mph😂
This story reminds me of incident that happened to me 32 years ago. After a perfectly good test drive I bought a used 1985 VW GTI from a dealer in Denver, CO back in 1991. I payed for the car, signed all the paperwork, got the drive-out tag and headed towards the house. Less than a mile from the dealership the engine blew up. This is pre cell phone days so I had to hoof it on foot back to the dealership. Apparently they were expecting me because they were not surprised at all. Although they did not have to by law, they traded the car back in for a Honda Civic. It worked out that the dealership treated me fair.
These times are long gone, If that happened to you today and you walked back into that dealership, they'd call the cops and tell them you have a gun and act irratic.
As a mechanic (no longer working in the field), this sounds like the perfect test drive. Not because of the legal problems, but because the car for sale was so bad, it took the choice to buy/don't buy out of her hands. THIS is why we test drive cars..... this car made the issues evident in a spectacular fashion.
Exactly this. I was considering purchasing a second vehicle that was being shown by my mechanic on behalf of one of his clients. I took it for a test drive, and it was fine on the local roads. As soon as I headed onto the highway, the 6-speed automatic transmission made a 'horrible noise', accompanied by a shuddering vibration, as it passed through 3rd or 4th gear. It did the same on the way back down when I slowed and exited the highway. I had already decided to give this one a hard pass. A shame, really; the car had everything I wanted, was in pristine condition, and had been otherwise very well maintained. Turns out, this particular model had a 'push-button' 3rd (or 4th, I can't recall) gear designed for keeping the xmission from going into overdrive, I suppose to be used for towing a small trailer or something. The seller had a habit of using that button when encountering a speed trap on the highway in order to slow down without braking, effectively forcing a downshift. Transmission problems are expensive and I figured it would only be a matter of time before serious repairs were needed.
Right but come on you know as a mechanic that down shifting an auto at freeway speeds is a horrible thing to do. My thinking is that she went to the lowest gear and blew it up.
@@MrDuceOwen Key words here are "she began her decent", "know the grape vine like the back of her hand", "down shifted as she had always done". So, while I could point out the revlimiter SHOULD have protected the engine, IF she did something wrong. However, given the key phrases, one would expect she slowed to a speed where downshifting without a revlimiter would have been safe. In either case, she was in an automatic transition vehicle, so over revving should have been handled by the ECM regardless of speed. Think you missed the auto vs manual distinction.... auto are made (or supposed to be made) idiot proof. Why you have neutral safety switches and such. Manuals on the other hand.... Seen several connecting rods on the wrong side of the block.
@@2112user read the user's manual it specifically mentions not to do that specific action. Other questions would lead me to ask was she in manual shift mode? If she was the ecu would keep the high rpms despite what is normally expected of it. She said the numbers increased to over 7k rpms. It's described as a Detroit built car. The kinds meant for spirited driving and performance. She is absolutely at fault for breaking the engine despite what the law might say. Yes the grapevine is a hard road especially the Bakersfield side but on my many trips on the road I have never had to downshift my car or truck. Including while towing several thousand pounds. She may think she knows that road "like the back of her hand" but I'd like to know where it happened at specifically. Was it before or after Tejon pass? Was she in manual shift mode? Did she even bother slowing down while then engine continued to whine at the redline? We won't ever know.
@@MrDuceOwen on an automatic you might select the lowest gear but the transmission is designed so that it will not actually shift into low gear. My truck for instance is a 1995 and even that if at highway speed i throw the shifter down into 1st the truck will not go below 2nd until 25mph at which point it will about put you into the windshield. so what your saying she did simply is not possible
Coming from an employee at what I consider to be a "family run" business, having a car act up or suffer major failure during a showing is absolutely embarrassing. I can't even comprehend how someone could turn that around on the customer. That kind of person is absolutely deplorable 🤮
If I'm on a test drive, I'm going to stress the car a bit. Not outside what it's supposed to be able to handle of course, but I'll rev it high, brake it hard, and throw it around a bit. The whole point of a test drive is to see if a car has issues before you put money on it. How are you going to find said issues if you baby it?
@@1337penguinman I freaked a guy out, test riding a motorcycle....I literally rode it like I stole, and left him in the dust, as he was following in a truck. I did nothing that would harm it, but I absolutely put it through the paces.
What, you mean a central tenet of our primary transportation technology - for which we halted investment into nigh-limitlessly safer and more efficient technologies - creates economic niches for predatory behavior on top of all the other death and misery it causes? Say it ain't so! Car bad. Train good. Abolish highways. Give the stolen land back.
The test drive should totally be a thorough examination of every function that the car is capable of performing. Don't spin tires, don't full lock brakes, don't break any laws or cause physical damage. Beyond those few things, cars are "made" to operate at many different levels of use. Not all used car salesman are deplorable. If you have a good business that stands behind what they sell, the salesman only has to accurately represent whichever vehicle to make a sale. Once you cross the line of representing and glorifying then you will begin to have problems.
I test drove a used Subaru outback many years ago. Was in really good shape with low miles. While I was driving it the engine developed a (valve) ticking sound. The dealership said they wouldn't sell it to me anymore, but were going to put thicker oil in it and put it back on the lot to sell to someone else. I ultimately didn't buy a vehicle from them after that. Some dealerships don't even hide their shady practices.
There was a point where i would teach anyone around me how to drive a manual. The final exam was a hill that ended at the top with a stop sign on a highway. Now a manual is the new anti-theft system.
Exactly. Don’t have to worry about 80% of the population. Hell I was at a car dealership trading in my STI. They asked if I could move the car to service as they had no one that could drive stick 😮
@@jimsmith8797 That says something when dealerships don't have qualified drivers. That might be a business though. Get an olderJeep or VW and teach people how to drive a basic manual transmission.
@@fcguy7 Did YOU even watch the video where it's outlined why an AT shouldn't even allow that to happen, the mechanics agreed what she did is normal, and that particular make/model is known to have transmission issues?
@@fcguy7 have you driven a vehicle made after 2000, with all the computers and stuff what happened should have never happened to the engine unless there was pre-existing damage already to something.
Hearing that the OWNER is upset about the treatment of a client and not only forgave any implied debt but offered to make it right on her next purchase is satisfying. That's a man that cares more about reputation than money, and a man I'd do business with any day.
