No, they would not. They might ask you some questions about yourself to size you up, that have the potential to be verified, but unless you are invited to test drive an exotic car, then it is unlikely that you are the clientele that they are looking for. They already know who their potential buyers are, because only a few select people can afford such a car, they already know most of them because that is a very small number of people.

“Invitation only”.

It would not surprise me if a salesperson, after quickly discerning that a person’s last name was not in their roster of family surnames on the affordability club, and sizing up your potential, or lack of, to have the means to really purchase the car – you would be politely asked to leave, or they would make you uncomfortable enough for you to decide to leave on your own.

They might ask you directly, “Do you have any intention of purchasing a car from us, and if so, how would you intend to pay for it?” “Why should we let you drive one of these cars for your entertainment, at our risk, time and expense, when you have no possible way to afford this car? Why are you wasting our time? If you have a legitimate business reason for being here, then this is your opportunity to say so, otherwise it is time to go, your dream is over”

While it is understood that most businesses employ a standard-issue Customer Relationship Management (CRM) model, and many average run-of-the-mill business will do almost anything to placate any customer, for almost any reason under the mantra “The Customer Is Always Right”, but not *every* business is required to employ CRM, or to accept the power-grabbing mantra, that would clearly lead to unqualified people “test driving” million-dollar sports cars, and with financially-crippling results for any dealership.

There are businesses which rent Lamborghini’s – but that is not at the dealership, or is a rental / “test drive” / joy drive – is not going to be free either.

Ferrari and Lamborghini do not have to conform to the standard-issue CRM model, and it would be foolish if they did: They are not “average businesses” and do not do business with “average people”. They do not worry about “losing customers”, or about losing people…who would unlikely be able to afford such a car anyway. Their business is not built on mass-production, high sales and being just another business mill – these are artisans, craftsman who tailor-make the car to the owner.

Because they are high-end luxury manufacturers, then standard CRM rules no longer apply. How they stay in business is their own trade secret, but they do, and because they not constrained by pedestrian ways of thinking, they have afforded themselves creative liberty and artistic freedom to do whatever they want, which is not to build another cookie-cutter disposable metal box on wheels to appeal to the lowest-common denominator of budgets and bland/trendy styles, but instead to build something that is truly exceptional and a work of art. You are not going to find very many GEO Metros, Yugo’s or Minivans at The Petersen Auto Museum, but there will no shortage of Ferrari’s and Lamborghini’s.

Many in the general public possess the sadly misguided-expectation that the standard CRM-model applies: in which business owners stay up at night, fearing that they are turning away customers – that his model somehow also applies to all businesses – including high-end luxury good manufacturers.

It does not apply. Lamborghini dealership owners are not losing any sleep because they turned away Mr. John Doe Average from getting his thrill ride, after he confused an amusement park with a Lamborghini dealership.

There is no law requiring businesses to placate, tailor or become subservient to anyone who walks in, and proceed to hand them the keys to a multi-million dollar exotic car, that the “customer” (or grifter) does not possess the training or skills to properly handle the 1000+ horsepower under the hood.

I once knew a tasteless, classless former-friend who presented himself as a professional who was simply in-between jobs, but otherwise a member of an elite society – who was anything but. He was a bona-fide grifter, and I know, because it was my money that unfortunately bankrolled this loser friend for a short time.

This former-friend would visit Audi dealerships and “test drive” their cars – yet would ask me to lend him gas money in order for him to drive his late-model (soon to be repossessed) beat-up Honda to the Audi dealership. This is one of his many games, and I feel sorry for the Audi dealership. I did not participate in this scheme, but I am sure that he has some kind of clever way to present himself as something that he was not, and win the keys to a car that he would never appreciate or could never afford – at the expense of the Audi dealership.

Just to show what a tasteless person that he was, once when he was riding as a passenger in my ’72 Corvette, without asking, he presumptively just found it okay to treat my car like any old disposable car, and I discovered him slurping down a 7–11 Big Gulp of soda, to my horror – I do not eat or drink in classic cars that have been restored out of appreciation for the car and work involved. Evidently, he was classless enough to not have that appreciation fall upon him to bother to even ask me if it was okay for him to enjoy his proletariat drink in my car.

Don’t be that guy. Don’t be a dolt, or let anyone perceive you as a grifter. If you truly have the money to purchase a Lamborghini, then find out the proper channels in-advance so that you will be well-received at the dealership. Those proper channels would becoming friends with another Lamborghini owner, and you would likely find another one in your own neighborhood (if that is not a clue…).

Just like a country club, Lamborghini dealerships can afford to be selective, and like any private club, they can choose who they want in their club. While a car dealership is still a public business, they have also learned ways of doing whatever is legally-possible for their dealership to be more of a private club. Barging into a high-end sport car dealership like Joe Clueless Customer is like crashing their party, which explains what will be perceived as “them having an attitude”.

Their attitude is understandable.

How many Average Joe’s out there, do you think are equipped and skilled enough drivers to handle a 1,000 horsepower car?

What if, Ferrari and Lamborghini dealerships just tossed the keys to anyone who feigned socioeconomic status and wanted to go for a joy ride?

Beyond turning a private country club, into now a local K-Mart, and turning away real customers who actually have the money to buy these cars, but do not want to bump elbows with Cousin Eddie or Bubby McRoy – there is also the legal liability and legal (both civil and criminal) exposure if they just let a 16-year old new driver to off and drive a 1,000 horsepower missile on public roads.

If the 16-year old crashed the Lamborghini and killed someone(s), not only would the dealership take a huge loss on their totaled new Lamborghini, but they could also face criminal charges of criminal negligence for being so stupid as to not see this train wreck coming. There is a 100% chance that a teenage driver would wreck a Lamborghini within 10 minutes of turning the key. There is a 99% chance that anyone else would also wreck the car within an hour, unless they were trained and knew how to drive these cars.

So I beg anyone, to give me any good reason, that is not a self-serving emotionally-based reason, why any high-end sport car dealership, should be giving away free joy rides to anyone who walks through the door?

 This was found on Quora while searching for a test-drive related question.