Usually a salesman comes with you and the car has very little gas in it.

NuttierThanEver: Vegas!

came here to say this.

The dealer, A to Z Auto on S. Stoughton Road in Madison, contacted police Friday afternoon and reported a 2000 Nissan Altima stolen. He said the man wanted to test drive the car.

Well, there's his problem. If it was a Volkswagon, the salesman would have just meekly allowed this to happen with a confused look on his face.

In the early 90's I took a Honda Hurricane out on a test drive and put 90 miles on it. Salesman sure looked relieved when I pulled back into the lot.

I have kept a couple of cars overnight. The last was a BMW X5. They wanted me to keep it over the weekend but I only kept it one night.

Shostie: [i.imgur.com image 480x360]

First thing I thought of. That episode was actually on last night.

only 160 mph ? Cpt Slow can do better then that...

Ya gotta get her out on the road. Open her up. Test her out. See what she'll do.

Oh -- you mean a car.

When I test-drove my current car ('05 Yellow Stang), salesman tossed me the keys and said, "Take however long you need". Drove it home, around town and back, a good 120 miles. Drove it home again after wards.

Reminds me of the time I took that lady's purse. I was going to give it back to her after I got enough money to buy a purse for myself. Honest!

A few years back there was a guy around my area that took a car for a test drive , drove to another dealer then picked up a car from that dealer and test drove it. by the end of the day he drove 5 cars and left each at the last dealer he went to , all undamaged and full of gas.

Sardonic_Padre: NuttierThanEver: Vegas!

came here to say this.

/ sign then drive
// happy owner of a 2k3 jetta

I test drove a 350z and was pulled over within a mile. Dealer didn't put the plate on the back. Took that as an omen that I would get pulled over a lot with that car and passed.

/VEGAS!

Guy in Melbourne (Australia) took a Honda Accord for a test drive (locked door to stop salesman getting in), went home and packed a bag and hit the road. He was picked up deep in the Northern Territories near Tennant Creek when he drove off without paying for petrol. When stopped he was 3700 km from Melbourne but he'd put 6200 km on clock in a week

More here (new window)

It should be really easy to tell if the guy was telling the truth or not. He said that he drove to Milwaukee to get the money to pay for the car, check to see if he has the cash. Based on the apartment complex where he lives or at least where the car was found, no would be the safe bet.

On the off chance that he was telling the truth, the car dealer has a golden opportunity. Tell him they will request that the charges be dropped if and when he buys the car... now have him step into the manager's office to negotiate the terms.

What really has me curious though is who was the other customer who got the dealer out of the car allowing the guy to drive off in the first place. Perhaps I'm too cynical, but it seems quite likely to me that they were working together.

did you give him the keys to the car, and tell him he could drive it?
did you set limitations on the drive?
or did you just Assume he would have the same ideas about test drives as you do?

Seinfeld and Volkswagon. I see everything's been covered. You make me proud, Farkers, you make me proud.

So, you're saying that maybe I shouldn't have done that?

/nothing ventured, nothing gained