Pollen Car Ready for Delivery, But Bumper Repainted

[Stoaty]

I got good news and bad news today from Fontana Nissan. My pollen car is at the dealer, ready to pick up. However, the paint color of the front bumper doesn't quite match the rest of the car, according to the dealer. Apparently, the bumper had to be repainted. Since I live 65 miles away, it isn't very easy for me to see how much the color difference is. A photo that was sent doesn't give a good idea of what I will see visually. If I don't want the pollen car, they will get me another car, which may take "a week or two". The California rebate fund is running down quickly, and I might miss it if I wait. The dealer said my car "looks great for a pollen car". They have had others, one is being sent back to Nissan as unacceptable. I can always drive out to Fontana tomorrow and have a look at the car, but that is a long way to go just to check the color of the paint.

Bottom line: the pollen cars WERE damaged, some quite significantly. My car was apparently one of them, if the bumper had to be repainted. I am not sure how this can be considered a "new" car. I am disgusted with Nissan.

I have considered asking for $1,000 off the price (to be paid by Nissan corporate, not the dealer). Perhaps I should be asking for a special warranty on the painted bumper as well. I doubt they will go for this. My other option is to wait and hope the replacement (hopefully not another pollen car) comes soon enough to get the full California rebate. I am purchasing the car and plan to drive it until the battery drops to less than 50 miles per charge, so resale value is not of concern to me.

What would you do in this situation? Thoughts and comments welcome.

 

[derkraut]

I got good news and bad news today from Fontana Nissan. My pollen car is at the dealer, ready to pick up. However, the paint color of the front bumper doesn't quite match the rest of the car, according to the dealer. Apparently, the bumper had to be repainted. Since I live 65 miles away, it isn't very easy for me to see how much the color difference is. A photo that was sent doesn't give a good idea of what I will see visually. If I don't want the pollen car, they will get me another car, which may take "a week or two". The California rebate fund is running down quickly, and I might miss it if I wait. The dealer said my car "looks great for a pollen car". They have had others, one is being sent back to Nissan as unacceptable. I can always drive out to Fontana tomorrow and have a look at the car, but that is a long way to go just to check the color of the paint.

Bottom line: the pollen cars WERE damaged, some quite significantly. My car was apparently one of them, if the bumper had to be repainted. I am not sure how this can be considered a "new" car. I am disgusted with Nissan.

I have considered asking for $1,000 off the price (to be paid by Nissan corporate, not the dealer). Perhaps I should be asking for a special warranty on the painted bumper as well. I doubt they will go for this. My other option is to wait and hope the replacement (hopefully not another pollen car) comes soon enough to get the full California rebate. I am purchasing the car and plan to drive it until the battery drops to less than 50 miles per charge, so resale value is not of concern to me.

What would you do in this situation? Thoughts and comments welcome.

A new car, and it has a re-painted bumper that is a mismatch from the rest of the car? And, it's been sitting (probably outside) in the salt air @ LA Harbor for months? Um.....I don't think so!!! :x

 

[Stoaty]

A new car, and it has a re-painted bumper that is a mismatch from the rest of the car? And, it's been sitting (probably outside) in the salt air @ LA Harbor for months? Um.....I don't think so!!! :x

Come to think of it, Ishould clarify that I am not sure from the dealers description whether the bumper was repainted, or whether they used such a harsh chemical to remove the "pollen" that the bumper is a noticeably lighter color than the rest of the car. I also don't know how different the color is, but the dealer said that on the non-pollen leafs the bumper color matches exactly, so he knows something was done to the bumper.

 

[evnow]

I can always drive out to Fontana tomorrow and have a look at the car, but that is a long way to go just to check the color of the paint.

Take the ride. Think of it as a ride that might save you $5K.

 

[rawhog]

.

 

[evnow]

BTW, some cars delivered through Eastside Nissan here had paint problems on the top. They had to be repainted (these were the Jan batch).

 

[TRONZ]

The front bumper on our silver SL is off just slightly from the body. I chalk it up to: early production + early adoption = I'm OK with it.

 

[avanti5010]

A couple of things to remember:
1. Bumpers on all cars, not only Nissans can have a slight difference in appearance than the body. A lot of that is due to the material used on the bumpers and the light source. Sometimes they match exactly, but when the direction of the light changes, the color may not be 100% the same as the body.

2. Nissan is not the only company to repaint cars before delivery. When cars come in damaged at the port, there is a body shop there for the repairs. This is done quite often by all manufacturers who import cars and is commonplace even though many people are unaware of this.

