Oh. My. Goodness! DH decided it’s time for me to get a new car, so we drove to Texas to look for one.
Test drive 1- hit a bird (I have NEVER hit anything!)
Test drive 2- I got pulled over!!! The car didn’t have a sticker on it, and I got a warning for driving it! What?!? (I have only been pulled over once in my life! I’m too scared to see what would happen if I tried driving a third time.).
At first I found it kind of comical that I got pulled over. Now I’m just mad. I now have a warning on my record when I didn’t do anything wrong! We even drove past other car dealerships to see whether they had a tag on the back, but they didn’t either. It was very obvious that it was a brand new dealership car.
Wasn’t there a salesperson from the dealership in the car with you? I’ve never test driven a car without a salesperson without me. If so, couldn’t they explain it was a test drive?
Regardless, I would be livid. That would be the end of any sale.
Yes, the salesman was in the back. When I rolled down my window, he also rolled his down.
Officer: Do you have registration on this car?
Salesman: We're on a test drive. I work at Whatever Dealership. All paperwork is at the office.
Officer: So, you're the one I write the ticket to?
Salesman: Well, I hope not.
Then he asked me for my license. (He didn't ask for insurance, which seems odd. Not that I would have had it on me...) He was in his vehicle for awhile before returning with a warning for me to sign. Then he had the nerve to tell me good luck car shopping.
If I understand correctly, your warning is for you to make sure the dealership put their tag on the car before you test drive it. And the sales person, whose actual responsibility it is to put on the tags, doesn't get any consequence.
Here a warning doesn't go on your record and stays within the local department. If you are concerned, on Monday take a ride, in your properly tagged car, to the police department and ask to speak to someone about your "warning". You have a good argument to ask for them to rescind it.
The officer handed me a business card that something to the effect of "we appreciate your compliments or complaints" along with an email address and phone number. I'm going to write the email tomorrow as soon as I figure out what I want to say. I do know that I'm going to include the fact that my car will now be purchased in Oklahoma (where I live) instead of Texas. No sense in giving money to that town.
Was it a written warning? If so, it will be on your record. If not, it won't. If it is written I would go to the dealership and see what they can do to help you with this. It is their fault. I am sorry about your bad experiences today.
I wonder if the police officer has to write a certain number of tickets and warnings. I would be in the police station talking to the police chief. While it may technically be something to write a ticket about, it seems like a stupid thing to do to a person test driving a car. I also would have a conversation with cat dealership.
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07-20-2019, 12:57 PM
