Buick’s 24-Hour Test Drive Is The One Day Rental You Might Buy

I’m just going to test drive this Buick. Not going to buy it. (24 hours later) I have to give it back? Ok, let’s talk payments.

Buick announced earlier this week (July 19, 2015) that they’re bringing back the 24-hour test drive. Yes, that’s right. You can literally choose any Buick model currently on sale from participating dealerships and test drive it for a whole day. The best part is Buick actually WANTS you to drive the darn thing so that means there are no mileage limits. Theoretically you could drive away from the Buick dealer and head straight for the highway and drive non-stop for 12 hours then turn around and drive back (assuming you didn’t sleep and had perfect timing.) In a perfect world traveling at a constant speed of 65 MPH, you could put 1,560 miles on a Buick Encore if you so pleased.

Honestly, at the end of the day Buick is trying to improve its brand image. When Buick offered the program back in 2003-2004, not a lot of people took up Buick on there offer. Buick even paid test drivers $250 for the opportunity. Although most people didn’t test drive one, many left with good impressions of the brand.

"“It’s more of an image builder .Some people can’t believe that Buick has the confidence to send them out in a car without a salesperson sitting next to them to tell them how great the car is. This is a brand building act, we expect it will build over time rather than instantly driving showroom traffic”"

There are some restrictions on the test drive. The most notable ones inculde that you can’t use the Buick to commit a crime. So sorry, if you were planning to rob a bank, no dice. In addition, you can’t street race one, teach someone how to drive in one or use it off road.

Signing up to drive one off overnight is a simple procedure. Here are the steps listed below courtesy of Buick,

• Click on a dealer link below to schedule your test drive.*
• Bring your driver’s license and proof of insurance to your test drive.
• Leave your car at the dealership, and take one of ours.
• Kick the tires. Hit the gas. Run for the hills.
• Keep your test-drive vehicle for a full 24 hours.