Santa Monica Nissan Screwed me (and others?)

Got my LEAF last week. Love it so far, but am still not happy with the dealership. I showed up to pick up the car, and the first thing I realize is that they added $790 of features that I didn't order. (They took them off and refunded the money after a dozen or so calls and complaints).

But, when I ordered the car through them they promised me a $500 gift card (and they did it in writing in this forum and other locations online). I decided to do the right thing and order locally instead of taking the cash off MSRP from other dealerships. While signing the forms, they handed me my "gift card." It wasn't a gift card but a "discount card" that gave me 15% off of service and 3 free oil changes (which the LEAF doesn't need). My estimate is that it would take over 7 years of regular service to get to $500.

Classic car dealership bait and switch. Even though the car is good, they are rip-off artists like most dealership. I was told I could take the deal or refuse my car and be put on the bottom of the wait list.

Buy from anyone but them.

Wow! I'd also call Nissan headquarters and complian. Sometimes, heat from above does more than you ever could, but getting the word out is a good thing.

Free oil changes for a car with no engine?!?! YGBFKM!!!

if you have it in writing, and they switched on you, you could also report them to the DMV. There will be some disiplanary action taken I'm sure. Or just file a complaint against their bond. Those type of things will definitely get their attention.

Wow thats pretty bad. I would write them again with a few copy/pastes from the resources. Have you called Toni from below?

From http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=1562:
"Santa Monica Nissan has just received an additional 10 units to allocate.

If you are ready to order but your preferred dealer lacks an open allocation, call me directly.
The CA rebate of $5000 is too important to let slip away!

At SANTA MONICA NISSAN, our LEAF clients all receive a $500 Gift Card to use in our Parts & Service Boutique, Complimentary Charging Time, Guaranteed Loaner Cars.

Toni Martin
Internet Director
Santa Monica Nissan
310-752-1510
949-350-8038"

To be fair, I'd like to see Santa Monica Nissan respond to the OP's post, here on this forum. But if the transaction transpired as he described, Nissan, the BBB, and other appropriate agencies should be notified. Such chicanery should never be allowed.

What did your sales person say, please don't tell me it's the guy who was the EV advocate, that would really be the icing on the cake. See how they resolve it, a perfect story for the vultures at ABG.

palmermd said:

if you have it in writing, and they switched on you, you could also report them to the DMV. There will be some disiplanary action taken I'm sure.

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My wife was once swindled by a dealership in SoCal (they basically stole her trade-in for $0). She tried multiple avenues for redress, but the DMV complaint produced a swift settlement from the dealership. You'll see a display case in every auto dealer with the collection of driver-license-looking permits for the salespeople - apparently DMV is the only entity in California that can threaten a dealership with real repercussions and force corrective actions.

I would think the deal should match the RAQ. What else would there be to talk about?
I can't stand gift cards or discount cards

EVDRIVER said:

What did your sales person say, please don't tell me it's the guy who was the EV advocate, that would really be the icing on the cake. See how they resolve it, a perfect story for the vultures at ABG.

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For what it is worth, I have known Paul Scott for several years, and as this scenario is factually described, this sounds nothing like behavior arising from him.

It would seem a situation in need of resolution, as the gift card was stated to be just that. I await a response as well as the facts sift out.

Based on other reports I have seen here and elsewhere about Santa Monica Nissan, I can't say I am surprised. It's a sad state of affairs that there doesn't seem to be one good Nissan dealership - at least as far as the Leaf is concerned - in the greater Los Angeles area. That's why I went all the way to Fontana to get mine.

mkraus said:

Got my LEAF last week. Love it so far, but am still not happy with the dealership. I showed up to pick up the car, and the first thing I realize is that they added $790 of features that I didn't order. (They took them off and refunded the money after a dozen or so calls and complaints).

But, when I ordered the car through them they promised me a $500 gift card (and they did it in writing in this forum and other locations online). I decided to do the right thing and order locally instead of taking the cash off MSRP from other dealerships. While signing the forms, they handed me my "gift card." It wasn't a gift card but a "discount card" that gave me 15% off of service and 3 free oil changes (which the LEAF doesn't need). My estimate is that it would take over 7 years of regular service to get to $500.

Classic car dealership bait and switch. Even though the car is good, they are rip-off artists like most dealership. I was told I could take the deal or refuse my car and be put on the bottom of the wait list.

Buy from anyone but them.

Click to expand...

I am a manager at Santa Monica Nissan. We have apologized to Mr. Krause and resolved a very simple misunderstanding with him. I must clarify, and I am sure Mr. Krause will too..we did not charge Mr. Krause for the accessories on his car. The accessories were removed immediate to his satisfaction. This was simple a miscommunication and misunderstanding.

As for the service/gift card, we stand by the value inherent in this offer since there will be times when it will offset future costs of service and parts, minimal as they are on the LEAF. Since we sell mostly internal combustion vehicles, and the EV is still a small part of our business, Mr. Krause was obviously told the oil changes did not apply to his EV. We have resolved this issue with Mr. Krause to his satisfaction.

