Rogue Buying Experiences: Poll and Comments

[jmbones]

Update:

They are "supposed" to be picking up the vehicle from the other dealer today (7/31) and we are to take delivery this evening after 5pm. We'll see if it holds true.

Worst car buying experience of my life! The car will probably be a lemon to boot!

[BillLewis]

JMbones

Hang in there. I also had the worst buying experience of my life but getting the Rogue has proved worth it. So far I think this will be the best vehicle I've ever owned. Lovin it more every day. Doing about 24-25 MPG with plenty of pep, even loaded with my music equipment.BTW after you get your Rogue you should get a survey from Nissan about the dealer. This is sent to you from a third party survey company and what you say does hold some weight with Nissan Corporate. An honest upfront deal will make a repeat customer and lead to referrals. Remind the dealer owner of this if they continue to play games.

Good luck, your going to love it

Bill NJ

[jmbones]

Thx.. I can't wait for the survey, I'm going to tell it how it is. This car is for my wife, so I won't see much, if any, time behind the wheel. I get no benefit from the experience. I'll stick with my 08 Avenger and 05 Power Wagon 3/4 ton.

[roguetoad]

I want to add to my comment above a very negative report ion both Nissan and their local dealer, Montrose Nissan in Colorado.

When we traded our Rav for the Rogue it was within a week of the monthly lease payment (electronic transfer) on the RAV. At the closing we paid the first month up front with the full disclosure of the billing timing on the RAV and the promise by the Credit Manager that they would refund the duplicate month's payment for the Toyota within a month.

It's now almost two months later and it looks like we may have to go to court to get that. I keep getting stonewalled by Nissan Credit and the dealer. So, tomorrow we're filing with the State AG and Secy, the BBB, the local Chamber, and threatening factory and dealer with filing papers. We'll see if that produces anything.

So at this point, I cannot recommend Nissan Credit or Montrose Nissan as places to take your business. We've already persuaded a couple of Titan leasers to go elsewhere because of this experience.

[cdmuile]

You've done everything properly. Rest assured the dealer will not be happy to hear of your dissatisfaction. Nissan is pretty responsive to dealer complaints. Sounds like you deserve some compensation. Keep us posted.

[jmbones]

Finally got it last night. So far so good. It had pinstripes (gold and silver). Wife isn't sure she likes them (yet). So we'll see how that goes.

Is there an PDF version of the service manual online?


Modified by jmbones at 8:53 PM 8/1/2008

[roguetoad]

You've done everything properly. Rest assured the dealer will not be happy to hear of your dissatisfaction. Nissan is pretty responsive to dealer complaints. Sounds like you deserve some compensation. Keep us posted.

Thanks for the boost. We are now going up the Nissan Chain of Command. We keep getting stonewalled.

What we have discovered from Toyota is that it too Nissan almost !!!six!!! weeks to process this lease and pay off the lease on the trade.

A judge friend of ours says if we take this to court we should have no problem winning (including fees and damages for the hassle) since everything is so black and white and it writing. So we will, if it's not resolved within a few days.

Never in our long line of auto trades have we ever had anythingh like this hassle. Needless to say we will NEVER EVER deal with Nissan and are suggesting to evryone we know considering a trade to stay well away from Nissan Financial

The cars may be OK, but the company is definitely not.

So, dealer problem or not, I suggest you look elsewhere for a lease vendor and DO NOT use Nissan Financial. Additionally, definitely be sure to get it in writing regarding and overpayment refund or double billing with respect to the lease trade.

[roguetoad]

Oh...and another stupid thing about Nissan Financial.

I've been asking them for two nonths to send me the form for authorizing electronic payment of the monthly fee.

Still haven't got it yet.

When you add these up with the entire day it took Nissan Financial to close this transaction, then best advice I can give anyone is, if you like the Rogue, by all means get one, but DEFINITELY don't use Nissan Financial.

Additionally, whenever we phone Nissan the hold time is HUGE compared to Toyota or Honda. Nissan seems to be a very primitive company
Modified by roguetoad at 3:15 PM 8/5/2008

[Rocket J Dawg]

I have to say this was the best car buying experience ever. The salesman (Paul) and the dealer (Barrie Nissan) were outstanding. Absolutely no pressure. I had already done alot of research on what I wanted and what I expected for my trade, an 06 Vibe AWD. Everything went as smooth as silk and the model with our options and color were on the lot. The deal was negotiated this past Tuesday and we picked up our new SL AWD with Premium Pack, Ultramarine Blue last night.Extremely pleased with this dealership and of course our salesman Paul. Very highly recommend them to anyone.
Modified by Rocket J Dawg at 2:17 PM 8/9/2008

[slawd]

I purchased my black SL AWD two weeks ago. It's got the moon roof, leather package, tech package, splash guards, plastic strip on door panel where the scratches appear, floor mats, winter floor mats, roof racks, privacy cover and paint sealer. Just got the front side windows tinted to match the rest of the vehicle. My bug deflector, window visors and spoiler are in the mail:) I did opt to buy the least expensive extended warranty ($1,600?) as this is a first year vehicle I just felt more comfortable about it. Besides, I purchased an extended warranty on a 2 year old used Jeep previously and it paid for itself two-fold. So I'm okay with those warranties. Plus, you won't be able to get them cheaper than at purchase as opposed to buying down the road.As far as my purchase I had a lease that terminated and just turned over the keys. I got my Rogue for $200.00 over invoice. I could have gotten it for invoice or lower from another dealer, Boardman Nissan, but I kinda became friends with my sales person at Sims because we both ride Harley's. I didn't want to screw him over at that point. Note to self: Don't befriend the salesperson, haha. I got the deal overwith in one afternoon, over the phone, by pitting the two dealerships against each other. They just kept trying to out do the other. When I didn't get a call back from the second dealer by the end of the day I said yes to my salesman for the $200.00 over invoice. The rival dealer called me the following morning with the offer of invoice price. As I said, I felt I had to say no that the deal was already done with Sims in Warren, Ohio. Sims took my finance information over the phone that Friday afternoon, said they'd have my car there in the morning and gave me an appointment first thing Saturday to come in, sign papers and pick it up. The financing was done and over with in 15 minutes. The only snag in the whole process was they sent the wrong car. I wanted the black leather interior and this was gray leather. No problem, picked it up Monday after work. Happy with the whole experience, especially the car!

[Bibbers]

Horrible service.I got screwed by some guy named Romy.Waited 3 weeks for my rogue. When finally got it, he screwed up the paperwork and i got the base model. After waiting 3 weeks for my new car, finally getting in it, looking up and seeing that there was no sunroof?? Wow...Lost it, told that little moron to get me a competent sales person..told the new guy that if that *** clown tried to talk to me i' snap.So, long story short, ended up getting 2,800 off my original price, upgraded to SL, got free window deflectors and tinted windows...If your ever in the London dealership, ask for Jeff....because romy is a jackass!

[solo2]

I learned from many special ordered cars during the last ten years that the only way to make sure that your ordered car is exactly the way you ordered it is to first order it by codes, meaning the car and it's option codes.For example; the '09 Rogue SL AWD is coded 77519.The option code for the leather package is X01.The option code for the premium package is P02.The option code for the mud gaurds, f & r is B10.and so on..........................Now that option code order sheet is what the dealer uses to order the car. It is your best interest to get and keep that option code order sheet. It also has the vehicle VIN # printed on that sheet. Other info that is on that order sheet is the invoice and retail pricing of all listed options that the car will have.

Once that car is delivered, match the vin# and option code order sheet with the car that they delivered to you.

That way you can make sure that your car is exactly the way you wanted it with the option code order sheet as proof.

This is the way I have ordered and owned all my cars including this new '09 Rogue that was delivered to me last week.

[NellieR]

I went to 3 dealers before I found one that would work with me on my trade-in (2000 Ford Truck). The 1st dealer had me sit in the lobby for 3 hours while he stood out side the managers office. And when the manager finally came over to talk with me he assumed that I had a bad credit rating because I was wearing Old jeans and my favorite "T". 2nd dealer told me they could not take any FORDS as trade-ins company policy. 3rd dealer WAS GREAT...no problem. It took me a total of 2 hours from the time I walked in the door until I was Driving my Rogue home. Tom Peacock Nissan Spring Texas - ROCKS.

[2009 Indigo Blue]

We were in the dearlership a total of about 4-5 hrs. I really wanted Indigo Blue, which of course they didn't have on the lot, so they checked around & stated they couldn't find one. When we looked like we were going to leave, they kept checking & miraculously found a blue one from somewhere. The salesman drove it over from quite a distance (we never knew, but it took a LONG time).

In the meantime, we had to have them change the price 2x's because they tried to pull one over on us.

We ultimately left satisfied.

[Laurie]

My overall experience with the dealer was great. No pressure to buy and always happy to answer my endless questions (over the course of weeks).

I went in researched to the teeth and even the General Manager mentioned to the finance manager that I knew more about all aspects of the Rogue than they did.

I also had a meeting with their service manager before finalizing the deal to discuss some of the identified concerns and any additional ones he has seen, plus what if anything they were prepared to do if they came up (to avoid any unpleasant surprises down the road). i.e. they consider the transmission rattling in some rogues an engineering problem, not theirs.

My final price negotiations were directly with the General Manager over a few days). It involved courtesy, respect and a good deal of humor. The price I negotiated was excellent and he requested I not share this with my salesman (to avoid the same deal being offered to other customers on a regular basis)

There was an extremely tiny knick on the hood (that I referred to as "a gash"). The salesmen suggested one of those touch up paint sticks. The GM insisted on me bringing it in next week to have it properly painted (three coat paint model).

Financing was painless. I let him go through the list of things he is required to try to sell me, extended warranty, undercoating, rust proofing etc, and declined all of them.

Of interest, he mentioned my timing was good on the financing rate. Nissan is feeling a bit of a crunch (canada) and they may be doing away with this in the new year.

For those looking at the FWDs (again, canada), the government is doing away with the 1000 Eco-rebate after 2008.

I would recommend this dealership without hesitation.


Modified by Laurie at 6:33 AM 10/24/2008

[Roguemeister]

Great experience Laurie!

[lbr119]

Great Experience. The salesman turned out to be a guy I went to college with plus a friend from High School worked there as well. Very informative and helpful. No pressure. We went in with no intention of buying a Nissan...we were actually in the market for an 09 Matrix. We decided to look around, we thought were sold on the Matrix picked out...that was until we test drove the Rogue.

off topic....I'm surprised at the packages available in Canada vs. the US. In Canada we have Base, Premium, Leather and Tech.

[dominodave]

Hi. My experience wasn't too bad.

I wanted the red LS with the black and red interior and premium package.

They didn't have it and SAID that they couldn't get it.

I did get the indigo blue SL with black interior and premium package.

[Weberrider]

My experience with Empire Nissan in Ontario, CA was marginal. The salesperson seemed to be on the the job with almost no training. All of the details are minor, but the guy really was out of his element. When we finally took delivery, after almost leaving frustrated twice, he said he only had one key. I returned the next day as requested to pick up the second key and found out that the parts department had no keys for the Rogue. They have 29 Rogues on the lot and parts had no second keys!. I have had the car for a week now and I am still waiting for them to call so I can go back again (20 minutes each way) to pickup my second key. Love the car but cannot recommend Empie Nissan.

[us66rogue]

Bought our 2009 Rogue Oct 25 2008 from a dealer in Loves Park Illinois. Our salesman and finance manager did a good job and even scheduled it a few days later for a final buffing because he didn't trust the guy that was there doing detailing at the time. It also needed a scratch touched up on the rear bumper. Afetr doing the paperwork he gave us a tour of the building and showed us the process of the service department. He also went though the functions of the car.

We took a test drive in the morning and had to leave to pickup our daughter at a function. Our original salesman had a delivery but arranged for another to take care of us when we returned. As soon as he could he returned to finish up the deal. We dealt mostly with the finance manager. He would take our offers to the salesman who was somewhere else.

When we took the Rogue in for the service a few days later. The fairly new loaner they gave us (a sales managers car) smelled of smoke or something and was dirty inside. It also only had 1/4 tank of gas in it.

The car is great but the dealer has problems.While doing some paperwork you could hear other sales people talking about customers who had just left and how all the goofballs where coming in that day. The dealership is old and shows it. The offices looked like they had not been updated for years. Most of the salesmen seem to be very unprofessional. Salesmen outnumbered customers about 3 to 1 on a Sat afternoon. At one point they where playing catch with a football on the side of the building. Unfortunately this is the closest dealership within 50 miles of us and had on the lot what we where looking for. Next time I will make the drive to buy. If you have to go here pick your salesman wisely.

[2009 Indigo Blue]

My experience with Empire Nissan in Ontario, CA was marginal. The salesperson seemed to be on the the job with almost no training. All of the details are minor, but the guy really was out of his element. When we finally took delivery, after almost leaving frustrated twice, he said he only had one key. I returned the next day as requested to pick up the second key and found out that the parts department had no keys for the Rogue. They have 29 Rogues on the lot and parts had no second keys!. I have had the car for a week now and I am still waiting for them to call so I can go back again (20 minutes each way) to pickup my second key. Love the car but cannot recommend Empie Nissan.

Weberrider, I got my Rogue at Empire Nissan too. I got it the last Sat of Sept. Did you attend the new owner meeting that the dealership holds on the last Wed of each month? I did. It was ok. They had free food & a raffle at the end along w/ the 2 free oil changes. I was a winner in the raffle. The prizes were a CD holder, black cap w/ Nissan emblem, air freshener, & a mini duster.

[roguetoad]

After having my Rogue for 6 months and having two very lousy experiences with Nissan North America's atrocious customer service, I would adamantly recommend against buying any Nissan automotive product.

The product itself may be interesting (in my case an 08 SLAWD), but Nissan tried to cheat me out of several hundred dollars they owed me when they double billed the lease company at trade-in. I could only get them to pay up when we threatened to serve papers.

Lately. when I had to replace a faulty fuel pump/sender unit, they shipped the incorrect parts, forcing me to miss two days of work to twice drive the 175 (RT) miles to my nearest reputable Nissan dealer and sit around for over ten hours during the two trips it took to install the correct parts.

When I complained to NNA, they assigned a case number and said a district rep would contact me. That rep tried once, then in a week of my leaving voicemail, has not bothered to call back, or have anyone else call back. This happened in both the above cases! So it would seem that, after the initial contact at their phone center, they don't care about resolving problems unless forced with legal action.

That's very lousy administration and customer service. If you're a lawyer and want to play those games, maybe that's fine, but if you're the average customer who looks for quality and service, go somewhere else.

We also have Toyota and Honda products and they have honest, efficient and (at least somewhat) interested customer relations operations.

Too bad. We've been enthusiastic about this Rogue, as may be seen elsewhere in this forum, but if customer support is something important to you, if buying a product who's manufacturer stands behind it is important to you, if dealing with a company that cares even a tiny bit about customers is important to you, then look to another brand.

Nissan USA seemingly doesn't care much for its customers.

[roguester]

I have to say this was the best car buying experience ever. The salesman (Paul) and the dealer (Barrie Nissan) were outstanding. Absolutely no pressure. I had already done alot of research on what I wanted and what I expected for my trade, an 06 Vibe AWD. Everything went as smooth as silk and the model with our options and color were on the lot. The deal was negotiated this past Tuesday and we picked up our new SL AWD with Premium Pack, Ultramarine Blue last night.Extremely pleased with this dealership and of course our salesman Paul. Very highly recommend them to anyone.