I still wouldnt buy from them. Selling cars that break down on test drives tells me all I need to know anyways....let alone trying to stiff the customer
Do dealerships have a crystal ball? They buy from auction or take in trades, they inspect the vehicles but they don't tear engines apart looking for problems. It is most likely just a failure of a part that slowly going bad. Timing belts are notorious for showing zero signs of failure until they snap, valve train goes bonkers, and pistons are destroyed valves, etc.
I was on a test drive once. I was stopped at the used car lot and somebody backed into the front of the car that I was test driving. Luckily, the salesman was riding with me. The person who hit me offered to fix the car. I ended up not buying the car, but it was handled well by the dealer and the person who hit me.
I had a customer blow an engine on a test drive right after opening my small dealership. I didn't go after the guy, I simply took the loss. Being brand new in business for myself, it financially stung. Changed my test drive policy on the spot. No solo rides, period.
I very much as a buyer prefer a salesman to go along, that way there is no conflict if a problem comes up. I am not going to force the car to do extreme things, just drive it and test all the things I can as you would expect a normal driver to do. Since some trans are notoriously poor design, the downshift load is a pretty good test of a transmission.
I sold cars at a dealership that concentrated on showing all the features of our cars. We never let anyone drive alone. There is a selling process that happens on the test drive. If a salesman hands someone the keys, they are not a salesman.
@@keithpanco When I bought my Ram 3500 dually they tossed me the keys and said go enjoy it while they looked over my trade. They didn't try to upsell me anything and I walked in at 8am and by 9am had my plates on the new truck and was leaving. Awesome experience. Of course it was built to tow 30,000lbs so there really wasn't any way to kill it buzzing around by itself, and it only had 4,000 miles on it. Not everyone needs or wants to be babysat checking out a vehicle.
My grandparents were trading in their car and buying another, signed the paperwork, and the dealer employee crashed the car they traded in getting it across the parking lot, hitting a pole. He was furious, and even upset with them, but that wasn't their problem, and they didn't let him make it their problem.
I had a salesman at a dealership so excited to prove me wrong because he didn't believe that I could drive a stick shift/manual because I was young and a female. He forgot to get a copy of my license before he took me on a test drive. So when I pulled back into the parking lot after the test drive- ALL of the big bosses were outside waiting for him. He got in trouble.
Yes, but that is something one should do in Southern California. I bought an SUV from a Chevy dealer in San Bernardino and on the test drive took it most of the way up the mountain to Crestline, as I lived up that way and needed to know how it handled the hill climb.
as a retired mechanic i would laugh my ass off at the dealer trying to get me to pay for repairs. there are just too many ways to turn this back on them and the apparent design issues with the car...
I'd imagine the first remark would be something along the lines of 'you put me in a rolling metal death trap that essentially blew up with me strapped inside'.
Steve I have a funny story for you. My friend was a heavy line mechanic at a dealership. A man brought his truck in under warranty. Because the automatic transmission cracked in half. While performing the transmission change. My friend noticed a photo in the truck. Of the truck being jumped over a dirt berm.l The dealership then made a copy of the photo and told the man the repair wouldn't be covered under warranty. Due to abuse. The moral of the story never leave evidence laying around. Lol God bless
Three different incidents come to mind that I had happen on test drives. One was at a used car lot. The car died during the test drive and I had to walk back to the dealership. The sales rep asked what happened, I told him that it died about 2 miles up the street, tossed him the key and left. Another one was a new f150. As I was turning in to the dealership from the test drive the spare tire holder fell down and started dragging on the ground. Nothing was damaged, but it was loud and got everyone's attention. The third one was a new 1988 Mercury Cougar that I test drove and the computer went dead on me. It made it back to the dealership in limp mode driving about 5mph. When the test drive was over, the sales rep said "we can get that fixed for you and make you a great deal". Needless to say, I never owned a 1988 Cougar.
Okay so I’m in the automotive industry (half my life at this point) and I’m actually looking for a 1988 cougar xr7! They’re VERY SOLID CARS… so I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that it was probably not maintained
I once got in a car accident and dinged a car that a couple was test driving a car. And far as i know, holding them responsible never even crossed the dealers mind. This is absurd!!
I had a job driving cars from the dealer's lot to an auto auction. Off and on for a period of fifty years, it amounted to hundreds of cars and trucks. I'm calling these trips as equivalent to test drives. In all this time, several never completed the trip, and two engines blew-up while I was driving. I would always baby these vehicles because they weren't mine, and I knew nothing about their mechanical condition.
Years ago my husband had a similar job, he worked for a company that would install sunroofs in brand new cars from dealerships. He would drive the cars from the dealership to their business and back after the sunroof was installed. He had a couple brand new cars breakdown too but was never held responsible.
I'm a mechanic, and many cars have been traded in with only hours (maybe minutes) of life left in them. The difference in value between junking the car and trading it in is significant. Buyers beware 😆.
walmartog1142: Realistically, given the wildly varying condition of used cars, this is to be expected. I know people who tell me they brought a dying used car near the dealer with a tow truck, and drove it carefully the last couple blocks. Dishonest, but it happens. We're talking OLD cars which the dealer should have known were in poor condition.
As a retired Chevrolet technician I can say with confidence that that vehicle already had issues before it decided to destroy itself... I never tell the seller that I'm a retired ASE certified mechanic... I ask what issues need to be fixed to see what their response is... If I feel that they are not honest with me I Walk away and look elsewhere...!!!!
My son and I went to look at a used minivan, fired it up and checked the tranny fluid, bone dry. We left it where it sat. Didn't even tell the staff. They should have known.
Yup. I’m nearing my 60s and as a woman who worked in my 20s as a mechanic both for a small shop as an apprentice and on my own vehicles as a hobby in the 1980s, when I applied for an open mechanics job at a dealership I was only “allowed” to be a lube tech 🙄 (And I definitely have a mental block about what specific job title I was applying for, thanks to that horrible service manager). So I’m very familiar with sexist behavior and attitudes toward my gender, and now especially as an “old lady” 😏 I definitely have a tendency to “play dumb” then when I get a BS answer when inquiring about a vehicle. I quite enjoy the shocked and embarrassed reactions when I follow their BS answer up with my own question being sure to hit the most technical points that only someone very familiar with vehicle mechanics would know to ask 😆 Gotta have some sarcastic fun at these people’s expense, don’t we 😆
@@rochelleesser7961how come you don't make videos about car care and what to do you know like these big name RU-vid channels about cars and mechanics I learned so much from them though I fixed my 98 ford e250 myself from watching all sorts of videos about car repair
You sure have a lot of interesting material Steve. I enjoy your videos. This story encouraged me how the used car dealership owner worked with the customer. I used to buy about one used vehicle a year for my business and I used a local dealer with two salesmen and I trusted both of them both on pricing and service. I came back year after year until the owner died. Selling used vehicles can be a very honorable thing to do.
