Courtesy Nissan |
Courtesy Nissan The Bait and Switch Artists of Richardson, Texas |
23rd of May, 2011 by User414991 |
I recently had the misfortune to cross paths with Mr. Turner and his sales force. My ordeal began when I found a great deal online for the Vehicle my wife has been looking for and like any fairly savvy consumer I began the leg work of confirming the deal. I called Courtesy Nissan and spoke with a sales agent and confirmed the advertisement. I even went so far as to confirm that the car had not been sold before I set foot on the road. We exchanged information and emails over two days and repeatedly I was assured it was a legit deal, the price was what I had been quoted and finally that the car had not been sold. So on that fateful Monday I set on the road and drove the roughly 250 miles to go purchase the vehicle I had repeatedly confirmed pricing and availability on. On the way I got a call from my sales rep telling me that there had been a change to the price of the vehicle because there was an upgrade he was not aware of when we previously spoke... Again our previous communications spanned a period of a couple of days not including that morning and he was just finding out about this "upgrade" after I was more than half way to his location? I should have stopped there and turned around but since I was already more than half way I decided I would attempt negotiating once I got there. In my mind I started thinking I was dealing with a possible bait and switch but after all I had the advertisement, a dealer stock# and access to the emails with many assurances and price confirmation. So I arrived to Courtesy Nissan in the afternoon and was subjected to the WORST car purchase experience of my life! Things began normal enough; my wife test drove the vehicle and was informed about the cars features and accommodations. I confirmed the dealer stock # against the vehicle and made sure it was what was promised and not something different. We then sat down in the showroom, not an office, and began our negotiations. So we began negotiations and I brought out the quoted price and advertisement. Immediately my sales rep rebuts that there was an upgrade to the car that he was not aware of prior to that morning and that the price of the car was now about $700 higher than the quote. I kindly reminded him of our repeated prior communications and asked how something like this had slipped through. I also clearly informed him that I was not interested in the upgrade. What I was interested in was getting the vehicle that we had discussed at the price I had been promised. The response to that request was that at the bottom of the add the small print reads, "All advertised vehicles are subject to actual dealer availability. Certain vehicles listed may not be available, or may have different prices, or be equipped with dealer installed options at an additional charge... Vehicle option and pricing are subject to change..." I insisted that he honor the price that I had been quoted. I also suggested that the upgrade be removed since it was just a matter of removing 8 bolts. My sales rep informed me that it would cost them money to remove it which would be costs passed on to me. The sales rep also stated he would try but if he was unable to sway his manager to my way of thinking would I consider meeting him half way on the cost of the upgrade. I agreed to consider his offer but made no promises. I was hopeful the deal would be honored and worst case scenario I might have to pay an extra $350, still a good deal on the car in question. Was I ever wrong! After talking to his manager my sales rep came back with a quote about $6000 higher than we had agreed on, $6000 higher!!! CLEARLY BAIT AND SWITCH! I immediately stated this was not an option and not was we had discussed at all. All I kept hearing my rep say was that it was the best deal they could give me and that there was no better deal around. I flatly refused the offer and set to walk out. My sales rep asked I give him one more chance and let him talk to his manager. This time the sales manager came back with him and began to give me some lecture about the small print on the advertisement and a song and dance about the fact that there was no better deal within 500 miles of Courtesy Nissan. I reiterated my objection and plainly stated all I was interested in was getting the vehicle that was advertised at the price that I had been quoted. I once again presented the add and retrieved my emails with the sales rep. The manager then stated that he would go back and look at the numbers and see what they could do and if they were not able to carry through with the advertised price he would look to see if there was something used that we could get into. When my sales rep came back he stated that they had reduced the price but the new price was still higher than what I had been quoted, in fact the final price offered was higher than the price given to me when it included the unwanted upgrade. The reason for this is that I was being charged for dealer installed upgrades on top of the unwanted upgrade. The same dealer installed upgrades that ALL of their online advertisements promote as free. In fact here is a quote "Many of our ########## have dealer installed window tint, nitrogen filled tires, accent stripes and wheel locks. When installed, these options are at no additional charge." Apparently that was no longer the case that day. The Bait and Switch was done... At the end of the day I did purchase the vehicle after 8+ hours of "negotiations" and someone may ask why. The simple answer is that I promised the family the car in question and I wasnt going to let them down. Unlike Courtesy Nissan I keep my promises. However, I cant see myself buying a car from or recommending Courtesy Nissan without at least written apology and refund of the charges above the quoted price. |
|
|
Post your Comment
|
|
|