Brantford Nissan VERY unprofessional.

[ChineseBuffet]

Hello All,

I am unable to sleep tonight because I had a VERY disapointing and unpleasent experience at Brantford Nissan today. I went to Brantford Nissan with my wife because she is looking for a new car. We have been eyeing the Versa for quite some time now and we decided to visit the dealership that one of my very good friend worked at, Brantford Nissan. I thought if we were to spend money on a car, why let anyone else get a piece of the pie if my best friend is already working at a Nissan dealership. I have always been a Honda type of guy, and it was a big change to even think about buying Nissan. I decided to try something new, I decided to try a Nissan Versa.

My friend was very professional throughout the process. We went out for a test drive. My wife drove the car and she loved it. When we arrived back at the dealership we all went into my friend's office to talk some numbers. After throwing the numbers back and forth to the General Sales Manager via my friend, we finally came to a price both sides was happy and agreed on. It was to be as follows...

Price: $16,175.00Freight: $1,150.00AC Tax: $100.00Fuel Tax: $75.00

I was able to get the "administration fee" waived and the total came to $17500 before taxes. All is well as we went into another rep's (Jamie) office to finish off the finance part and he printed the Bill of Sale. Before my wife signed anything I went through the Bill of Sale thoroughly. I noticed an extra charge down at the bottom of the Bill of Sale for the amount of $52.00. I asked Jaime what this charge was for and he explained to me that it was a for ensuring a lein? He mentioned something about PAC? I looked at the Total Purchase price again and it DID work out to what was agreed so I thought the $52.00 has been factored into the Total Purchase price already. My wife signed the Bill of Sale. The person took the Bill of Sale to the General Sales Manager for final approval and signature. He then came back into the office with the signature of the General Sales Manager on the Bill of Sale.

This is where everything just blew up and I still can't belive how they can treat customers this way and still be in business!

After Jamie sat down with the signed and ready to go Bill of Sale, Kipp Edwards, the General Sales Manager came into the office and asked Jamie about the $52.00. After about a minute of discussing this with Jamie, Kipp turned to us and told us that they had not calculated or factored in the $52.00 charge. I informed Kipp that I had already asked about the $52.00 before signing the Bill of Sale and it was already explained to me what it was for. While I was talking to Kipp, he took the Bill of Sale and folded it in half and placed it by the document shredding machine. He inisisted that we pay the extra $52.00 and said that he will not swallow this charge. I informed him that we have signed the Bill of Sale and so has he. I wanted to pay the price that was agreed on. I suggested that he should not shread the Bill of Sale. He then took the Bill of Sale in his hands and quoted "I'll do better than that, I'll tear it up". He proceed to tear the fully signed and legal binding document into 6 pieces and thew it into the garbage. My friend was there to witness this, and so was the other person that was helping us out (Jamie). I was furious. I cannot belive this is even happening. I turned to my wife and said "Lets go." I told Kipp that what he just did was wrong. He pointed to another sheet of paper with the price that we agreed on and said what we just signed on the Bill of Sale was not the same as what was on that piece of paper.

Kipp never once apologized that they have made a mistake and would like to print another Bill of Sale. It was like we owed him the sale and he was doing us a favor. I was about to get up and leave when my friend asked me to cut him some slack and that he will be in alot of heat tommorow from not only the General Sales Manager but the owner of the dealership. He did try to get us a good price on the car and we were satisfy with his efforts. I did not want to waste his time or get him into trouble. We have been friends for a very long time.

We made it VERY CLEAR to Jamie and Kipp that if it was someone selling us the car we would have walked the very second he tore up the Bill of Sale. I asked Kipp to acknowledge what he did was wrong and he quoted "Do you really want to know what I think of that Bill of Sale?" Kipp then informed me that we were "Difficult to deal with and we kept him at work after hours". This is totaly unacceptable and extremely unprofessional. After a small discussion with my wife about the situation, she signed a second Bill of Sale with the additional $52.00 factored in. WE DID THIS SOLELY OUT OF KINDNESS TO MY FRIEND AND NOTHING ELSE.

