Motormouth: The risk of riding shotgun with reckless test-drivers

As an ex-salesman, I remember the occupational hazard of accompanying potential buyers on test drives in fast cars.

[Story by guest columnist J.Q Qiu]

My sales training at the time included smooth hospitality and good customer service. But in our service-obsessed culture, many people believe that “the customer is always right” and expect to be fussed over by salespeople - never mind that they may not have any intention to buy at all.  

Well, here’s a wake-up call louder than the exhaust of a Porsche racing car. The maxim cuts both ways - one should show consideration to others if he or she expects the same consideration in return, rather than stubbornly stick to one’s perceived rights as a customer. 

Such indignant customers cause big headaches for sales managers in car showrooms, especially when these jokers insist on testing the sportier models.  

Free-loaders seeking complimentary refreshments, cheap souvenirs and the cheap thrills of test-driving are acceptable as part of doing business, but putting a salesperson’s life at risk on the road is an entirely different ball game.  

There are safeguards in the motor trade to ensure that time-wasters do not get their eager paws on test cars, particularly the performance models. But sometimes, rules are bent and innocent lives are put on the line, at the hands of ham-fisted drivers who are under the misguided impression that they have unlimited tokens and multiple lives at their disposal. 

Many weekend test-drivers seem to think that demo cars are meant to be thrashed within an inch of their mechanical lives. 

These “enthusiasts” reckon that their hundreds of hours spent playing Gran Turismo on PlayStations are enough to turn them into rally champions. Therefore, the moment they’re strapped in behind the wheel, it’s pedal to the metal and full power ahead from the word “Go”! 

The worst of the lot are the avid/rabid petrolheads who take it upon themselves to road-test speedy cars over a few precious kilometres in Leng Kee or Ubi for the purpose of posting little reviews on social media, chat groups, and automotive forums.  

In 99.9 percent of these cases, nothing bad happens and everyone goes home happy. But all it takes is for the 0.01 percent to rear its ugly head in a moment of lapsed concentration and the result is CRASH! BOOM! BANG!. 

This particular test drive accidentally became an impromptu crash test.

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