Having a pair in the oil change business, I can guarantee you're absolutely correct. Good thick oil can quiet a bad motor for a day or two, just long enough to trade it in and hide the noise and evidence of a failing engine!
Yes, but she's from L.A., driving out to the Central Valley. Bakersfield is over 100 miles one way and the first city up the Central Valley. The I-5 Grapevine is hard on any car, especially on hot days. A test drive of several days and potentially hundreds of miles would likely flush out any problems, especially along that route.
@@Draintheswamp2024 "who does this?" ... anyone who lives in steep terrain or mountainous areas ... slowing down on steep slopes by putting your foot on the brakes can cause them to heat up and lose power or even fail ... she knew exactly what she was doing ...
@@Draintheswamp2024 I downshift when going down grades. One time on a hot day, going down CA route 18 from Big Bear to Apple Valley, I didn't downshift, and halfway down, I could smell my brakes burning. I then downshifted and let engine braking take over. It was a little scary. I learned my lesson. Always downshift at the top of the grade.
You're right. It happened with my friend. He traded in his car and the next day the sales guy called him to say the engine exploded. He didn't call to demand for money but to congratulate him on his luck of being able to sell the car right before it was about to explode.
On a slightly different note, my mother once sold a car (after upgrading to a newer one) to someone specifically so they can beat up on it and blow it up. In the end though, I don't think they could actually kill it (outside of running it without coolant and/or oil, as that will kill any car)
The point of the test drive is to find out if the car has a problem!!! It obviously had a problem…… and I suspect the dealer already knew it as they’re meant to be the professionals! Don’t ever go back to that dealership!
How times have changed. In the mid-70s I went to the local VW dealer in Danbury, CT to test out the new Scirocco Sidewinder. This was a brand new car that I was thinking of buying. On the test drive I was taking it easy on the car admiring it's appointments and handling. The salesman sitting beside me (that's what they did in those days) says, "Come on, get on it a bit". So I did. Now I know sport cars, lived around them and worked on them, but I'm no engineer. Suddenly while on a not so tight corner the rear end breaks away and we slam into the guardrail, taking most of the passenger side with it. After everything settled the car was still running and the salesman limped it back to the dealership. I sat in the office for a few minutes explaining what happened. After a several more minutes the sales manager came in and said "Ok you're free to go." So I did. Never heard from them again. The car was definitely at fault.
What a story! Man I thought my story was bad 😂. In 2008, I was 18 years old, and took my car (1991 MR2) to the Toyota dealership for a wheel alignment. I was prepping it for a private sale and I was going to replace it with the cheapest most practical beater car I could get for commuting and job hunting. I had recently been laid off of my full time job after 10 months. While I was standing around in the parking lot, a salesman just walked up to me and said “let’s test drive this 2004 Audi A4”….. I said “……umm okay”. The salesman rode with me. Towards the end of the test drive I stopped at a stop sign, revved it up and dropped the clutch. I really thought I was going to do an All-Wheel drive launch. I wanted to feel some acceleration G’s 😂. That didn’t happen. The clutch slipped like a mofo, started smoking and it smelled terrible…the car was still drivable luckily, but reeked of burnt clutch. The salesman said “let’s go inside and talk numbers” 😂. He asked “where do you work?” I said “I got laid off”….then he said “can your parents co-sign?” I said, “they just filed bankruptcy and lost their home in the subprime market” 😂😂. He was more upset at himself for not asking questions before he handed me the keys. 😂
A front wheel drive car doesn’t have the rear end break away. Front wheel drive doesn’t oversteer like that. One of 2 things had to have happened, either the parking brake was messed with while driving, or the thing caught air. Neither is probable. Or your memory of the event is different from what actually happened.
@@Jm0417-s You ever drove with broken suspension? Doesn't matter what drivetrain it has... Why would you assume that "A front wheel drive car doesn't have the rear end break away." Especially if the vehicle suffered a malfunction, which by definition would imply the vehicle did something it wasn't designed/intended to do... FWD and even A/4WD vehicles can and will most certainly lose the ass-end at speed. You spoke so matter-of-fact about something that's far enough out of your depth that you've proven your ignorance on the matter. Congratulations.
Dave C:Your account of your Scirocco experience describes a stupid approach to a car you did not know enough about before you tried driving it too hard. Foolhardy, immature approach.
Besides all the legalese BS, the "Owner" is responsible. To the dealer, tow, drag or push the piece of crap car over to a local salvage yard, get your $300 and cut your losses. To the buyer, RUN, not walk away, from that dealership. Any deal you make at this point will have a clause hidden somewhere in it that will eventually bite you square in the hinnie at some time in the future. It maybe in the financials, an odd service agreement, anywhere, but it will be there. Can a person trust a dealership, why yes. Are all dealerships trustworthy, NO. Please do your own due diligence before heading out to buy a vehicle and again check prior to signing a contract. CarFax, BBB, etc
dont stop there. BROADCAST the incident and cost them HUGE amount of grief, lasting stinging grief. far far more than the 'gain' realized by foisting the cost on the hapless customer. do it for DECADES. make them SUFFER.
Did you watch til the end? The owner sounds like they had no knowledge these accusations were being made and it sounds like it was coming from the salesman. They could have been mistaken, dishonest or actually doing the owner's bidding. But if it wasn't the latter, that seems like an unfair reaction
I did throw a 👍 on the OP, but I have one tiny correction to add to it. Do **NOT** trust the BBB's rating on any business. The Better Business Bureau sold its credibility decades ago. These days, businesses **BUY** their A+ or A++ rating from the BBB, and businesses that don't buy will never have a good rating. "Nice business you've got there. It'd be a shame if you got an imperfect reputation," says the BBB.
This is a great video. I bought a used Impala many years ago from a dealer that we had bought from before. In fact we had sent family and friends there. The car had an oil burning issue. They went through the car for me, did a repair that I paid a simple deductible for. 30 days later, it was still using oil. I called my salesman to tell him and ask what we could do. The next day he told me that the owner requested a few days to figure things out. The next day I got another call. He told me that the owner had actually suggested a different car (a much nicer Buick Lucerne) and asked me to come in. Bottom line-the dealer gave me back what I had paid, reimbursed the deductible for the repair and got me a newer nicer car without any hassle.
