Try before you buy?

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Surely Scout doesn’t expect customers to place orders and take delivery without ever having the opportunity to sit in or test-drive the vehicle. Need test drives in major cities.
There will be PLENTY of buyers who will convert reservations and buy without a test drive. Scout will capitalize on that 100%. They will have events for people, but they will be scheduled and not everyone will be able to make them or be accommodated perfectly. in the future, it will be much easier for that, but not out of the starting gate.
 
There will be PLENTY of buyers who will convert reservations and buy without a test drive. Scout will capitalize on that 100%. They will have events for people, but they will be scheduled and not everyone will be able to make them or be accommodated perfectly. in the future, it will be much easier for that, but not out of the starting gate.
I need to sit in one
 
Eventually, I suspect the regional repair locations might have test units - but I seriously doubt early orders will get that chance. Best case is we will have more opportunities to see production ready models before taking delivery and that plenty of reviews of production ready models will become available.

It is a catch 22. Many would want a test drive first, but likewise many will be willing to skip it to avoid waiting extra months to get their vehicles.
 
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Surely Scout doesn’t expect customers to place orders and take delivery without ever having the opportunity to sit in or test-drive the vehicle. Need test drives in major cities.
From Facebook yesterday:
 

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From Facebook yesterday:
The seeing I get it’s having enough for everyone who wants to test drive to be able to test drive in the beginning. Rivian you have to make an appointment to test drive. At least here at the factory. I could just see us all wanting test drives and there’s just only so many test vehicles. I just feel like it’s going to be a bottleneck in the beginning and get better as time goes on.
 
I will buy one based on pictures but I assume they will do like Tesla did with the Model S and invite people for factory tours with test drives and then do a nationwide tour (like they've been doing with the prototypes) with a schedule and people can come to the one nearest to them. Once they get caught up they will open galleries or whatever they call them where you can buy swag and get a test drive.

Looks like there's an airport in Winnsboro, SC, about 12 miles from the factory (or the Columbia airport is only 30 miles away). I would definitely try to make it out for a factory tour and test drive when the time comes.
 
I will buy one based on pictures but I assume they will do like Tesla did with the Model S and invite people for factory tours with test drives and then do a nationwide tour (like they've been doing with the prototypes) with a schedule and people can come to the one nearest to them. Once they get caught up they will open galleries or whatever they call them where you can buy swag and get a test drive.

Looks like there's an airport in Winnsboro, SC, about 12 miles from the factory (or the Columbia airport is only 30 miles away). I would definitely try to make it out for a factory tour and test drive when the time comes.
Are you waiting to place a reservation or an order until after you test drive? Just curious.
 
I’d think they’d make that opportunity happen somehow. I also can’t imagine that they’d release vehicles into production that drive like they have something extremely wrong with them. I’d also bear in mind that something you’re not used to driving feels unfamiliar or even unpleasant at first, but can become a lot of fun to drive. Someone here once said that no car is ever really unpleasant to drive and I think that’s generally true. Unless something is pretty wrong with it and it’s just straight-up scary and/or beyond your skill set or something, cars are just fun. I guess what I’m saying is that I’d consider getting one without driving it first.
 
When Rivian launched, they faced the same dilemma. They hadn't built out all their service center infrastructure, they didn't have test vehicles sitting in every state, they didn't have staffing to accommodate every person on the reservation list with a test drive. But, what they did have were super impressive video assets that were used to build consumer confidence and a full length movie (Long Way Up) that got people really excited about buying the truck. As they launched, they held pop-up events. Word spread, then the influencers and rags wrote their reviews and were very impressed (for the most part). But Rivian still had to get buyers over the hurdle (if they were reluctant to convert) because they were a brand new OEM (without the legacy of a Scout Motors).

So, they offered a RETURN POLICY. 7 days or 1000 miles.

That no longer exists now that they are established and offer scheduled test drives from service centers or experience centers, but I'm sure it helped with early conversion numbers to have a safety net for those that did not test drive.
 
When Rivian launched, they faced the same dilemma. They hadn't built out all their service center infrastructure, they didn't have test vehicles sitting in every state, they didn't have staffing to accommodate every person on the reservation list with a test drive. But, what they did have were super impressive video assets that were used to build consumer confidence and a full length movie (Long Way Up) that got people really excited about buying the truck. As they launched, they held pop-up events. Word spread, then the influencers and rags wrote their reviews and were very impressed (for the most part). But Rivian still had to get buyers over the hurdle (if they were reluctant to convert) because they were a brand new OEM (without the legacy of a Scout Motors).

So, they offered a RETURN POLICY. 7 days or 1000 miles.

That no longer exists now that they are established and offer scheduled test drives from service centers or experience centers, but I'm sure it helped with early conversion numbers to have a safety net for those that did not test drive.
Oh that’s right, I forgot about that return policy. They did have that.

Well what does everything think about that? It would inspire confidence that’s for sure. They could limit the miles to 500 or 1000.

I wish I could have done that with our second Miata. We only had it 600 miles and traded it in. It was not ideal.
 
I will buy one based on pictures but I assume they will do like Tesla did with the Model S and invite people for factory tours with test drives and then do a nationwide tour (like they've been doing with the prototypes) with a schedule and people can come to the one nearest to them. Once they get caught up they will open galleries or whatever they call them where you can buy swag and get a test drive.

Looks like there's an airport in Winnsboro, SC, about 12 miles from the factory (or the Columbia airport is only 30 miles away). I would definitely try to make it out for a factory tour and test drive when the time comes.
Charlottes a bit over an hour but might make it easier to get a more reasonable flight
 
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Ironically for the reveal in /around Nashville that’s what they did. They had Scout signage throughout the airport that lead to baggage claim and shuttle area. Lots of signage and a few Scout reps as concierge. Walked up, gave your name and they’d say you’re with Big Tex, you’re with Abby etc. once they collected 10-12 of us they gave a potty reminder then we walked to the parking garage hopped on the executive shuttle and relaxed for roughly 25 minutes or so on the way to hotel. Was very well run-I recall asking and it was a hospitality service they hired but everything flowed as planned for 2 days and if the commitment to the vehicles is even 90% of that commitment we should all be so lucky
 
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Ironically for the reveal in /around Nashville that’s what they did. They had Scout signage throughout the airport that lead to baggage claim and shuttle area. Lots of signage and a few Scout reps as concierge. Walked up, gave your name and they’d say you’re with Big Tex, you’re with Abby etc. once they collected 10-12 of us they gave a potty reminder then we walked to the parking garage hopped on the executive shuttle and relaxed for roughly 25 minutes or so on the way to hotel. Was very well run-I recall asking and it was a hospitality service they hired but everything flowed as planned for 2 days and if the commitment to the vehicles is even 90% of that commitment we should all be so lucky
I think that’s a great idea. Ever since an uber driver took me to a dirt lot I absolutely refuse to go in them unless I’m with a group of people.