No matter what type of new car yoiu purchase, I recommend a test drive of a retail-ready, 3-4 year old model with 30-40k, of the same vehicle you are buying. There is value to be found with looking into the future, as an example of what your car ccould be during yoru ownership cycle, if properly maintained. It will talk some people out of american cars for sure. A lot of the Grand Cherokee, Tahoe types of this world slowly rattle to bits...

I used to use this tactic for my benefit as a salesperson, when we had a real sweetheart of a car. If we had a well taken care of exemplary model it reallly drives home quality after the new car test drive. That is a good thing if you use it to your own benefit.