Mr. Paul Scott is the EV manager at Santa Monica Nissan and was not involved with this transaction. Mr. Scott has personally delivered a majority of our EVs and has had nothing but excellent recommendations. Let the 145 EV deliveries between Jan and May (100 in April and May alone) be our judge. Mr Scott is a full time advocate for Plug in America and the EV sales manager on staff. He will personally deliver 75% of our EV sales.

We always strive to do the right things each and every day. Some issues always arise were two parties do not see eye to eye. Those that have had or will have a delivery from us in the future I hope you write about the whats good and what is not. Too often we take the time out in our lives to focus on the negatives and forget about all the positives.


Be Green!

+1. Fontana did a great job taking care of use! Very much worth the 60 mile drive for us.

william03 said:

Mr. Paul Scott is the EV manager at Santa Monica Nissan and was not involved with this transaction. Mr. Scott has personally delivered a majority of our EVs and has had nothing but excellent recommendations. Let the 145 EV deliveries between Jan and May (100 in April and May alone) be our judge. Mr Scott is a full time advocate for Plug in America and the EV sales manager on staff. He will personally deliver 75% of our EV sales.

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While I have met and like Paul Scott - It seems that it is is bit premature to count 100 (or more) deliveries that have not yet occured. My guess, however, is that Paul will indeed handle his transactions in a very professional, courteous and friendly manner.


Edited from intial post as of 6:50 no one appears to have quoted the original.

william03 said:

As for the service/gift card, we stand by the value inherent in this offer since there will be times when it will offset future costs of service and parts, minimal as they are on the LEAF. Since we sell mostly internal combustion vehicles, and the EV is still a small part of our business, Mr. Krause was obviously told the oil changes did not apply to his EV. We have resolved this issue with Mr. Krause to his satisfaction.

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I'd like to hear more about this, from both sides.

$500 gift card = $500 gift card, IMO. Not a 15% discount card. We don't want any dealership to be not keeping the words written by them in this forum.

At SANTA MONICA NISSAN, our LEAF clients all receive a $500 Gift Card to use in our Parts & Service Boutique, Complimentary Charging Time, Guaranteed Loaner Cars.

Toni Martin
Internet Director
Santa Monica Nissan
310-752-1510
949-350-8038

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evnow said:

william03 said:

As for the service/gift card, we stand by the value inherent in this offer since there will be times when it will offset future costs of service and parts, minimal as they are on the LEAF. Since we sell mostly internal combustion vehicles, and the EV is still a small part of our business, Mr. Krause was obviously told the oil changes did not apply to his EV. We have resolved this issue with Mr. Krause to his satisfaction.

Click to expand...

I'd like to hear more about this, from both sides.

$500 gift card = $500 gift card, IMO. Not a 15% discount card. We don't want any dealership to be not keeping the words written by them in this forum.

At SANTA MONICA NISSAN, our LEAF clients all receive a $500 Gift Card to use in our Parts & Service Boutique, Complimentary Charging Time, Guaranteed Loaner Cars.

Toni Martin
Internet Director
Santa Monica Nissan
310-752-1510
949-350-8038

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While I don't normally comment on this type of thing - I'd have to agree that a $500 gift card is not something that requires someone to spend $3333.33 in order to realize value from. If I had to spend $3333.33 on my Leaf, I'd be pretty upset. Sure you could spend it on service for a different vehicle, but it's not even close to what was offered. And if I had to spend $3333.33 you can be sure I'd negotiate a lot better then a 15% discount to begin with, or I'd be going some place else. So this seems like a promise not delivered on to me too.

But - if you took care of the customer and the customer is happy - that's all good, and the whole thing really isn't my business anyway.

evnow said:

I'd like to hear more about this, from both sides.

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Me too. Was a sales closer trying to "shove" accessories that have a high margin? Dealers need to wake up to the age of social media. Screwing one customer for a few margin items can (and should) kill future sales.

JimSouCal said:

EVDRIVER said:

What did your sales person say, please don't tell me it's the guy who was the EV advocate, that would really be the icing on the cake. See how they resolve it, a perfect story for the vultures at ABG.

Click to expand...

For what it is worth, I have known Paul Scott for several years, and as this scenario is factually described, this sounds nothing like behavior arising from him.

It would seem a situation in need of resolution, as the gift card was stated to be just that. I await a response as well as the facts sift out.

Click to expand...

If this is true and he is the sales person he should resolve it immediately, if he was the sales person then it should not have happened based on your comments. Perhaps he has gone to the dark side This was a foolish mistake for this dealership and if they did this to me I would not have left the lot without resolution to the original terms, I don't tolerate these type of dealer tactics.

A gift card is a gift card. A discount card is a discount card, NOT a gift card. They need to look up the definition of gift card! Sounds like a bunch of BS to me. Not a good policy Santa Monica Nissan!

EVDRIVER said:

This was a foolish mistake for this dealership and if they did this to me I would not have left the lot without resolution to the original terms, I don't tolerate these type of dealer tactics.

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It is pretty clear that Paul Scott was not involved in this transaction in any way--as per the manager's comment above. Perhaps you can re-read the thread with due care.

The shark tank of the dealer auto sales needs to understand the early adopters of EVs are likely more networked and sophisticated than the average car buying grape.

Resolved to his satisfaction? Not good enough to prevent the post :roll: