Yanquetino
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 11, 2010
- Messages
- 479
The online "chat" I had today with the Nissan rep was enlightening --but very discouraging. I managed to pin down exactly how the state borders apply to the rollout of the Leaf.
Let's say that a reservation holder lives in Littlefield, AZ, i.e., one of the Tier 1 states. The nearest dealer is in St. George, UT, a mere half-hour away. Nonetheless, if that customer wants to take advantage of her Tier 1 status, Nissan will NOT allow her to take delivery from that dealer, nor the next closest ones in Las Vegas, NV: she will have to use the nearest dealer in AZ. That would be in Lake Havasu --239 miles away!
Conversely, let's say a reservation holder lives in Henderson, NV. Because it is not a Tier 1 state, Nissan will NOT allow him to take delivery from that very same Lake Havasu dealer--even though he lives 103 miles closer than the Littlefield customer!
In other words, the full rule is that BOTH the customer AND the dealer must be in a Tier 1 state. Not just one or the other: BOTH.
This does not make sense to me.
I completely understand the need to roll out the Leaf in tiers of states, but IMHO Nissan could have handled it differently. It would have made more sense to require that the dealer be in the designated state, and then let the customers line up accordingly. Would they end up with myriads of reservation holders in Casper, WY, trying to take delivery from a San Diego dealer? I seriously doubt it. Besides, their order page already places a limitation on the ordering process that would discourage such a possibility: as you all know, one can only designate a maximum 200-mile radius in the pop-up menu when selecting a dealer. Nissan could put a maximum upper limit of 300 miles on that radius, and problem solved.
What does it really matter, then, if a few customers live across a state border within that radius, as long as the dealers are designated by tiers of states?
I feel sorry for the Littlefield and Henderson customers. So near, yet so far. Sigh....
Let's say that a reservation holder lives in Littlefield, AZ, i.e., one of the Tier 1 states. The nearest dealer is in St. George, UT, a mere half-hour away. Nonetheless, if that customer wants to take advantage of her Tier 1 status, Nissan will NOT allow her to take delivery from that dealer, nor the next closest ones in Las Vegas, NV: she will have to use the nearest dealer in AZ. That would be in Lake Havasu --239 miles away!
Conversely, let's say a reservation holder lives in Henderson, NV. Because it is not a Tier 1 state, Nissan will NOT allow him to take delivery from that very same Lake Havasu dealer--even though he lives 103 miles closer than the Littlefield customer!
In other words, the full rule is that BOTH the customer AND the dealer must be in a Tier 1 state. Not just one or the other: BOTH.
This does not make sense to me.
I completely understand the need to roll out the Leaf in tiers of states, but IMHO Nissan could have handled it differently. It would have made more sense to require that the dealer be in the designated state, and then let the customers line up accordingly. Would they end up with myriads of reservation holders in Casper, WY, trying to take delivery from a San Diego dealer? I seriously doubt it. Besides, their order page already places a limitation on the ordering process that would discourage such a possibility: as you all know, one can only designate a maximum 200-mile radius in the pop-up menu when selecting a dealer. Nissan could put a maximum upper limit of 300 miles on that radius, and problem solved.
What does it really matter, then, if a few customers live across a state border within that radius, as long as the dealers are designated by tiers of states?
I feel sorry for the Littlefield and Henderson customers. So near, yet so far. Sigh....