 

[Stoaty]

After thinking it over a bit, and talking with the dealer, I am going to refuse delivery of my pollen car. The dealer said they are sending another one back, and that it will be branded as repainted and used as a demo or something else. There is too much uncertainty about how much damage was done by the "pollen", and whether there may be other problems with the paint/finish down the road. The fact that the color doesn't match on the bumper (and the dealer said this is not true for any of the non-pollen cars) is reason enough for me. My eye is pretty sensitive to color, and it will likely bother me. They will work with Nissan to get me a non-pollen car ASAP, hopefully in 1-2 weeks, but can't promise definitely.

 

[Boomer23]

You've made your choice, so I'm not arguing one way or the other.

Just a comment that on the blue cars, the bumpers don't match the body very well, either. I didn't check the spreadsheet to see what color you ordered.

That said, the dealer is well versed in how the cars look, and it sounds like you are going with his report on how you car appears to have been treated. If it was me, I'd take the ride out there to look at it. I'd be going nuts about the rebate winding down and the uncertainty of how long it would last. Of course, I tend to be easily influenced by anxiety over such things.

Also, if you're leasing, I'd be less concerned about the car's condition than if you're buying.

Best of luck on the outcome of your situation, Stoaty.

 

[smkettner]

What would you do in this situation? Thoughts and comments welcome.

Go look at it and make a decision. I would probably take it unless it was an obvious poor job.
Otherwise I might take Nissan up on the two week replacement... you have three weeks right?
Get over there tomorrow to start the process if needed.

Look at some other Nissans on the lot and check how the mismatch compares.

 

[Stoaty]

Thanks for all replies. I decided I didn't want to drive 130 miles to check out the color difference. When I told the dealer my decision, he said he pretty much expected the car would be sent back. That indicates to me that the difference is obvious enough he didn't think I would accept it. It isn't just the color difference, but the fact that I have no idea what other damage may have been done, and when it might show up. Nissan CS also told me a completely different story ("using a special process that will gently release the pollen without damaging the paint or finish") than I am getting from the dealer, who indicated the problem (in general, not necessarily on my particular Leaf) was much more significant than I had been led to believe. With that kind of uncertainty, I think it is a good possibility I would regret taking delivery of this particular Leaf. I feel more comfortable gambling on the possible loss of the full CA rebate--I will still qualify for the lesser amount, of course--than accepting this car with unknown amount of damage/repair.

 

[Randy]

Hi Stoaty,
I feel bad for your situation....Here is an idea for you, though....

I bought from Fontana and they are stand-up people, no question.

What if you purchased the damaged car (thereby locking in your rebate and all of the paperwork), and then immediately work a deal with them to get the car replaced before driving it off the lot? It may be a little bit messy with the VIN #, but they have to be used to dealing with that issue.

For example, if someone buys a "lemon" and gets it switched out, they must be able to handle that DMV / VIN transaction...It should be doable, and then you can preserve your place in line with the full rebate....

Just an idea....

 

[cdub]

Yeah they said that one car came to them so damaged from the pollen it had to be sent back.

He didn't seem to think mine was a pollen car. It looked perfect... if it was... they did a good job with that one.

I think you made the right choice... what's another week right? It's a great car.

 

[johnr]

On the bright side, if you pick up the car on July 1 or later you can take 1% off the sales price - that saves you about $330 (California sales tax rate drops 1% on July 1)

 

[TomT]

The folks at Fontana Nissan are very good - I'd say the best, actually - and I'd trust their judgement.

Thanks for all replies. I decided I didn't want to drive 130 miles to check out the color difference. When I told the dealer my decision, he said he pretty much expected the car would be sent back. That indicates to me that the difference is obvious enough he didn't think I would accept it.

 

[Stoaty]

The folks at Fontana Nissan are very good - I'd say the best, actually - and I'd trust their judgement.

Just got a call from Richard at Fontana Nissan. They have a new VIN for me, and it is in the high 3000's, so definitely not a pollen car. Expected to be at the dealer by Friday. Every single interaction I have had with them has been very positive. A big thanks to Fontana Nissan for stepping up and getting this problem resolved quickly.

 

[evnow]

Just got a call from Richard at Fontana Nissan. They have a new VIN for me, and it is in the high 3000's, so definitely not a pollen car. Expected to be at the dealer by Friday. Every single interaction I have had with them has been very positive. A big thanks to Fontana Nissan for stepping up and getting this problem resolved quickly.

So, looks like Nissan has a bunch of unassigned cars as replacements ?

Come to think of that - that is a good idea. They should have done that from the beginning ... afterall they have just 3/4 variations of cars coming from Japan (+ the colors).

 

[davewill]

So, looks like Nissan has a bunch of unassigned cars as replacements...

Assuming that one equals a "bunch".

 

[smkettner]

Looks like you made the right call. I would have preferred to have a car right off the assembly line rather than going through the extensive processing in port.