Just walked out of a CO dealer-what a disgrace

[Stoaty]

I felt the same way while I was waiting through all of the screw-ups, but once I got my Leaf it all just melted away. Last time I went to a gas station was about 2 months ago to fill up the ICE. I am now down to half a tank. It will last at least another month until I go up to Mammoth for a bit of XC skiing. For me, it's all worth it in the end.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

i have to say my dealership experience was less than stellar. i had to sign 4 different leases because they couldnt do it right the first 3 times. i had to argue with them over sales tax exemption. (they called someone and verified it after 45 minutes. i got there with my Son at 1 pm thinking i be home for dinner. left there at 8 pm due to the comedy of errors. i walked in with credit score of 839 qualifying for best tier but was given something that was between tier 2 and 3. i gave up arguing with them and increased my downpayment to essentially pay the same amount of money. now my payments are $162 a month and i am liable for the additional money paid if i should get into a wreck (although my insurance company assures i would get any extra payoff to myself and not NIMF)

and on and on and on, but i was the first in the state to get one, so sure some hiccups were expected and i really dont care. it was not preferred but in knowing what i know, i would not have changed anything if it would have caused me to have waited one extra day.

the Leaf was the right decision for me period. could have been smoother, but oh well, that is life, cant change the past, so i moved on much better than when i started!

 

[planet4ever]

Like Stoaty and Dave, my dealership experience was pretty much a disaster. My salesman never once returned phone messages or answered emails after the order was placed (8 months before delivery), they couldn't tell me what was happening as I got delayed for month after month, somewhere between the dealer and Nissan NA the order got totally screwed up and I ended up paying $1000 for features I didn't want, I had to fight for over an hour with the finance guy to get the deal I deserved and at that he messed up the papers and I had to go back and re-sign them. Finally, the car was delivered with glue still on the hood and no Monroney sticker, and it took another 8 weeks before my plates arrived.

I made a vow to myself that I would never go back to that dealer, but I got the car I'd dreamed of for years, and I still love it.

Ray

 

[amtoro]

It seems that many of our experiences share many similarities; I'm glad to see how instead of holding resentments because of the way the transactions were* handled by the dealers or the delays from Nissan, many have moved on to enjoy this great car...

Also, driving a LEAF, managing it's energy efficiently has made me a MUCH more patient driver... the insurance companies should notice that

*Edited to fix a typo

 

[DesertDenizen]

I am with you amtoro. I am a more patient driver, much more relaxed, I enjoy driving like I never have before. As for my experience with the dealer, it was just fine.

 

[TonyWilliams]

Also, driving a LEAF, managing it's energy efficiently has made me a MUCH more patient driver... the insurance companies should notice that

All the LEAFs that have gotten rear-ended already probably offset any careful driving.

 

[amtoro]

Also, driving a LEAF, managing it's energy efficiently has made me a MUCH more patient driver... the insurance companies should notice that

All the LEAFs that have gotten rear-ended already probably offset any careful driving.

It hurts to think of damaged LEAFs, but a rear-end incident is usually the other person's fault and your insurance company will not penalize you for it; at the end, the car on front gets fixed under the other driver's insurance policy and it is logged as their claim.

For all purposes, if you are not found at-fault in a collision, you are still the careful driver.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

wow, reading this thread makes me think i did not get a bad dealer, just a normal one. i got a few Priuses and they were very smooth transactions. but then again, the dealer had sold hundreds of them by the time i came around and only on the last one were they even considering anything below MSRP (back then getting one without a markup was the sign of a good dealer!)

but i have had some shaky dealer experiences in the past including walking out of a few dealerships at the last second because i felt i could not live with my decision to purchase. back then, it was just a car or it was just $500... but the Leaf transcends all that, it is a completely different "decision" category

because of that, i would never say i would not buy Nissan because ultimately Nissan does not have control over the dealer experience. my next car will be bought from the "manufacturer" that provides me the best fit for my needs.

now, after all that. i have dozens of Nissan dealer options in my area. i dont think i am going for a repeat visit

 

[AmpUpCO]

Thank you all for your posts, and forgive me for not rejoining the discussion sooner. (I was busy licking my wounds. )

I, like many here, am looking forward to putting these Customer Service issues behind me. And honestly, I wish I could have been strong enough to have walked away from the Dealership, as KJD suggested, but I didn't want to wait any longer for this amazing car.

