It is not news to any commuter in the country that gas prices are beginning to soar. It is also know that the gas prices on the west coast are typically the high-water mark for prices nationwide. Due to these astronomical gas prices car dealerships in California are starting to charge for test drives.
Fox DC reported: In California before you get the keys for a test drive at some auto sales centers you must agree to bring it back with the same amount of gas you left with.
It seems like just yesterday when a dealership would pay the consumer to test-drive a car. Incentives including free dinners, sports tickets and even gift cards were the norm. Dodge even had a cross-promotion with Universal where the test driver would get DVDs of the first four Fast and Furious movies and theater tickets to the Fast Five for taking the new Dodge Charger for a spin.
I am sure dealerships will soon be rethinking this policy. When you take into account the costs associated with getting one qualified buyer onto a showroom floor; I doubt a dealerships will let a hot lead walk for the price of a gallon of gas.