Suzuki wants to borrow my car - have you done this?

[mtnfox2]

A few months ago Suzuki sent us a postcard wanting to borrow our 2005 XL7 for a week to do emissions testing. In exchange they will pay us (I think $200), give us a nice newer model vehicle to drive, and return our car washed and full of gas. We sent the card back saying we might be interested, and today a lady called and left a message wanting to come pick up our car next Thursday and requesting we call her back. Has anyone done this? It doesn't sound like too bad of a deal, I'd just like to know how many miles are going to be added to my odometer before I agree, and it'd be nice to hear other people's experiences.

*addendum: the actual company that wants to do the testing is Automotive Testing and Development Services, Inc., contracted by Suzuki.

[murcod]

Be careful it's legit and you don't end up with someone stealing your vehicle!

[mtnfox2]

Thanks for the concern. It's legit. We talked to them today and I did some research on the company. Many auto makers use them (Ford, Toyota, Honda, Nissan...). We're going to go for it. Their "labratory" is only a short distance away, and other than the distance there and back they are only going to put about 25 miles on the vehicle. It will be placed on a dynamometer and not actually driven during testing. They are measuring emissions going from 0 to about 65-70 mph. They come to the house to pick up our vehicle, bring us a nice new Mazda with a full tank to drive around for a few days, pay us $200, and return our vehicle washed, detailed and with a full tank of gas. I'll report back on my experience when it's done.

[Driver0204]

Can't wait to hear about it!

[mtnfox2]

It was a busy month - sorry to take so long getting back about this. Anyway, here's the scoop:

They set up an appointment to come get our car on a Thursday morning. The dude showed up right on time, very professional. Had to sign some papers - i.e. agreement for the rental car they gave us, verification of any existing scratches, etc. on our car...took about 1/2 hour total.

He then drove off and left us with a cute little Mazda for us to drive. All cleaned up and a full tank of gas. They kept our car for about 10 days, then called to say they were done. They showed up early at our house, with our car looking shiny, washed and having a full tank of gas. Gave us our $200. The exchange was much quicker this time (5-10 mins). The mileage on my vehicle increased by 257 miles while they had it, this including the 30 mile drive each way to their facility.

All in all, a very easy and beneficial thing. They kept our name on their list for future studies. If anyone else gets this opportunity, this company seems very legit and I would have no hesitation. The main thing I'd verify is the mileage that is going to be put on your vehicle as this company does do many different kinds of tests.

*edit: I know in my previous post I said they would put 25 miles on the car, not 197. I believe this was a miscommunication on my wife's part and what they meant was they would put no more than 25 miles / day on the car.

[*Kiwi]

I wonder why Suzuki needs emissions data on an outdated model? Maybe it's an EPA requirement?

I doubt this is a concern but I used to work at a company that made chassis dynos long ago and we would sometimes use rental cars for testing. Long periods on rollers can overheat the tires and make the rubber hard and they become less grippy. Not likely to be an issue unless they were doing long intervals of full power.

[Joseanevo]

Sounds good but why a Mazda wasn't it a Suzuki Postcard, then gave you a Mazda to drive?, they don't care about their product.......well nice you had a good experience...

[mtnfox2]

I'm really not sure why they needed to do emissions testing - they didn't offer any extra information. I would guess they are checking to see how older models are holding up so they can keep up with EPA standards on the newer ones. I would have liked to see a report on how my vehicle performed. We got the same postcard for this offer though about 2 years ago and sent it back but never got a call from them that time.

I thought about that issue with the tires, but figured they couldn't do any more harm than my wife, the way she drives the car, lol. I haven't noticed any difference in tire grip so far.

And as far as a Mazda, yeah - I was a little disappointed I didn't get to try out one of the brand new Grand Vitaras. I guess maybe the testing company dealt with the car rental and not Suzuki.