You know, I'm gonna call BS on the owner. I've worked for bosses that would tell employees to try to screw people over, and if they got push back would just say, "Oops! I had no idea, we'll take care of that right away!" And even if that isn't the normal M. O .here, I think a reporter *and* lawyer calling up to talk to him might have led him to say what he did. Just my opinion.
@@commonsense31 Or else become very successful! In businesses where cost of entry is high and you can create a cozy cartel, screwing over the customer is practically required
I replaced a clutch in a Pinto years ago for a customer. After the installation, a bearing in the tranny broke during the test drive. I just happened to have another 4 speed and installed it. Told the customer and he insisted I owed him a new transmission, not a used one. I asked him if the transmission was new when he dropped off the car. Of course it wasn't, it was the original with 112,000 miles. He spent a couple months trying to find an attorney but none would take his case, they considered him to have been made whole. Fixed the broken trans and ended up selling it to the Pinto owner's brother.
@@vwalsh63 fun fact, that only applies to the first 2 years of pinto, and on top of that, below quarter tank, and on top of that, with an impact of more than 60 mph difference.
Back in the day (70's) doing neutral slams (N to D while revving the engine to the moon) in Stoney Creek was par for the course. And yes, that is now impossible to do with newer automatics.
One time an old man I know was selling a truck. Someone went to test drive it and they were gone for hours. He had called the police assuming it was stolen. They eventually returned with the truck completely covered in mud (it was spotless before lol) They said: ”sorry I took so long I got it stuck then on the way back went to my bank for cash because I want to buy it” True story haha, I would mow his lawn for $ as a kid so I watched it all go down.
As long as he buys it, you know. I’ve opened something in the store and ate it. Paid at the register. It’s a bit presumptuous, but no harm, no foul. You do what you can in a pinch. If you don’t duck no one over, it can be forgiven.
I imagine if the dealer in this story who went after the woman had worked at an apartment complex, he would show an apartment to a potential tenant, walk in and discover the unit flooded with a massive water leak, and then demand that the apartment seeker pay for the damages...
I guarantee there are dealers out there who are the ones who knew how to keep that car running and we're hoping it would last long enough that somebody would sign the contract and drive off the lot in it and trying to get somebody to pay for it would just be another way of trying to get somebody to buy it
@@mxpants4884 What's that got to do with it. Most ten year old cars have two positions below the "D". Automatics DO have gears or maybe you didn't feel your automatic changing gears as you slowed or sped up.
@@Theywaswrong those two positions are low gears which is for climbing very steep hills from stationary and maximum speed of 10 mph or so. Not for going downhill at 40 mph, which will surely destroy the engine at those speeds.
@@tekofaks2 Yep, it surely would destroy the engine if the AUTOmatic transmission would allow that. Luckily for smooth brains everywhere, they do not. Low gear selectors are not for climbing hills, it will stay in a low gear on it's own because once again it's an AUTOmatic transmission. Low gears are for using engine braking down long grades, without dragging the brakes the entire time. Put it in LOW and it will force it to use the LOWEST gear it possibly can without overreving instead of automatically shifting to a higher gear because it senses it needs zero torque to roll down a hill. Who taught you how to drive? Good lord, there are so many inept people running around in multi-ton vehicles...
@@pontiacg445 First of all I drive a manual for the last 9 years I am allowed to drive. I have very little experience on automatic shifters. As far as I know and found online the low gears on most Automatic transmissions would not allow more than first or second gear on a car. And I can certainly tell In road speeds either first gear or second gear Will surely be redlining above 30 mph easily. I have tried to look online to find any explanation on your claim "lowest gear it can without overrevving" theory for any speeds higher than extreme inclines or towing. Please feel free to correct me with valid proof, however I am certain that I know more about cars and driving than 90% of the drivers in "automatic carland" so do not worry about me driving over you as we are not even in the same half of the world.
I was on a test drive last week with my son and we got rear-ended at an intersection. The bumper was just about torn off. The salesman freaked out and the woman that hit us was crying. It was a large dealer with a shop and they said they would fix it themselves. I don't think they wanted to deal with insurance or paperwork. It was a not so old 'pre-owned' car and they probably did not want a previous accident indicated on the vehicle record.
@@sv2697 I don't believe the salesman that was in the car with us collected any information from the driver that hit us. The police were called but did not want to get involved.
@@chickenwing111 they didn't want to get involved?! They need to work up an accident report.. That's their job! Likely some good ol boy crap going on between the dealer and local police..
I am soooo glad to hear the used car deal owner did the right thing and went above and beyond to help the customer. Sounds like an honorable person that I would enjoy doing business with.
Sarcasm? If not your statement is assuming that the owner was indeed telling the truth and not doing damage control. If he was indeed telling the truth then I agree completely with you.
BS he just covering his butt, if he really wanted to make it right, then rebuild the engine and tranny and the customer gets it at the same price they were selling it for, now that is making it right..
@@markcab2055 Doubt the customer still wants it, I for sure wouldn't. I one bought a car that had a troubled history, newer engine swapped in and some other stuff done - endless source of grief, finally ditched it for less than half of what I paid originally for it, and I had spent thousands on work and upgrades. Not buying junkers anymore, any messed up history - bye bye. Rebuilt engine and tranny? I'll give you 1$ for it.
Downshifting in automatics works because it's still relying on the principal of turning that kinetic energy into turning the engine. It's been fairly common for at least 20 years now for the ECU to even recognize this and turn off fuel and sometimes activate the torque converter clutch. My current car will downshift itself even to help maintain a particular speed, and has an extra band in the transmission called the engine braking band.
yep and knowing rpm ranges helps so you do end up in a situation like this regardless of car year range someone could have tuned that car prior to it being brought in to the car lot then there wouldn't be any shifting safeguards
I never judge a company by what went wrong. I judge them by what they do when something goes wrong, If they went after her that is bad but if the one is trying to make it up to her then that is a good thing. So many companies today just don’t care to try and make things right.
The missing part of this analysis is that the sales manager was probably paranoid about losing his or her job because they're responsible for profit and loss. Along comes the owner who gets a call from an attorney, realizes that there is a media storm and so immediately realizes his best option is to make things right. He gets to play the good guy after the fact.