We drove away from Brantford Nissan feeling very disapointed and second guessing ourselfs as to whether or not we should have even signed it. However what's done has been done. I will be calling Nissan Canada's Customer Satisfaction line first thing tommorow morning and I will be filing a complaint on Kipp Edwards of Brantford Nissan for the great customer service experience he has shown us.

$52.00 is not a big deal to us. It is the principle of the matter. Kipp handel this situation very unprofessionaly. Now I will let the world know of our experience at Brantford Nissan.

CB

[AriesQtPie]

First off, I'm very sorry to hear that happened to you. Please don't think that's standard practice at Nissan dealerships.

Second, first thing tomorrow I would call and speak to his boss. Explain the situation, and also mention you cannot and will not be giving them "excellent" on the customer satisfaction survey until you get, at the minimum an apology (face to face) from this person. I think this is the LEAST that they can do to rectify the situation.

Third, request a bird dog fee for yourself for bringing your wife, the car buyer to the dealership. My husband used to sell cars and knows many of the local dealerships (and their staff) and he got $100.00 check for bringing me to that dealer.

I do hope you enjoy the car! We have two now!

[JPack]

$52. Geez.

If you have to finance, then they're already making money off of that. Not to mention the freight/PDI and the other surcharges.

[proxim2020]

Thanks for your posting. We love hearing out poor experiences because it helps members stay away from those dealerships. I'd suggest speaking with the sales manager first, then the owner. I doubt the owner wants to have their dealerships name blasted all across Hamilton as a bad dealer. I bet after talking to the owner, they will try to make it up somehow. If they don't, then let the blasting begin.

[DreamU]

I don't think I could have walked away from a 'very good friend' either. I once lost a friend over a $20 bet.

That is an extreme example of bad customer service but there is a lot of it in corporate America these days. I've experienced poor customer service from credit card companies to airlines. The poster child for poor customer service has got to be Blizzard's online computer game World of Warcraft. And yet they are the most successful online game in the industry. Go figure.

[marleyfan]

Hard to believe a dealership would have reacted like this over $52. If I had been your friend I would have paid the $52 on your behalf and then had strong words with my boss later.

By the way....what is the $75 fuel tax? Is that standard on all new cars? I don't remember paying anything like that...but maybe I did.

[gfxguy]

He's in Canada, which explains a lot those dollar figures. When I saw an over $1000 freight charge, I was like "WHAT?!?!?!" but then I glanced at the location and the numbers made some sense.

I know it's too late for most of you, but I think anyone buying a new car ought to read this:

http://www.edmunds.com/advice/....html

I've (sadly) bought several new cars in recent years, and my strategy is too choose a car by the books (you know the price, the features... how it looks on paper), then I go into the dealership for a test drive. I often know more about the car than the salesman (although the Nissan guy was pretty knowledgeable). I know what I'm going to offer when I go in, and I'm not going to pay more than that. You have to be willing to walk away. I've been stopped on my way out the door twice when the manager had a sudden realization that the price I was offering wasn't impossible, as he'd stated.

I always treat the salesmen with respect, but I also don't believe a word out of their mouths because 95% of the salesmen out there are just full of it.

My offer might not be as much as they could get from someone else, but then I point out that they got it in 25 minutes instead of haggling for hours.

So yeah, I've had bad experiences... but we learn from our experiences, and in three car purchases since, I've always walked away paying what I wanted to pay without any BS.

[marleyfan]

He's in Canada

So am I. Still doesn't explain the fuel tax.

[StanBo]

So am I. Still doesn't explain the fuel tax.

That is weird I wonder if that is on the american sales of the cars?

I went into my local Nissan dealer and was happy. I got a salesperson that was new to the job so she wasn't super pushy. She understood that I wanted bang for my buck and wasn't buying the car yet.

When I went into my local Honda dealer I felt like bait to sharks.

I can't believe almost loosing a sale for $50bucks.

[tama48]

I would have walked out and never looked back. I wanted the Versa but had it been a hassle to get one I would have just as easy bought any one of three others makes of cars I was looking at.

[BBISHOPPCM]

I was raped when I bought mine, mainly because of the negative equity in my Frontier (about $4000).

[proxim2020]

I can't believe almost loosing a sale for $50bucks.

