A car salesman has taken to TikTok to recount a nightmare story in which a customer at his dealership had an unfortunate experience after going for a test drive. The last thing you expect on one of these drives is to get rear-ended.
Sadly, that is what happened in this instance. Car salesman Jackie (@drivingwithjackie) shared the experience on his TikTok account and recounted how the customer had an odd request to begin with. According to Jackie, the customer wanted a car that already had some damage to it.
While trying to figure out what that was about, he let the customer take a test drive to see what a potential car for them would be like. As he was figuring that out, Jackie said his phone rang. “And I get a phone call. Hey, Jackie, your customer just got rear-ended in the parking lot,” said the car salesman.
“And I go look, and he got rear-ended. It was not in the parking lot,” he added. It turned out that not only had the customer been rear-ended on the main road, but the car that hit the back of their car had also been totaled. It was a truly bizarre incident to have to deal with.
What Happened to the Customer on the Test Drive?
@drivingwithjackie Custome wrecks the dealerships car #creatorsearchinsights #cardealership #carsalesman #carbuyingtips #carbuyingtips ♬ original sound – drivingwithjackie
While Jackie doesn’t go into too much detail, the customer had pulled out onto the road and was then rear-ended. He doesn’t state whether the dealership’s car was written off, but the tone of his voice suggests it was just the other car that was totaled in the accident.
The other guy’s car was totaled. Have you ever done anything like that before?” he concluded in his video. Sadly, we don’t get to see the condition of either car or exactly what the cars were. But we can tell from the way he speaks and his general demeanor that he is both unhappy and confused by what just happened.
The question thereafter is who was at fault for the crash? Was it the fault of the driver who was on a test drive, or the person who rear-ended them? In the vast majority of these situations, it does tend to be the car behind that gets the blame. Dashcam footage and eyewitness accounts, however, can change that around. Sadly, in this instance, Jackie doesn’t reveal who was actually at fault for the crash or what damage the dealership’s car sustained.
Who Does Insurance Cover With a Damaged Car in a Test Drive?
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According to Focus2Move, dealerships’ vehicles are often covered by fleet insurance. That means vehicles damaged during test drives are usually covered, and thus neither the dealer nor the driver of that car should be blamed for the accident. In fact, the driver of the dealership car that was rear-ended may even receive legal representation or compensation under the fleet insurance policy. In a rear-end collision, they are highly likely not to be deemed at fault.
The dealership’s insurance could also file a claim against the driver who hit their car. That changes if the driver of the dealership car is deemed responsible for the accident, thanks to dashcam footage or eyewitness reports. It is still a nightmare situation for the dealerships, whichever way you look at it. They have to deal with the possibility of one of their cars being written off and sort out the insurance for themselves and the person who was behind the wheel.
That can take a long time to process, but it is still better than being blamed for the accident.