How are you choosing a dealership?

[ColumbiaRiverGorge]

I emailed the dealers in WA & OR and asked if anyone would see me a LEAF at some or all of the Nissan holdback minus invoice. Sure enough, Gladstone Nissan internet sales manager emailed me back with invoice pricing on all accesories and the car for the Nissan holdback (2.79%) below invoice. Then i RAQ & AAQ in the same day and should be all set.

 

[garygid]

If you get that deal, it will probably be the biggest discount yet.
Is that almost 5 + 3 = 8% off (around $2400 or so)?

 

[smkettner]

Dealerships matter.

I basically picked mine out of a hat (closest Nissan dealer). The "Internet Sales Mgr" that I made the deal with was gone by the time the car came. New internet mgr was very accommodating, but I was the first delivery for my dealership (March 26).

All was fine until I showed up pre-approved with my credit union loan and the sales manager came out. First "dealership policy" is to pre-install a collection of useless doohickeys on the car (invisible window etching, invisible upholstery protection, which may or may not actually exist): retail price $1,995 but Yours for the internet discount of $995!!. We wound up paying $300 for it just to get out of there. Also, they wouldn't write a purchase contract for me to take back to my credit union (again "dealership policy"), so I was held hostage to Nissan financing, which fortunately they matched the CU's interest rate.

Moral of the story: some dealerships (and Puente Hills Nissan in particular) are taking advantage of the LEAF enthusasts' enthusiasm and adding costs/conditions at the last minute. Your "Internet Sales Manager" doesn't set the rules for the dealership, and may either not know them all or not be eager to disclose them, even if you visit the dealership a week before delivery (as I did).

Caveat emptor, folks.

I would have called Nissan Corporate on the spot. If not available I would call as soon as I could. I would specifically ask all the add-ons to be removed even if it included new glass etc all around. :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:

 

[derkraut]

Dealerships matter.

I basically picked mine out of a hat (closest Nissan dealer). The "Internet Sales Mgr" that I made the deal with was gone by the time the car came. New internet mgr was very accommodating, but I was the first delivery for my dealership (March 26).

All was fine until I showed up pre-approved with my credit union loan and the sales manager came out. First "dealership policy" is to pre-install a collection of useless doohickeys on the car (invisible window etching, invisible upholstery protection, which may or may not actually exist): retail price $1,995 but Yours for the internet discount of $995!!. We wound up paying $300 for it just to get out of there. Also, they wouldn't write a purchase contract for me to take back to my credit union (again "dealership policy"), so I was held hostage to Nissan financing, which fortunately they matched the CU's interest rate.

Moral of the story: some dealerships (and Puente Hills Nissan in particular) are taking advantage of the LEAF enthusasts' enthusiasm and adding costs/conditions at the last minute. Your "Internet Sales Manager" doesn't set the rules for the dealership, and may either not know them all or not be eager to disclose them, even if you visit the dealership a week before delivery (as I did).

Caveat emptor, folks.

I would have called Nissan Corporate on the spot. If not available I would call as soon as I could. I would specifically ask all the add-ons to be removed even if it included new glass etc all around. :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:

I agree 100%. Looks like you got ripped big time. Does your butt feel sore?

 

[garygid]

Such cushion-ring pillow-talk! :lol:

 

[EricH]

I would have called Nissan Corporate on the spot. If not available I would call as soon as I could. I would specifically ask all the add-ons to be removed even if it included new glass etc all around. :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:

I agree 100%. Looks like you got ripped big time. Does your butt feel sore?

smkettner: We are planning to write a letter to Nissan expressing our severe disappointment at the Internet-sales-model-meets-dealership-sales-habits issues I noted in my post.

derkraut: A little sore, but the endorphins from driving the car home pretty much blocked any pain sensations... Like I said, the whole thing boiled down to some direct haggling (at which my wife excels) and a lousy $300, for which I got decals on the windows that warn of the anti-theft etching, and clear door-edge protectors that will guard against minor dings - also some sort of warranty against upholstery stains. Probably worth far closer to $300 than $995...

 

[Boomer23]

To answer the original post, I was quite careful when I chose a dealer.

From the five or six local dealers I had to choose from, I rejected one because their sales staff had been rude to me once, another because their GM had agreed to donate space to a political activist group that I vehemently disagree with. Then I checked the web sites of the remaining dealers, looking for the name of the GM. Only one, Connell Nissan, gave me a name and a photograph of the GM on the web site. The others were very anonymous-appearing, as if the entire staff could be exchanged with a day's notice.

