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Volkswagen Salesman Is On Test Drive. Uh, Why Does The Customer Bring Him To Their Home?

"Honestly, that’s a valid thing to check."

Car test drive to customer's house

Photo by: Art Markiv, Eric McLean/Unsplash

Alexandra Samuels

By: Alexandra Samuels

Aug 18, at 8:00pm ET

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A car salesman says one test drive took an unexpected detour when his customers wanted to make sure their new vehicle would fit at home.

Justin (@drive.with.justin), a car salesman in Alberta, Canada, recorded himself sitting in the backseat as the customers apparently pulled into their garage to test the fit.

“When you are on a test drive, and they want to see if the vehicle fits in the garage. Lol,” he wrote in the text overlay of his clip.

Justin appeared happy to go along for the ride. In the caption, he explained that the stop at the customers’ house was part of the test drive, and something they had cleared with him first.

“When you are on a test drive, you are there for the customer. And yes, they asked [if] it was ok that they bring me to their home to see if the vehicle fits in the garage. Lol”

As of Thursday, his video had more than 1.5 million views. It's unclear what model the vehicle in question was, but Justin works at a Volkswagen dealership.

What Should A Test Drive Actually Tell You?

Justin’s customers may have taken the test drive farther than most, but checking whether a vehicle actually works for your day-to-day life is exactly the point.

In Alberta, the Motor Vehicle Industry Council says a salesperson can take a vehicle to a consumer’s home for a test drive, as long as the trip is being used to evaluate the vehicle’s performance, suitability, condition and features. That makes a garage-fit check a pretty literal test of suitability.

It can also catch a problem that is easy to overlook at the dealership.

A vehicle may seem like the right size on paper, but garages vary widely. Door width, ceiling height, storage along the walls, and the amount of room needed to open the doors can all matter once the vehicle is actually parked inside.

And unlike something like seat position or infotainment preferences, a garage that is too small is not an inconvenience you can easily fix (or for cheap).

There is no indication from Justin’s video that anything unusual happened beyond the customers asking to stop at their house. Again, he made clear in the caption that they asked permission before bringing him along.

Alberta’s rules do not require buyers to leave a deposit just to take a test drive. AMVIC says consumers should be able to test-drive and negotiate a vehicle before signing a sales agreement.

The province also has specific rules allowing vehicles to be used for dealership demonstration and test-drive purposes, including permits for vehicles that are not otherwise registered for the trip.

So while pulling into your own garage with the salesperson sitting in the backseat may make for an awkward few minutes, the customers were checking something that could have become a much bigger annoyance after they bought the vehicle.

Gallery: 2027 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport

2027 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport

Source: Volkswagen

Buyers Say A Test Drive Should Feel Real

A lot of viewers thought Justin’s customers had the right idea.

“Honestly, that’s a valid thing to check,” one commenter wrote.

Others said they had gone much further than a quick dealership loop before committing to a vehicle.

“After working in car sales for several years, I now rent what I’ll buy before I buy it. I just don’t trust, and 10 minutes of testing is just not nearly enough,” one person wrote.

Another said they rented the exact model they were considering for a vacation first.

“It’s a lot of money to spend on something and then not love it,” they added.

Some viewers shared test drives that were a little less conventional.

One woman said she had the salesman drive first because she spends “50% of the time” as the passenger. She asked him to “drive like a New Yorker in a hurry” to mimic her husband, then had him complain that she was “driving like a grandma” when she took her turn.

“He said that was the best test drive he’s ever done,” she wrote. “Also- I bought the truck because same.”

Another commenter said a salesman joined her family on a Jeep test drive and even helped with her son.

“He put my son’s car seat in and fed him snacks to calm him down. And we jammed going down the road,” she wrote.

And one salesperson recalled an hour-long test drive that included a detour past a customer’s ex’s house.

“They did end up buying the GLC 300 and got me Chick-fil-A lol,” they wrote.

Justin approved.

What do you think?

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“That’s a beauty of a story,” he replied.

Motor1 contacted Justin via TikTok direct message. We’ll be sure to update this if he responds.

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