Leaf order last minute nightmare from Nissan

[leafetarian]

I was just told that my Leaf arrived at the dealer - Boardwalk Nissan in Redwood City. Several months ago I had placed order with them for base SV model with no options and agreed on price.
Now at the last minute the dealer and Nissan say that somehow my car got changed from SV to the more expensive SL and so I am being asked to come up with almost $2000 more than what we had agreed before. The original price that I agreed for (for SV model with no option) has been visible in my Nissan Leaf account all this time and even now that is the price in the account.
I never authorized the upgrade from SV to SL and never added any options like quick charge port so I am very bitter about this last minute shock and big price hike that was never planned for or agreed.
Nissan agent on phone was rude to the point of saying, "If you don't want the SL that has been sent for you, you will just have to cancel your order and make a new reservation in May when we open it".

My bitterness is compounded by the fact that due to expiring tax credit for the charger install by Dec 2010, I paid for Aerovironment charger and then a few months later EV Project came to bay area but I was told by Nissan that I am disqualified from the free Ecotality charger and free quick charge port because I already had got Aerovironment charger installed. As a result, I never saw the EV project survey in my account and I never indicated that I wanted any upgrade to SL or add quick charge port.

Nissan needs to honor promise and deliver the car after waiting for 13 months instead of expecting me to pay $2k more or get back in another 1.5 year long line. Nissan made the mistake of sending SL instead of SV then I cannot be expected to pay for something I didn't order.

If any of you get into such problems, please post here and let's pursue them with Department of Consumer Affairs or any other appropriate government agencies. If need be, I will even go to the courts than give in to last minute price increases and shocks under time pressure.

 

[BlueSL]

I was just told that my Leaf arrived at the dealer - Boardwalk Nissan in Redwood City. Several months ago I had placed order with them for base SV model with no options and agreed on price.
Now at the last minute the dealer and Nissan say that somehow my car got changed from SV to the more expensive SL and so I am being asked to come up with almost $2000 more than what we had agreed before.

If any of you get into such problems, please post here and let's pursue them with Department of Consumer Affairs or any other appropriate government agencies. If need be, I will even go to the courts than give in to last minute price increases and shocks under time pressure.

These cars are in VERY limited supply. Please consider taking what you have been offered. Getting a replacement could easily put you into July, or later.

What color is your car? I bet 20 people who read this thread will call Boardwalk and offer to buy it if you do not want it.

ASIDE: This raises the very serious question of "what exactly is Nissan doing?" Surely this car could have been matched exactly with someone whose order was passed over in the midst of the "Forgotten Orders" of Sept, Oct, Nov and December. Why offer it to this particular buyer (who did not order it)?

 

[DarkStar]

Does the VIN match your dashboard? It would be kinda strange for them to build a vehicle that doesn't match your dashboard but still has the same VIN number...

I would ask them why you should be expected to "cancel" an order that doesn't match what has been delivered and let them know that you only want to buy what you ordered.

 

[derkraut]

If the situation is as you described, this is an absolutely atrocious move by Nissan. I thought I'd heard about everything, but this one takes the cake!

 

[Spies]

Whoa! That seems totally uncool. Who did you talk to at Nissan? What number did you call?

 

[GeekEV]

The original price that I agreed for (for SV model with no option) has been visible in my Nissan Leaf account all this time and even now that is the price in the account.

You should get what you ordered, or, at the very least, be given the SL at the original SV price. If the dashboard shows you ordered the SV, it's clearly a screwup on Nissan's part. Tell them to hold the car while you try to work through this issue.

I'm sure their ordering and inventory system doesn't allow for them to just fix the problem and get you a new car ASAP, that would screw up too many carefully orchestrated things. Call Nissan back and ask to speak to a supervisor. If they won't honor the SV price (which may also be difficult due to the way their systems work), suggest that you purchase the SL at full price but ask them to cut your a check for the cost difference. Politely continue to push the issue higher and higher up the chain until someone either makes good or tells you it's the end of the line. I wouldn't threaten a lawsuit or bad PR as that will almost certainly put them on the defensive and NOT get you what you want. If all else fails, seek out a lawyer.

Or, the simplest course of action would be to simply walk away and not get a LEAF. But, where's the fun in that? :lol:

 

[Spies]

Another angle you may want to pursue if you have time is to see if you can get into the EV Project now if you were to take delivery of the Leaf offered. Others including myself were able to get into the program after we had our Leaf delivered. I am still waiting for my $700 reimbursement check from Nissan however.

Just make sure they hold the Leaf at the dealer and not sell it to someone else while you work though the fiasco.

 

[EVDRIVER]

Be firm and speak to a supervisor or go above. They should get you another car promptly or refund the difference. If you take the SL try to get the ECOtality EVSE and sell the AV EVSE and get the $700 back plus whatever you can for the AV unit. At worst have Nissan refund half the price, you are better off with an SL in the end likely. You likely have no legal recourse as you have no binding agreement with Nissan.