Then I called Mark Ranauro at Connell in June, about three months before I was able to RAQ, and went in and met him and established a relationship. At that time, he promised in writing to charge no more than MSRP with no unordered accessories. When Fontana announced that they would discount by $1,000, Connell followed suit, with the help of one of our friends here, and so I was able to stay with Connell. Before my RAQ date, I arranged the price and terms with Mark ahead of time. Using that pre-agreed pricing, Mark handled the RAQ expertly within minutes from his home computer early on my RAQ day.

In the intervening months, Mark has helped me with some other issues, including helping me to get some interim transportation when I needed it.

I Can't recommend that process more highly and I can't recommend Connell more highly.

 

[Kataphn]

I Can't recommend that process more highly and I can't recommend Connell more highly.

+++ for Connell. I did same process as Boomer. Now if my car would just arrive. :roll:

 

[EricH]

To answer the original post, I was quite careful when I chose a dealer.

I was naive - I took the whole "Internet sales" channel as gospel, and probably mixed in favorable memories of the last 'dealer' experience I had, when we bought my daughter a (no-haggle, now-defunct) Saturn back in the late 90's. I'm glad you did your homework, and chagrined that I didn't. If anyone reads this and does the sort of homework Boomer23 did, it's probably worth the $300 + annoyance that it wound up costing me.

 

[ttweed]

I must admit that I chose my dealer based on convenience. Pacific Nissan is only about 5 miles from my house. I figured that this car would need to be 100% dealer-serviced for quite some time, due to lack of any "independents" who would know anything about it, and that their might be some "bugs" in the early production that might require more than the usual return visits to work things through.The closer the dealer, the easier the logistics in getting the car there and back as necessary. While one may get a Nissan serviced at any dealer after purchase, I felt like having a service relationship with the dealer from whom one purchased the car might provide a greater commitment to customer satisfaction on their part. Whether or not that is true, i don't know. On ICE cars, dealers make more money from service than from sales, and are happy to see customers come in regardless of where they bought their car. The Leaf is certainly different, though. From reading this forum, I made Mossy's Kearny Mesa location, which is about 10 miles away, my second choice, and I was aware of Fontana Nissan's discount offer, and considered them as a 3rd alternative. It wasn't out of the question to go up to Fontana to buy our car, but knowing their pricing structure was all I needed to make a deal locally in the end.

My wife and I visited Pacific after the initial SD Tour event at UCSD, where we were first able to see and drive a pre-production model and make the decision to buy it, and met their internet sales director, Brian. He was helpful and knowledgeable, and when it came time to RAQ, he went to bat for us in getting the kind of price that he knew we could get elsewhere. We made it clear to him that we didn't need the absolute best discount available anywhere on the internet (which appeared to be under invoice), but would be satisfied w/ a price comparable with Fontana's or Mossy's, and that's what we got, accepting the RAQ on the same day it was received. I think doing some legwork and starting a relationship with a dealer before ordering helped make it a smooth transaction. I will be very happy if their service department performs as well when we actually get the car.

TT

 

[ENIAC]

Well, I won't beat around the bush. I drove from San Diego to Connell Nissan, in Costa Mesa, for a $1000 off MSRP on my LEAF. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Connell and Fontana both offered $1,000 off MSRP and Connell was 20 miles closer to me. At the end of the day, Nissan built a LEAF for me. Then I selected which dealership would hand me my keys.

 

[planet4ever]

I've never owned, or even considered, a Nissan before. I went to the nearest dealer (12 miles away), and they had no plans to sell the LEAF. I went to the next closer place (20 miles away) and had a very negative reaction to the staff there. So I kept going, and at the next place (30 miles away) the guy seemed nice, though he didn't, last summer, know nearly as much as I did about the LEAF. I picked him as my dealer, but I should have kept looking. It turns out there was a much more knowledgeable dealer, much more involved with his customers, 45 miles from my home.

Ray

 

[cinmar]

I have several dealerships in driving distance available, so I contacted about five to initially ask if they'd sell at/below MSRP. I read their reviews, and although one closer to me had good feedback from reviewers, I didn't get that warm fuzzy feeling from their e-mail responses. They kind of danced around some of my lease questions, and I decided they were my second choice, based on gut-reaction. The dealership further away offered a bit more of a discount, had super knowledgeable staff who responded quickly to my e-mails, and gave me direct answers to every question I asked. Their customer service and pricing won me over in the end.

