Complaint Review: Classic Nissan

Classic Nissan sent my husband a flier advertising a good deal on trade-in's and $1500 cash incentive for new purchases. My husband sent me in with the flier to inquire about whether or not we could do a deal with them on a new Nissan Quest van in spite of the fact that our 1998 Nissan Quest van had $98,000 miles on it and we owe around $13,700 on it. I detailed how much we owed to the sales Rep along with the mileage on the van (whom I will not name because I do not truly think he was responsible for the runaround we got) who in turn talked it over with his floor manager and the accountant. I explained that my husband would be financing the car in his name but that if they could not do a trade in and keep our payments the same it would be a waste or his time to come in and a waste of time to test drive a vehicle (I refused to test drive until they could assure me we could work a deal). I also stated very emphatically that we did not want to put any money down on the new purchase.

After pressing the issue that we needed to trade in our vehicle, making sure they knew the mileage and how much we owed on the van (I gave them a copy of my credit union statement showing the balance, and the manager went out to personally inspect my van), I was told by the manager (who came in with the sales rep), that I would need to bring my husband back but that they could definitely work a deal with my van on a trade-in and would "bump up" the trade in value so that it would work.

With this "green light" from the manager, I drug my husband and two small children down and we took a test drive and decided on a van. We were prepared that their deal might include "rolling" into the new loan some of the balance owned on the old van. However, after being told they could work a deal for us earlier that day as soon as my husband came back with me, they suddenly had amnesia and said they would need $3,000 - $4,000 down and that was the only way they could do a deal. I asked them why they had told me something different when I had come in earlier that day, and they said that the manager hadn't really looked at the van (yes, he had), and they had not been aware of the mileage being so high (yes, they were).

In essence, this company lied to me and to my husband and wasted our time and got my two young children upset because of the possibility of getting a new van (which excited them due to the televisions in the new vans) and then having to be told we weren't getting it after all. It was a bad way to do business, and I am certain that I was misled and outright lied to.

I have taken my van in many times for service and repair. I will never go back to Classic for anything. If they had told me on my original visit that the deal was unworkable because we owed too much on our van, I would have been very happy and thanked them. In fact, I made it really clear on my first visit that I didn't want to waste time and effort unless they could work out a deal with no money down and payments we could afford (around what we are now paying). Our van is in good mechanical shape and cosmetic shape (though a bit dirty), just has high mileage. The only reason my husband and I were interested in getting a new vehicle is that Classic sent us a brochure telling us what wonderful incentives and trade-in deals they were giving for "two days only".

Unfortunately this experience has soured me on Classic Nissan, and I would caution others to beware when dealing with them because they did not speak truthfully with me.

Lisa
Orlando, Florida