@@Draintheswamp2024 I down shift automatic transmissions all the time. It keeps the load of the break. I even downshift for red light and heavy traffic. Downshifting an automatic is at least as safe as downshifting a manual. Usually automatics have extra protections. I hate driving automatics that only have Drive, I feel unsafe driving them.
That's what always pissed me off about retail. Employees have to be the bad guy per company policy. The manager gets to breeze by and make you look like shit and make the customer happy.
Evert time I have ever purchased a car from a dealership I have always had a representative from the dealership drive the vehicle, so I am not responsible for any problems, damage or accident. This way I can pay more attention to sounds, vibration and the performance of the vehicle. The lady got good help and I'm glad for her.
Almost a similar story when 20 years ago I used to work for a sweeping company in either Redford or Livonia, MI. One night the truck I took out that was an Isuzu cab over with a 2 4L diesel started knocking and before I realized what was happening I heard one last loud knock and then nothing. Broke down on N.B. I-275 somewhere in Plymouth, MI. Few days later got called into the office and they told me I blew the engine and it had thrown a rod straight though the oil pan and they were going to dock my paycheck of well over $800 because they said I should have pulled over and stopped the engine when I first started hearing the knocking. I told them I'm not a mechanic and I didn't know what that knocking was and I have for the previous months or more been writing up that a low oil light would come on every time I'd come to a stop and the issue never git fixed by the shop mechanic. So they tried to get me to pay for their laziness and not taking care of written up issues. I basically told them to screw off and I quit a short time later.
You should have asked them to dock the pay of whoever decided to ignore your maintenance requests since that's what led to the damage. Even if you pulled over immediately the damage was basically done.
@@hydrolito exactly. I could see people buying junk cars and letting their engines explode just to get other people to pay for the repairs before they sell the car
The same used dealers that prey on people in low income areas. That offer incredibly high interest financing on heavily used vehicles with the expectation that the buyer will default. I forget which show (last week tonight?) did a piece on it, but there were some vehicles that had been sold and repossessed like 15 times. As I recall they had similar deceptive financing schemes as payday loan companies, and basically sold junk vehicles that barely remained operable during the loan period... And they had some ridiculous rate of repossession. There are scumbags everywhere that claim to be providing essential services while in actuality just taking advantage of desperate people and setting them up to fail.
A tip for test driving convertibles. When I was car shopping for my miata, we checked out a few when it was raining. Being convertibles, especially the soft tops, I wanted to see if flooding occurred. Because if it happened that week, it'd probably happened before. Before we took off the salesman popped the trunk, it smelt musty. First clue. After the test drive, I popped the trunk and shifted both seats forward (was also looking for sliced carpet, which is done in response to flooding). Pressed on the carpet in all three areas and wadda ya kno? Squish squish, flooding in the cab. Damp in the trunk. When we left I heard the supervisor say to the test driver, "That's a real shame," because that would have been a cute car for me, and an easy sale. Ended up finding a several years newer hard top Miata grandtouring for just a few grand more from an amazing private seller. Still have it still love it. Just gotta flow check the drains to make sure there are no clogs, and I have no problems.
I once test drove a two seater sports car. With the salesman I started to drive out of the lot. When I tried to stop at the road and the brake pedal went to the floor with no stopping action. Well, I rolled in the road and stopped with emergency brake. The salesman started saying he’d fix the brakes. I just handed the keys to the salesman leaving the car where it was and left. Never looked back!
I assume you're talking about a Chrysler Crossfire, which is actually built by Mercedes during their union with Chrysler and were not only incredibly unreliable money pits, but spare parts are unobtainium. The customer was very lucky this happened because buying the car would have been a huge regret.
I was test driving a new car, drove it about 10 miles down the highway and was starting to exit to go back when a dashboard light came on saying the engine was overheated. I pulled over to the shoulder and turned off the engine, then called the dealer and told them. The sales man drove out to meet me with another vehicle and a service guy, then had me finish the test drive in the new vehicle with the salesman riding shotgun and left the service guy with the other vehicle. Back at the dealership, several people came by to thank me for stopping and waiting for them and saving the vehicle engine. It appears something wasn't tightened properly and a lot of the coolant had leaked out.
@@andrewk8636 you can overheat a car and it will still be fine if you stop and shut it down in time. Sounds like the OP did the right thing and shut it down before too much heat destroyed the engine.
All my cars have Manual Transmission. Since I do all the maintenance, I use the brakes instead of stressing the engine. It is cheaper to replace brake pads than to repair and/or replace engines, clutch, transmissions, etc.
Considering that if she had bought the car and then it had blown the engine the next day when she took that road to visit some family and the engine had blown then she could have easily gotten her money back in full since most states have laws about used and new cars that cover this specific kind of circumstance. That dealership is insane if they think they have even half a chance of making her pay for it.
@@skittlemenow depends on if its an "as is" sale. if "as is" then, no. you would loose. thing is, you have the opportunity to inspect the car or have it inspected by a trusted mechanic prior to the purchase of the car. if you choose to purchase it without inspection or despite what the inspection turns up, thats on you. the only way you could win a case is if you can prove the dealer purposefully or willfully mislead you like hiding the fact that a salesman was in an accident in it 3 months ago and had it repaired in house so it wouldn't be reported to something like car fax.
I think the author who contacted the owner of the dealership was genuine when he reported the owner was upset at this situation. It sounds like the salesman panicked and tried to cover this up before any of the higher-ups noticed!
Knowing that area I'm curious as to why she was going so far on a test drive. The area she was headed to is over 100 miles away that seems excessive for a test drive. Cars and lite trucks going down the grapevine don't need to down shift like she did. I believe she caused the failure by down shifting unnecessarily.
Cudos to her not giving in to undue pressure. Even old, circa late 80's Chevy/GMC THM400's (3L80) automatics wouldn't allow you to over-rev on a downshift. Engine braking is the PRIMARY method for slowing on a steep grade when hauling a load. It keeps the brakes/fluid cool (by not using them), it doesn't harm the engine or the transmission, assuming both were not ALREADY defective. Great episode Steve.