 

[jamesanne]

This just doesn't seem real. Why would the dealer have you call customer service? Is there someone out there with a SL that ordered a SV?

 

[Coffee_Slurry]

Something very fishy here.

I'd scrutinize the VIN in your CarWings/Owners Portal and the car being offered to you.

 

[pksd1]

My car showed up with eco-package that I had canceled long time ago. I had the printout from the website showing my config. So Nissan had to eat the cost. Except mine was $260 mistake yours is $2,000. But Nissan should honor the change regardless and not charge you $2,000, its a small amount compared to how much they spend to (or should spend) to have happy customers.

 

[cdub]

If they screwed up the order then they're responsible. End of story. You should NOT lose your place in line.

They either get your correct car or they give you that car at no extra cost.

 

[EVDRIVER]

If they screwed up the order then they're responsible. End of story. You should NOT lose your place in line.

They either get your correct car or they give you that car at no extra cost.

I agree. I wonder if Nissan will send out customer satisfaction surveys? :shock: If they do I hope there are a few blank pages for "other" comments.

 

[leafetarian]

Some of you asked me who I talked to. I have been calling Nissan 1-877 NO GAS EV (664-2738) and talked to Laura and Jesse (or Jessica?).

Some of you mentioned that you were able to get into the EV project after buying Leaf. I am fine with paying little more for SL if I can get the benefit of the EV project. Problem is : Nissan says that I cannot get qualified for EV project because, the car they sent for me is SL without quick charge port and also because I got Aerovironment charger installed in Dec 2010 (which I paid for under pressure of the expiring tax credit by Dec 2010).

Those of you who could get into EV project after buying leaf , please post details.

 

[ENIAC]

Some of you asked me who I talked to. I have been calling Nissan 1-877 NO GAS EV (664-2738) and talked to Laura and Jesse (or Jessica?).

Some of you mentioned that you were able to get into the EV project after buying Leaf. I am fine with paying little more for SL if I can get the benefit of the EV project. Problem is : Nissan says that I cannot get qualified for EV project because, the car they sent for me is SL without quick charge port and also because I got Aerovironment charger installed in Dec 2010 (which I paid for under pressure of the expiring tax credit by Dec 2010).

Those of you who could get into EV project after buying leaf , please post details.

Without the quick charge option, the difference between a SV and SL should only be $1000 at MSRP. How are they coming up with $2000 additional?

 

[GeekEV]

I've dealt with Jesse myself and he was very diligent about following up on my issue. That said, he is just a phone rep with no real authority. You definitely need a manager or supervisor.

 

[jamesanne]

I see two different issues here. The car and the EV Project. I can understand the answer you received about moving to the end of the line if you want to participate in the EV Project. I still don't understand what is happening with the car at the dealer. Can you be more clear and detailed as to what has happened and in what order it is occurred (timeline)? Did you update or change your order like one of the other posts indicated? What is the dealer doing to fix the situation?

 

[EVDRIVER]

No QC no EV project, but the price difference is not that much and only should be the invoice cost difference. It's so small that Nissan should eat it. Having the AV dock has NOTHING to do with the EV project only the QC port. Your dealer should be dealing with NIssan to correct this. Something seems odd here, the facts on these type of situations are not always clear.

 

[planet4ever]

I'm in a very similar situation, but definitely not identical. In my case, the owners portal had been showing two cars for the last month, and I've called CS numerous times asking what is going on. They've said they would escalate, but I've never gotten any response. I found out last week from Mike at CS that the second car is an SL, even though I ordered an SV. My dealer called me Monday and said my car is on the way, but he told me it was the second VIN. He also confirmed that it was an SL+QC and gave me the MSRP, which is $1700 more.

I went back and looked at the order in the dashboard, and NISSAN HAS CHANGED IT! It now says SL instead of SV. My original agreement was for a lease. They kept the monthly payment my dealer and I agreed on, but they now say I have to put $10,000 down!!

I didn't make any changes in my order, and neither did my dealer. Somebody inside Nissan really messed this up. I'm thinking I will go in when the car arrives and tell the dealer he has two choices:

1. He has to talk Nissan into giving him a $1700 credit on the car, and then honor our original agreement, except that I'll pay the $157 extra sales tax on the $1700. (That's about what the extra features are worth, in my opinion.)
2. He has to convince Nissan to send him the car we ordered, and meanwhile let me have the SL as a loaner. When he gets it back he will have an orphan that he can sell for as much as he wants.

I will have a third option in my back pocket that I may or may not decide to exercise if he or Nissan refuse both of the above. I have gotten an approval from my credit union for a six year purchase loan at 3%. It will mean a much larger down payment and about $100 more per month, but I can handle it if I have to.

Actually, I have a fourth option. Last Friday I put down a $299 deposit on a Mitsubishi "i". I just might get mad enough to walk away from Nissan altogether.

Ray

 

[TRONZ]

Sorry for the frustration. Been there, done that, got the wrong t-shirt. Hope it works out.