When I went to pick up my car, there was $300 extra to the invoice. Apparently they forgot all the free stuff they gave me at the original deal when they were trying to make a sale. The factory screwed up and added splash guards that they also wanted me to pay for. They tried to get me to pay for all this stuff, but then I started gathering my stuff to walk out. Then I was asked "You're not going to let $300 stop a sale." Yes! They quickly found the file that had the original deal/my signature and reduced the price. They decided to just give the splash guards for free. Even though I had waited for 4 months for my V, I was ready to walk out over .01. It's more about principal than anything.

[ChineseBuffet]

I was ready to walk out over .01. It's more about principal than anything.

Exactly my point. I would have done the same thing if it weren’t for my friend.

I called Nissan Canada and filed a report on Kipp Edwards yesterday. They recorded my experience and provided me a CASE ID for future tracking purposes however the person I spoke with at Nissan Canada informed me that ultimately it is up to the owner of the dealership to take action. They provided me with the contact information of the General Manager (owner). I have informed him of what has happened via e-mail and is currently awaiting his response.

CB

[audtatious]

I would have walked. If my friend was the salesman he would understand and begin to question why he is working for a dealership like that in the first place. ANY dishonesty by the dealership will result in me leaving.

I really don't understand how the salesman can get in hot water when it was the other parties that would have blown the deal. The GM would have been furious a THEM for losing a sale over $52. At the least, you should have left and told them you would "think about it". They would have called you the next day.

[Slither]

I wouldn't gripe about it too much - it's only money. You never win with a car. What happens if it gets stolen or wrecked in an accident that's not your fault?

Been there - had that happen. All that really matters is our health, everything else comes a distant 2nd. Including a sowered relationship over a bit of money and a car that won't be around in a few years.

[ChineseBuffet]

All that really matters is our health, everything else comes a distant 2nd.

That is very true.

[marleyfan]

I wouldn't gripe about it too much - it's only money. You never win with a car. What happens if it gets stolen or wrecked in an accident that's not your fault?

Been there - had that happen. All that really matters is our health, everything else comes a distant 2nd. Including a sowered relationship over a bit of money and a car that won't be around in a few years.

I'm assuming he was healthy when he went to buy the car so what does that have to do with a bad experience at a dealer? Don't diminish his legitimate complaint by attempting to place it into "the grand scheme of things."

[Robi]

The fee to register the lien has to be shown as a separate entry. It is the same in many provinces in Canada. But that is not to say they could have handled the situation far better. A simple explanation and to make up for their error they could have given you some service coupons and a free Nissan hat (very sporty) I am glad that I would never lose a friend over a few dollars ... hey Life is far too short. Trust me, after open heart surgery things seem a lot clearer. You get to that wonderful point of saying "who gives a s...t" and you move on. People alway justify things by saying that "it's the principle of the thing" Yes, but it usually comes down to money and for $52 come on get a life.

[ChineseBuffet]

It IS the principle of the matter. In hind sight of the situation, regardless of whether my friend works there or not we should have just walked out and not buy the car from Brantford Nissan. It does NOT come down to money because I would rather pay extra money else where for better service than what we received at Brantford Nissan. What's done has been done. I look at this as a good learning experience.

I'm not in bad terms with my buddy. In fact I was over at his place yesterday to give him the plates and other information needed to get the car ready for pickup next week. We chatted for a bit. He does agree with me on what the General Sales Manager (Kipp Edwards) did that night was totaly uncalled for and down right rude. He has offered to cancel the whole deal if we still unhappy with our decision. We will be keeping the car.

CB

[Darina]

DON'T GO TO THIS DEALERSHIP!
Their service department tried to scam me today, by telling me that my air filter is blocked
and I need to replace it. I told them really? I have a performance K&N (cleanable) air filter,
I installed myself. You don't change that you just clean it. They asked me if I am sure if I have
that kind of filter. I think I know what I installed myself. You can tell it's red in colour and not white.
So, I told them no I don't need to change it and I just want an oil change.
After the service I checked and it, my air filter K&N wasn't even that dirty.

I wonder how many people fell victim to their trick to get easy money.

They didn't even check what kind of air filter I have before they tried to scam money out of me!!!!!

I will never go back to them, they tried to scam me.