So when she downshifted, she went from drive to 1 and then possibly 1 to 2 while going at freeway speeds? I've never done this and can't imagine doing so, I'd think this would destroy the transmission but from what I'm understanding from Steve, modern automatics will prevent the transmission from switching or shift out of low gear if the rev gets too high? Edit I mean my 5 speed automatic camry goes up to 160 km/h not that I've done that in fifth gear and my fourth gear redlines around 100 probably because it shifts around 80, if she tried shifting down to 1 going 100 it would redline if she was going 100 afaik and if she shifted to 2 that would probably be really bad, afaiu from the video, even if you made that shift the car wouldn't do anything and stay in fifth gear? Actually I think I'm on the wrong train of thought here, speed isn't what determines engine speed, The numbers I'm talking about above I got from accelerating up to highgway speeds, the only thing that determines revs is how much energy you're putting into the car and where the rev stabilizes represents the amount of energy required to keep the same speed minus losses. I think there is a way to use this information to estimate loads and capabilities but its way beyond me. My car revs at 2200 at 100 and 3k at 120 in fifth gear.
@Ben Cheevers Engine speed directly correlates with vehicle speed and gear ratio. On any remotely modern vehicle, downshifting to utilize engine braking only shifts down one gear. If that is not adequate, you can manually downshift further, but the powertrain management system will not allow a downshift that will cause engine or transmission damage. If the vehicle was operating properly, she could select first gear, but her inputs would be ignored until the vehicle's speed decreased to an amount appropriate for the gear. This is 100% a fault with the vehicle.
Back in '07, a friend of mine was trying to sell an older model RX7. Some sleaze ball from the 'big city' (his words, not mine) came out and was looking at the car, and asked for a 'test drive'. The guy proceeded to run the car rough, like he was some James Bond wannabe. When the 'test drive' was over, the engine was badly damaged due to the man having no idea how to drive a rotary, and the transmission and suspension were also damaged. Upon returning, the man said that he was not interested. And he had no intention to buy the car in the first place. As anyone reading can probably guess, this was not well received. The man was then informed that he had to either buy the car on the spot, or pay for the repairs to the vehicle. When he started to refuse, an argument broke out, and the police were called by neighbors. Since the seller had kept detailed records, he was able to prove that the car had been mechanically sound before the test drive. The officers ordered the man who had come out for the test drive to buy the car or pay for the repairs. The alternative was to be arrested for property damage. (I think they were bluffing. At the time, I wasn't as well read in an officers'authority as I am now.) After some choice words, the guy from the city ended up purchasing the vehicle, and then selling it to a repair shop, who auctioned it off after repairs. This story is still a sore point with my friend, 16 years later. And I don't blame him. He had put hundreds of hours into lovingly maintaining that car. And he watched it all be destroyed in front of him.
@@chincemagnet rotary engines behave differently than piston engines. And it wasn't just the fact that the engine was a rotary, it was the fact that the guy thought he was James Bond.
I bought my first car from a dealer in 1978. Since then, I have had two high pressure presentations I walked out on. But otherwise, in the 15 new and used purchases, and also many service transactions, I have experienced good to exemplary treatment from sales and service staff. But, in 2018 my experiences began to vary. IDK what's up, but there has been a shift in the way some sales and service staff proceed with a customer. I am glad to see the owner of this operation make things right.
I saw the thumbnail and busted out! Clicked fast! I used to throw my 2012 mazda 6 into the 'manual' mode, and start tap dancing through gears while doing ubder in DC!
I was test driving a car with my wife awhile back, and the engine blew up, they came and picked us up, needless to say we didn't buy anything there, but they didn't imply we would need to pay anything, that's insane!
Well a lot of cars develop an engine knock, a new rod bearing is popped onto a rough rod throw on the crankshaft, car traded in, and it won't last long... likely an hour to a month...
@@BuzzLOLOL This is how it goes. Dealerships will generally take anything on trade. I can't tell you the number of ads I've heard on the radio where they say "drive, haul, or tow it in." They take cars they know are broken, and then try to resell them.
@@mage1439 not really. If it's worth under a certain amount they just take it to auction. Dealers will take any car in because that gets you in the door and into a newer car. Plus if you're looking at a brand new car you can get some decent trade in bonuses that will definitely close the sale.
I used to work at a car dealership as a lot attendant, so I'd be the second person at the dealership to drive all the trade-ins, after the guy who took it around the block to appraise it. We had some... special cars show up in the summer I worked there. Cars that took minutes to get started just to move off the lot, cars with weird broken things that the appraiser didn't notice because he just wanted to eyeball it like one car with a driver's door window switch that only worked to lower it, and he never tested it. Fortunately it was a nice Volvo, which had the ability to hold the key in the lock position in the door and all the windows would auto-close (Or was it hold the button on the remote? I don't remember, it was something like that), which was fortunate because it was traded in about five minutes before a rain storm.
I had the same job for a while. There were cars that I refused to move across the lot because of how poor a condition they were in. A few of them got taken on test drives anyway, because some salespeople simply don't care about anything but making a commission.
I was an engineer at the manufacturing plant, or was I a cook at McDonald's (I don't remember, it was something like that). I also invented the rain you experienced after the trade in, I think. Maybe I was in charge of the clouds too, I don't remember that either.
Honda Odyssey owner here, put the key in the door lock and two turns+hold to unlock rolls all the windows down, opposite rolls all the windows up. Hard to imagine living without it now
My dad had a story like this back in his 20s. Sometime in the late 90s to early 2000s, he went to a dealership to look at buying a gmc typhoon. It was a little sport suv that came with twin turbos from factory. Its a special edition suv that was super fast. He wanted to get one for drag racing after some upgrades. On the test drive him and his friend made it 10 minutes down the road and the engine blew. They had to walk back to the dealership. The dealership took the keys and werent happy but no harm no foul. Also i could see people thinking he was hot roding it, he wasnt.
Hi Steve, I think you'll like this story. Years ago my sister-in-law had a car with a manual transmission and she needed to have work done on the transmission. She took it to one of those chains (honk-honk) which kept it for a day or two to fix it. Afterwards, she picked it up and it made a strange noise, but she decided to wait and see and drove to the store. In the store parking lot, the car stopped in that sudden way only manual transmissions can stop a car. She had it towed to another mechanic who opened it up and found one a bolt jammed in the gears. The bolt was one of the ones which attached the transmission to the clutch housing. Obviously the chain garage had left a bolt in the transmission. When she looked at the itemized receipt from that first garage, they had the chutzpah to charge her for the replacement bolt they used when they couldn't find the one they had left in the transmission.
