Anyone know if I am liable if I break something due to “abuse” when I test drive a car?
I plan on going out near philly to test drive an SC. But I want to put it through it’s paces before I decide I want it. Its being sold by a dealership as-is condition. It’s a manual and what I really want to do is drop the clutch to make sure the drivetrain is up to snuff. They say the clutch was replaced. But I’ll be the judge of that. :mrT:
you break you buy round eye. Never heard of any law but you probably could be held liable. when I was younger we used to go to small dealerships and test drive the cars for fun and beat the shit out of them.
i took a 300zx for a test drive the other week… guy said it was all up to snuff… it wasnt, thing had no balls, think the turbos were shot
It’s a ford, It will break shortly anyway.
I dont see how you could possibly be liable. Unless you sign something saying that if you break it, you buy it. Dropping the clutch should not break a car. If it does break it, then obviously something was wrong with it, and you obviously didnt cause that to happen.
really dont think u can be held to fix it,unless u do something raelly stupid!!!
is it a dealer or person?
to test clutch take it up to about 15mph in first hold the rpm’s at about 3000 rpm and then put it in 4th gear and drop the clutch and give it a lil gas like your trying to roll away. the rpms should shoot right down. if they slide down. then the clutch slips. thats how i always checked.
oh yeah. beat the fuck out of it. but remember you might be buying it after you beat the shit of it
when i bought my vw, i made sure to bounce it off the rev limiter a few times.
Nope you cant be held liable for anything even if you wreck it…
exactly, its all on the dealership’s hands.
This is how I bought my s2000. Dude test drove it, rolled it over, and walked away with clean hands. The dealer ran it threw their insurance and I got it for the payoff 
i beg to differ on if u wreck it!atleast have to pay deductable!
well that all depends guy, If you cause the wreck the dealerships insurance will cover everything. But then they will come after you to recover losses. If the wrecks not your fault you dont have to worrie about anything…
thats correct!@
General speaking:
I would be pissed if someone, broke my car if they went on a test drive.
Due to missing gears or lack of experience with a manual.
My cars i sold in the past i went with them. I didnt care, No way they could beat it worse than me. Just did not want a jackass miss a gear and say ooops and blame it on the car.
Sometimes shit happens, but you break it you buy it 
I’m no lawyer, but there is no way the law can be written such that “you break it, you buy it”. If it were written this way, what would stop some jerk with a bad tranny/engine/whatever from listing his car just to get it to break on a test drive.
The only thing that you might be legally responsible for is an accident where you receive a citation for a violation.
When you hand the keys to a potential buyer, it is YOUR car and YOU are taking the risk.
I know someone who wrecked a dealer car and was held responsible for the car, even though it wasn’t their fault. I think the law might be a little shaky on things… but when you test drive a car they usually want to take your information and make sure you check out.
I am the wrong person to ask though… I’m just going off one person’s terrible experience.
i just test drove a '02 z-28 the other day, and the guy didnt ask me a thing… just went and got the keys… which i thought was interesting… b/c i had no interest in the car, i want a Trans Am… he just walked out and was like “you wanna take it for a ride”… hell, i’m not gonna pass that up
Those are my thoughts on it too.
The dealer is completely liable. Thats about it.