One of these sources of free items is test drive offers. Did you know that you could go into a car dealership, test drive a car, and they would mail you something free? Everything from a steak dinner for two to a $100 gift certificate to an upscale kitchen supply store.



And yes, it would be totally free, costing you only a little amount of your time. Heck, sometimes you wouldn't even have to test drive the car!

Sound too good to be true? Well, test drive offers really exist, but they do take a little leg work before you get started.

For instance, you cannot simply go into a car dealership at random and announce, "I'm here for the goodies! What are you going to give me today?" Test drive offers must be sent to you in the mail.

Once you are placed on the appropriate mailing list for the various auto manufacturers that offer test drive incentives, it is just a matter of checking you email or snail mail box to find the offers. Then, with offer in hand, you visit the car dealership that is participating in the offer.

At the dealership, make sure to announce that you are not going to be purchasing a vehicle today, but got the offer in the mail and decided to check it out. This way the dealer assigned to you does not waste an undo amount of his time on you as a hot prospect, but is still available to answer questions you may have about the vehicle in question.

Most of the time, with this approach, the dealer will ask you if you really want to drive the car, and will not take up your time, or his, if you do not. After the test drive, or lack thereof, the dealer will sign your incentive which you will then mail into the company.

In six to eight weeks, the company will either mail or email you your reward. The value of these rewards vary, but on average they are around $50 each. Occasionally, they are as high as $100, or as low as $25.

Over the years, I have gotten thousands of dollars worth of freebies from these offers. Countless prepaid American Express or VISA/MasterCard gift cards, several gift certificates to various merchants, and all kinds of interesting incentives like movie cash and dinners at local restaurants.

I like doing test drive incentives. They are a fun, occasional hobby. Sometimes I save up my rewards and use them for gifts for my extended family.

We regularly buy new vehicles, and I always return to the dealers who treated me well when I had an incentive in my hand, as opposed to those who felt that I was a waste of their time. This is what the companies intend when they put out these incentives; I am more than happy to oblige them.