Please remember that the Leaf is not readily available in Denver at present, and I felt like I didn't really have the option to walk away. (Not after 18 months). If I was picking up an Ultima, I would have been history!!!

I discovered from the vehicle tags that my Leaf was built in Oct 2011. Now, I admit that I truly don't know the timeline for overseas deliveries to the U.S., but I can't help but think that this car could have landed at the dealership prior to the end of 2011 - qualifying me the 2011 tax incentives. Taking ownership in January of 2012, leaves me with some uncertainty as to what I'll ultimately be able to qualify for by year's end.

So, the good news is, I have my Leaf!

Other than not having the glove compartment light (Missing on the 2012 model - as noted on a previous thread), the car is as fine as it could be.

After 4 days of ownership, over 230 miles logged, 15 test drives hosted, 5 home charges and one "opportunity charge" at our local Walgreens, I can't be more pleased with my Leaf!

I look forward to sharing my Leaf adventures with all of you.

This forum is an instrumental resource for all things "Leaf," and I can't thank you enough for your insightful, entertaining, informative and honest contributions!

Wishing you all many safe and carefree miles of enjoyment!!!!

 

[Yodrak]

How many is that, I wonder?

All the LEAFs that have gotten rear-ended already probably offset any careful driving.

 

[Yodrak]

Not necessarily. Nine states have 'no-fault' insurance and three others have 'no-fault' as an option. Under no-fault, each owner's insurance pays for their customer's repairs without regard to who was at fault.

Beyond that, there's the concept of 'shared fault'. I was once stopped in a parking lot aisle waiting for a break in traffic in the crossing lane. A woman backed out of her parking spot into the side of my car. My insurance company decreed that 30% of the blame was mine.

... a rear-end incident is usually the other person's fault and your insurance company will not penalize you for it; at the end, the car on front gets fixed under the other driver's insurance policy and it is logged as their claim.

 

[dgpcolorado]

...As for my experience with the dealer, it was just fine.

As was mine.

My guess is that those who have negative experiences with dealers are more likely to post them because of the frustration involved. I had a great experience with my dealer from the first inquiry via internet for a price (the reply was by the general manager in a few minutes) to the final delivery. Communication was excellent and I ended up paying $300+ less than my quoted price. I would highly recommend them to anyone (see signature below). The fact that 2011 was their centennial year in business is probably not a coincidence.

So, there are some good dealers out there and it helps to find one before ordering.

 

[davetex99]

I bought an orphan, and the dealer turned out to be great. There were a few problems due to being clear across the country from each other, but nothing major.

Having said that, I would suggest that everyone who has not yet ordered start checking out local dealers prior to ordering. Talk to their Leaf folks and get into the gory details. Also look into customer reviews of each dealership. After you decide on a dealership, then select that dealer on Nissan's dashboard. It sounds like too many people are just selecting the closest dealer without any real research.

When it came time for our six month service, we researched the dealers for their service departments and selected a dealer 20 miles away rather than a closer one based on our research. So far, very happy.

 

[GREENEV]

Today is a great day!!

I get to fill out the official NISSAN of North America DEALER survey. Yahoo!!!

It's time to ream my local dealer but good.

I will also be sending a formal letter to Al Castignetti, the Vice President/General Manager of Nissan N.A.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE do the same if you had a really bad experience with your car dealer when purchasing your LEAF.

"The one who squeaks the most gets the most grease."

Nissan will really put the screws to the dealer when it receives formal feedback reports.