I always downshift my automatic transmission especially when towing to aid my brakes when going downhill. The grapevine is a perfect example of when you would want to utilize your transmission to help your brakes because of its long decent.
@@pdxyyz4327 A proper tow kit, LOL. Like a diesel truck that has an exhaust brake... and an automatic transmission? People need to stop with the myths. Engine braking on an automatic does zero damage.
@@immikeurnot Just off the top of my head, tow hitch, heavy duty suspension, heavy duty brakes, beefed up engine and transmission cooling, better rear end gearing, heavy duty battery and beefed up alternator, wiring harness with trailer connection. And better to get it from the factory.
I owned a 1983 3/4 ton GMC 2500 with a TH750 for many, many years. I towed with it, even with the bed full (never exceeding GVWR) all over the west, including downhill grades that were steeper and longer than the grapevine. I absolutely never had any trouble from shifting down out of overdrive to keep the road speed in check. My dad and I did the same with an '81 Chevrolet Chevette (minus the towing). The vehicle being tested would have had that same failure eventually no matter how it had been driven. Simply put, something was wrong with it before the test drive occurred.
Steve, my husband and I were looking for a second car, and had a vehicle we were test-driving failed. I don't remember exactly what happened, but it was definitely nothing that we did. We were never asked to pay for repairs, but we didn't buy that vehicle!
Great advertising! "Hi, my dealership sucks so bad, that the crap cars we sell, break down before you even by it." "Oh, and we are going to sue you because it's great advertising and good for customer relations"
This happened to me as a car salesman. Not catastrophic failure but a car acting up. It more than likely existed before the test drive. I apologized for wasting the customers time said I will gladly get it right and would appreciate and love to redo the possibility of a sale once I made it right. He was happy 😃 I fixed it and bought the car. It was a cheap $3999 car. It was a coil pack that went bad. The car ran like a champ after new coil pack. Blaming it the potential buyer is in very poor taste with the only difference if they were beating the car mercilessly and obviously.
I had a car fail twice on a test drive with the salesman in the car. First thing was one of the tires went flat so while he was out putting the spare on so we could take it back to the lot the engine began overheating and one of the radiator hoses ruptured and spilled out all of the coolant. The salesman was very apologetic while we waited for someone from the dealership to come pick us up.
We went to a car lot to buy a minivan. Nice 2001 Grand Caravan Sport. Was looking forward to owning our first van with bucket seats all around. We took it for a test drive, and the engine started running hard. We turned it around and limped it back to the dealer and it died outside their driveway. They said it was a stuck thermostat and offered to change it and still sell it to us. We declined.
I've been driving manual for 30 years and I can tell you that it's not recommended to neutral the car. You will unneccesarily stress the valvetrain, clutch and motor mounts when you put it back in gear and jar the RPM's. The output shaft in the gearbox stays synchronised to the wheel speed, the engine RPM is low, and the Input shaft has spun down and stopped spinning (idle). The clutch is sliding on the flywheel, The moment you put it back into gear, and engage the clutch everything syncrhonises again. It's best to minimize the time spent between shifts, to the time it takes for the input shaft to maintain synchro. Therby reducing wear on components. Not to mention improve the STABILITY OF THE CAR. The reason that Clutches have Springs (except racing clutches) Is so that the OEM drivetrain does not break apart when you shift.
Engine Braking! I do this when I go through the Appalachian Mountains with my 2004 Grand Marquis. It's a 4 speed auto. When going down hill I hit the O/D off button to pop it out of 4th and put it in 3rd. Works great and I don't have to ride the brakes on the way down a steep mountain. And no it's not hard on the transmission or engine, I do it all the time and I have 200K on the odometer, original engine and transmission.
@@GeorgeWashingtonLaserMusket it is totally fine... It doesn't damage anything when used properly (on long hills... Not to come to a stop at every city red light) It is a normal part of towing and hauling. It is taught in CDL training. You have to know how to engine brake and when to use it. And it's applicable to cars and trucks too. If you are ever going down a long hill and smell brakes, that's someone who should be engine braking and they are at serious risk of boiling their brake fluid and losing all braking, or suffering dangerous levels of brake fade.
That is exactly how one should drive on steep downhills. Regular car breaks are not designed for prolonged use and will overheat and break. On the other hand, if you go 50kmh downhill with engine brake, on paper it will put exactly the same load on the gear box than going the same speed up with the same gear. Engine on the other hand takes even less load because not using gas any more than it would when idling. Even when only driving on mostly level ground, using engine brake instead of brake pedal is better in every measurable way from fuel economics to environmental effects and car life span. It's surprising to me how few people know how to do this even though it is something that's supposed be taught in driving school in where I live(not US).
In 1970 I was getting tired of my 1968 Dodge Charger, so I started looking at something other than MoPar or Chevrolet. I saw a 1970 Mercury Cyclone with a large Cobra Jet engine and 4 speed. The salesman and I went for a test drive. We stopped at a light and he said that when we take off, be kind of aggressive so I can see what kind of power it has. Burned a bit of rubber in first gear, hit second gear and the rear end blew up. We clunked to a stop by the side of the road, got out checked things out, and the salesman said that should not have happened. I agreed. We walked about 3/4ths of a mile back to the dealership, I hopped in my Charger and drove away. Kept the Charger a couple more years.
I was recently looking at used vehicles. I talked to the salesperson about what price range I was looking to buy a car from and he pointed out several for me to look at while telling me that they were all unlocked with the keys inside. I walked over to the first, looked around the exterior of the car and decided that it was worth opening the door to look inside. I put my hand on the car handle, pulled to open the door, and it broke off right in my hand. In shock, I kind of looked at the piece in my hand then back at the door and surmised that that door would never work again without a handle replacement. I then in my best military background manner, did an about face, took the handle reminant to the salesman and placed the piece in his hand while I firmly said, "nope". I then walked straight to my 1983 pickup that I have had for over 30 years with only minor problems, got in and drove away...
I was interested in purchasing a new car, but when I went to the dealer, they said it was in the shop, but we could look at it. We went to service, only to find the engine was removed, and parts were scattered all over the bench. Something about the wrong pistons installed at the factory. We passed on the car.
I had something like this happen a long time ago to a lesser extent. I small car dealership had a Landrover Discovery and while the vehicle was stopped I put it in 4wheel high and then to 4wheel low per the owner's manual and when trying to go into 4wheel low it made a horrible sound and would not go into 4wheel low. The salesman told me I would have to pay for the repairs for the damage I just caused. I laughed and asked him if he wanted to talk to my lawyer. They are out there and will take advantage if they think they can.
