Driver Finishes Possibly The Worst Test Drive EVER, By Crashing Into Dealership Showroom

LMAO... I hope everyone is ok though.

LOL, so nobodies gonna talk about WHERE this happened though....alright my lips are sealed...

@cidflekken I honestly would not care what the "cause" of the driver's idiocy is. That person had better hope s/he has excellent insurance because I am sending in the sharks.

haha C4L, yes this reinforces the "Asians are bad drivers" notion. LOL

We've sued people who have damaged cars on test drives and we win. Our sales people are instructed to be forceful with bad drivers to cease and desist or to pull over. I have told such people that their business is not wanted and then we transmit their license to all our stores and to competing stores as well. Locally we do not put up with BS.

Well, since it happened at the conclusion of a successful test drive, I doubt the sales person had any inkling something like this might happen while parking at the dealership, nor any time to react in such a limited amount of time.

Beside the point and you missed the point entirely.

We would go after that person for the cost of the repairs.

We've had people say "You've got insurance." and our stance is "It's OUR option to involve them or not. We have no obligation to mitigate the damages you've caused."

We have had test drivers get into fender benders. Yes, we could send the car to the body shop and fix it, but selling it as an unmolested new car would be dishonest. Disclosing the repair collapses the value.

I didn't miss anything. I wasn't referencing going after the test driver for the expenses, which I think is appropriate.

I was referring to your statement about what your sales people are instructed. From the sounds of it, this was a perfectly normal test drive, until it came time to park at the dealership. There was no time for the sales person to react before hitting the building.

I think your instructions to your staff are sound, it's just that they wouldn't have helped in this particular situation, at least based on the information in the article.

Absolutely. A driver who causes any damage during a test drive should be responsible for all damages to car and property and persons. I honestly can't even fathom anyone defending that, outside of claiming the sales person gave them bad instructions, i.e., taking a wrong turn or something. But crashing into the main entrance to a dealership is simply mind boggling, unless the person had a medical condition. Hope everyone is ok.

@atc98092 So what you're saying essentially is that you sought to feebly attempt to refute me by going off on a tangent.

I was saying in general I agree with you, but your staff instructions would not have likely been of help in this instance. If you don't like me agreeing with you, fine. I was not on a tangent, I was referencing exactly what you posted. Nothing more.

Come on, I'm agreeing with you. Can't you accept it?

Do you not understand the purpose of a parenthetical comment?

Insurance is a Tricky Business - and it is NOT always what you would expect. In most states - the insurance is on the "Car" you own and insure.

If a car is in an accident - it is the OWNER of the car - that will be sued - and that is why Dealerships carry liability insurance for this event. ANd that is when Insurance companies take over - because they have to determine who was at fault.

So - if you are one a test drive and get into an accident that is NOT your fault - it is the Insurance of the owner of the car that is that will likely be responsible - not YOU. If THAT driver has no insurance- it is the Dealerships policy (which will include collision) that will have to pay.

If the accident is your fault - the Dealerships insurance will still have to pay for repairs to the OTHER car - and for the test drive car if the dealership has collision damage insurance (Likely) - and then the insurance companies will fight it out - but it is likely YOUR insurance company will have to fix both cars in the end. But there is a technicality in the laws of some states - where if you have NO insurance - by allowing you to take a test drive - the owner of the car assumes responsibility. THe problem here is - unless we are talking about a cheap used car dealer who owns his inventory (Floor plan companies require insurance) and had no insurance - this STILL is between insurance companies.

It becomes a real nightmare when there is Joint Fault - BUT - it still remains that it is unlikely that a reputable dealership will be involved in a lawsuit against a person taking a test drive - it will still be the Insurance companies doing that.

It's actually stunningly simple.

Your auto insurance covers you when you test drive a vehicle.

If you are on a test drive and another driver causes an accident, that driver's insurance covers the accident and all damages.

If the accident is your fault, your insurance is responsible for all of the damages NOT the dealer who provided the test drive car.

If it is mutual fault, the insurance policies of the respective drivers handles it.

The dealer's insurance is merely a back up. If the wreck happens while the salesman is demonstrating the car, our insurance provides coverage.

In any case, if you bend one of my cars or damage my property, I'm coming after you full-bore.

The driver here seems like a maroon, though I can easily imagine someone who is not familiar with BMW's electronic gear shift thinking the car is in park or reverse when it is actually in drive.

Afraid to say moron?