I had also contacted my in-town dealer. They were a complete disappointment. For us early adopters, they wouldn't even commit to sell the LEAF for MSRP, telling me it would be a negotiation, just like any other car they sell. They were not educated nor excited about EVs, and had no clue in response to some of my questions. They also took several days to respond to my e-mails. I knew right off that they weren't the "one" for me.

 

[TimLee]

I initially asked for a quote from a local dealer whose salesman had been very helpful when my wife and I were doing a last minute fire drill car purchase for the Cash for Clunkers program.
But local dealer price was a little above MSRP, and the salesman I had worked with was no longer at the local dealer.
I had read input from a MNL contributor about his extensive request of quotes from 10+ dealers in the Nashville area.
I contacted who he recommended. Saved more than $800 from the price from the local dealer.
I'm in Chattanooga, TN and ordered from Newton Nissan in Gallatin (Justin Garza). Been a pleasure to work with via phone / E-mail. They'll be delivering the car on a truck to my driveway at no cost beyond their quote.
If Tennessee had the new network of charge stations in place I'd probably go get it and drive it home.
But still in the May(be) dashboard delivery projection, and hoping I get it some time before early summer. Probably be late fall before many of the charging stations are installed. Too far from Gallatin to Chattanooga to drive it home unless I spent the night somewhere in between and plugged it in on 120V for ~12 hours.

 

[91040]

I'll put in a good word for Nissan of Mission Hills. They matched the price (below MSRP) that others were reporting here, were well informed, did what they said and did not pull any "surprises." Further, after the transaction, they helped me with a problem that was not their responsibility. Much thanks to Rafael!

 

[TomT]

Clearly Mission Hills has gotten better... Back when I was finalizing what dealer I would use before my RAQ was due the beginning of September 2010, neither they nor any of the local dealers would talk price or anything else to do with ordering or delivering my Leaf. They all acted as if they were selling me a Versa and wanted to play the same dealership games... Thus, I decided to select a dealer that not only gave me a very good price but clearly was interested in exceptional customer support and the vehicle itself, before, during, and after the sale; Fontana Nissan even though they were 60 miles from me. It turned out to be a great decision and I'd buy from them again in an instant.

That being said, I did have Mission Hills Nissan do my firmware update a couple of weeks ago since they are just a few miles away, and their service department was fine. Phil, the service manager, was very helpful and friendly, showed me around, and the service writers were also all pleasant and helpful. I came in at 8:30 and was gone at 10:30 including a free car wash. I did like the window they have between the waiting room (which is very nice) and the service department so you can watch your car being serviced. As it turned out, their Leaf bay is just on the other side of that window. So, I'd give them an A for service, based on this experience.

My only negative service comment would be that the Leaf Technician who worked on my car was smoking in the service bays and around (but not in) my vehicle. I think that is bad policy as well as being unsafe and probably a violation of California law. Ironically, the same service window that I commented on earlier is what allowed me to observe this... I did get a call from a CS rep in Tennessee after I completed my service survey (I gave them top marks for everything but that), saying that she agreed with me and would be upset herself, and that she would have a talk with them about it.

I wrote up the whole firmware experience here if anyone is interested: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=4083&hilit=+turtle

I'll put in a good word for Nissan of Mission Hills. They matched the price (below MSRP) that others were reporting here, were well informed, did what they said and did not pull any "surprises." Further, after the transaction, they helped me with a problem that was not their responsibility. Much thanks to Rafael!

 

[CASF]

Does anyone knows how to change dealership after order placed? Not getting any callback/email reply from Boardwalk and not sure why everyone is phrasing them....

 

[TomT]

Once you have placed and accepted your Request For Quote, you are locked in. The only way to change then is to cancel the order and start the whole process over...

Does anyone knows how to change dealership after order placed? Not getting any callback/email reply from Boardwalk and not sure why everyone is phrasing them....

 

[BrendanDolan]

Does anyone knows how to change dealership after order placed? Not getting any callback/email reply from Boardwalk and not sure why everyone is phrasing them....

I was out sick last week with Strep throat, and when I'm not here, things sometimes aren't as efficient when the sales team is slammed with deliveries. Feel free to PM me and I'll help you out.