So what you are saying is you are not a savvy consumer because you do no research in advance and was trying to purchase a "status symbol" you were unaware was a POS until you drove it?
@@LisaMedeiros-tr2lz Nope it was for a friend that knew nothing about cars. I told him it was a POS but he wanted it anyway. We finally found one that still had a warranty which he bought and in a year it was in the shop 4 times. He eventually sold it for what he bought it for and had renewed the warranty twice.
I was riding my bike down, northbound on the grapevine and picked up a nail in my front tire at 40+ miles an hour! My name is Bicycle Bob and I approved this message and riding a bicycle on the freeway is legal in many places.
Went on a test drive ten years ago during the winter in the midwest. The sales person wanted to show off the car and took me to an enclosed "test drive" circuit the dealership used with some other dealers in the area so the performance could be tested safely. On the second lap, the sales person took a corner a little hot, and with some snow on the ground, started to skid right to a lamp post. I braced for the air bags, but after hitting the pole head on on my side, no air bags went off. The guy pulled over and the pole was ripped from the ground and there was a large gash into the front bumper and dent into the roof from the pole. We drove back to the dealer in silence, and after talking with his team, the sale guy came back out and offered me to drive a second car, since I didn't get to drive the first. I was fine, so we did, but the trip was a lot more sedate and we didn't go back to the track. Since I wasn't driving the first car, there wasn't anything I was asked to cover. But was interesting to see the car pulled from inventory for a bit, then relisted a few weeks later, no accident on the Carfax showing.
I’ve seen this happen a lot. There use to be the giant cement block in the middle of the dealerships parking lot I’m guessing to keep people from onto to a certain metal pipe. When the new 2021 tahoes rolled out they had bought two. One in black and one in silver. Somebody had driven the Tahoe into the large cement block destroying the front end it appeared to have ramped onto the block and cracked the oil pan from the amount of oil. We come by a few weeks later to the same black and silver Tahoe parked out front with a clean carfax on the website. Dealers are getting worse and worse these days
There's no doubt she was already braking. She claims to have shifted back to a higher (presumably 'drive') gear which didn't reduce the rpms. The transmission had failed at which point the only hope would have been cutting the ignition potentially without the ability to switch to neutral, while driving downhill on the interstate around LA. I had a car from the same time that had one of those ignitions that would turn off. Even in town driving under 30 mph, when your steering and brakes lose power you're suddenly having to steer hundreds of pounds of weight. It's objectively safer for you and everyone around you to let the stupid engine fail while you can control the car and get off the road
It is not rocket science, when the transmission is in a gear, the car going faster will raise the rpm and slowing the car will lower the rpm in same gear, lego
Uh, what's a test drive for if not to determine the condition of the car mechanical condition? Automatic transmissions have several sensors, computers and automation to limit revs, temps, even vibration in a few so the transmission doesn't detonate. I've been in a TR8 the dealer was driving for a test drive and the engine (if I remember a Buick aluminum block clone) at the end as we where returning to the lot... Blew a piston out of the engine. Oil everyplace. Car dead at the entrance to the lot. Car salesman/owner was devastated. I felt bad for him but I literally walked away from that dealer all the way back to the base.
as the revs went too high, it sounds like she didn't apply the brakes, shifting down using engine braking is to assist slowing the car down, you are still meant to use the brakes as well.
Many people commenting and the analysis in the video on the way the auto transmission works are incorrect. She didn’t shift into a low gear while going to fast, (where the tcm would prevent the shift) She shifted ahead of time. The rev limiter cannot help if you’ve put it in that gear and then have the car traveling at a speed that exceeds the rev limiter. It is essentially the same as money shifting a manual transmission. The rev limiter is a one way thing. It’s electronic and prevents over rev from you flooring it but it can’t do anything if you have the wheels mechanically locked in too high of a ratio to the engine.
Buying my first car, having gotten out of the US Army in '74, I test drove a Javelin from a used car dealership, with my dad riding with me, and ran out of gas. Did not buy that one. Ended up buying a '68 Charger from a private party. It was in great condition, except being covered in primer paint, and was at a great price. Bought it from an older gentleman, who instead of giving me a signed title took me to a licensing agency where we transferred the title on the spot. First car, didn't think anything about it. Turned out it was his son's car, well known to the local police, who had put the primer coat on it to make it less obvious. Can't tell you how many times I got pulled over to see what I was up to, but at least I got a chance to meet the local officers in what turned out to be a friendly manner.
I have a 2014 Fusion hybrid automatic. It actually has a button on the gear selector specifically for steep downgrades. With the regeneration of electricity it free wheels easier then many cars, and why the button is there. Got to use it when I went to the Southwest. It worked well. Was glad to have it especially in Colorado and Utah.
Those transmissions seem to be pretty robust in design. 2 motor-generators connected to gears that are in constant mesh together. Despite being classified as a "CVT" there are no clutchs, bands, or belts to wear out and fail... with occasional fluid changes there's no reason it shouldn't outlast the rest of the car.
Most Car dealerships are used to crap just happening, and unless someone was grossly negligent, they don't sweat it. My very first day working at a car dealership, I was involved in an accident. I was sure that I was going to be fired. They just told me they had insurance and then proceeded to tell me all about the accidents they had have over the years.
Been downshifting automatics all my life. Never blew anything up. The car I own now actually uses engine braking by itself if the cruise control is on. It downshifts by itself to maintain speed down hills.
I sold my 96 [S-10 ]truck about 20 years ago and the radiator outlet tank cracked on the test drive. I fixed and and complete the sale once fixed. Didn’t cost the kid a dime. [ed missed the zero]
@@xpusostomos it’s was about a 10-year old truck sold to a High School kid for less than $2000. What’s the problem? Parts fail. It had regular fluid changes, mostly highway miles, and I fixed whatever needed fixing because I have always had no use for an unreliable vehicle irregardless of how much it was worth. If I’m using it, it’s worth fixing.
Most newer cars have “black box” like recorders when certain things happens like an accident, brake lockups or ABS activation, or wheel spin. Data recoded can include steering angles, brake pressures, engine rpm, accelerator pedal position to name a few. Working as a diagnostic auto technician I’ve seen some crazy data stored and I could tell exactly what the customer “driver” was doing with car based on data alone. Pretty interesting stuff.
