Why Extended Test Drives Sell Cars (and EVs) Faster

Aaron Klimchuk has sat on nearly every side of the automotive business — retail, OEM, and now the vendor seat at Dealerware. That breadth of experience gives him a unique perspective on one of the most overlooked opportunities in dealerships today: the loaner fleet. What most stores see as a sunk cost, Aaron sees as a lever for customer loyalty, new revenue, and even extended test drives that close deals.

In this conversation, Aaron breaks down how dealers can turn underutilized vehicles into retention tools, why insurance verification is one of the silent killers of profitability, and how EV adoption hinges on consumers taking cars home for more than a quick spin around the block. It’s a practical playbook for transforming yesterday’s courtesy car program into tomorrow’s mobility strategy.

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Takeaways

0:00 Intro — Aaron Klimchuk on returning to NAMAD

0:37 Why NAMAD is a “lifetime show” for him

1:03 From retail to OEM to Dealerware: a 20-year automotive journey

1:47 Turning idle loaner fleets into revenue-generating assets

2:59 The insurance blind spot costing dealers thousands

4:28 $10K in damages in one day: what happens when you don’t verify coverage

5:00 Two-minute insurance verification that saves tens of thousands

6:52 Why extended test drives close more sales than traditional ones

7:27 How EV adoption depends on taking cars home for 48 hours

8:58 Test drives, risk, and why photocopying licenses isn’t enough

10:56 Collision centers: converting rentals into brand loyalty

11:23 Dealers already own the assets — it’s about using them smarter

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Connect with Aaron Klimchuk at https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-klimchuk-8609785/

Learn more about Dealerware: https://www.dealerware.com