The Importance of Scheduling Appointments for the Test Drive

Long wait times at the dealership are a significant source of frustration for car shoppers. It’s not just an inconvenience; it’s a potential deal breaker. The longer a customer waits, the less satisfied they become with the dealership and the less likely they’re to recommend it, especially when their visit exceeds three hours. 

While most people may assume that financing or price negotiation are points in the journey where most shoppers are left waiting for a salesperson or manager, CDK’s Friction Points Study found that it was the test drive, with 55% of shoppers indicating they had to wait. That number is at its highest in recent years, up from 42% in 2023 to 40% in 2022. Scheduling appointments can reduce the time customers spend waiting for a test drive. Here are some scheduling tips: 

Know When They’re Coming 

Of all the stages examined in the 2025 CDK Friction Points Study, the test drive was the most frequently completed at the dealership, with 90% of shoppers opting for an in-person experience. The first and most obvious way to streamline the test drive is to know the customer is coming in the first place. Test drive appointments can minimize the number of walk-ups and offer the dealership time to prepare before a customer shows up. 

Leverage Automated Scheduling

According to the study, 52% of shoppers requested a test drive before they got to the dealership, likely so they didn’t have to wait once they’re there. However, most shoppers who requested a test drive are doing exactly what they’re looking to avoid: waiting for a response. 

Only 16% of dealerships use artificial intelligence to automate test drive scheduling, but 66% of shoppers prefer to schedule a Sales appointment immediately with an AI assistant versus waiting for a human-initiated response. And that wait isn’t just for online requests. When attempting to book an appointment over the phone, 81% of customers faced an issue. On average, they waited on hold for 13 minutes.

AI technology enables automated scheduling. It offers appointment times to the customer immediately based on the availability of your team’s calendars, eliminating the wait time between a request and a response. Add prompts for customers to schedule an appointment or publish the next available appointment on a vehicle landing page to make appointment scheduling more visible. 

Offer Virtual Test Drive Appointments

Even though most customers will still want to test-drive the vehicle in person, a virtual test drive can save time and further streamline the in-person process. If a customer is deciding between two or three vehicles, suggest a virtual appointment to help narrow down their options. 

Salespeople can offer to record a test drive of the vehicle, talk the customer through various features, let them listen to the roar of the engine (or the silence of the electric motor), and give a virtual walk-around the car. This way, when the customer visits the dealership, they only have to test-drive their top pick, reducing wait time for staff to pull multiple cars. 

Some customers indicated they wanted the opportunity to test-drive a vehicle without visiting in person or to get a better idea of the test drive through videos. Additionally, after a virtual test drive, they may be further through the Sales process when they get to the dealership and ready to negotiate price or progress through the financing steps. 

Since dealerships indicated improving the customer experience as their number one strategy for 2025, the perfect starting point is to improve the process of scheduling an appointment, which can shorten the time spent at a dealership.