Modified by Rocket J Dawg at 2:17 PM 8/9/2008

AWD must be handy this time of year. Lot's of snow up there.

[Kent]

We had a great experience at Alta Nissan Richmond Hill...they worked with us on our trade in (2003 vibe with dead AC and fried clutch..had to be towed into the dealership)..

Walked out with a Iridium Graphite Rogue SL with Premium for 1.5% over invoice!

Pick the car up on Tuesday! Can't wait!

KF

[misterghost]

rogue sl awdsunroofxenonleatherno bose no bluetooth

monterrey, mexico

there was an old sales lady that didnt explain much about the rogue, just the basic stuff about the sunroof, the a/c, and the folding seats...which she did kinda in a hurry...we (wife and i) were already sold on the rogue, so it didnt matter much, but it would be worse dealing with a know-it-all kinda guy, like in 2003 when i bought a vw beetle and the sales man didnt know any major function about the car, and was talking and talking about how the 2.0 its the best motor vw has and that its very powerful and blabla...back to nissan...the lady forgot to give me the embroidered floor mats she promised, and now she says itll take 2-3 weeks...the overall experience was bad, but seeing i delayed the final payment of around 5000usd for a few days, since i was expecting a wire transfer, i think were even...hehheheheh...

[Sanders630]

Picked up my Rogue last monday and thought it was all done.

Picked the iridium graphite with SL premium, Moon roof, no leather though. Qualified for 2.9% apr and $500 graduate rebate.

They never asked me for the proof from school of me graduating this upcoming May. When they thought that they would just be able to call up and get what ever info they needed. The school denied them the information naturally and so Friday at noon he calls my wife and says that we need the info asap or Nissan is kicking the contract back. So I go to the school and have them fax the proof. He still calls me today and left a VM acting like I was blowing him off and if I don't jump on it I'm going to have to add the 500 into the final price.

He's trying to talk down to me for his screw up. I left him VM right back, since he all the sudden wasn't around, stating the info was faxed yesterday. And the rest of the day he couldn't be contacted. I want the contract to come back so we can give them the car back and take our original car to another dealer that is offering a $5000 addition to any trade in according to it's KBB.

Everything was beautiful until this. Just goes to show how two faced these dealers are.

[kcab]

Mine was the absolute worse dealer experience I ever had. Looked up on internet at Autotraders.com, a large dealership that is in Clarkesville, MD; way on the other side of town for me about a 45 min. trip one way. I was pressured from the minute I walked in the door, had about 10 min. test drive then pressured into making the sale started. Almost before I sat down I think they had my tags off my Kingcab. Then when the financing started I asked for a 90 deferred payment, not all the finance details were disclosed on the contract. After signing I discovered I was being charged an additional $5.57/day by BB&T bank, this was no where to be found on the contract. I just bought it 3 months ago and only have 1180 miles on it and already had two warranty issues with it. 1st was tire pressure monitor didn't light, took to Mr. Tire to get repaired $20, they found nothing in the tire, it had leaked at the seal. 2nd issue just today "Service Engine Soon" came on this occurred after I checked to see if the cruise control would cancel itself when I changed the gear using the shift paddle up or down. The cruise doesn't cancel for either action, but the "Service Engine Soon" lamp does work.
Modified by kcab at 12:20 PM 3/3/2009

[slicdicinc]

We dealt with the Nissan dealer in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Can. Our salesman Steve was awesome. It was a relaxing and enjoyable experience dealing with him. I noticed most posts here refer to purchases. We actually leased ours. We signed a four year lease in Oct 08 for $392/mth....$0 down. We didn't haggle much. We had to sell our 03 Pathfinder privately. They were not as friendly regarding the price on a trade-in, even though it was a Nissan product. I had no problem with that.Our Pathfinder was amazing. Never had it in for anything other than scheduled maintenance. I am hoping the Rogue performs as admirably.

[sheaitisnotso]

Had a great experience with the Nissan dealer and they were head and shoulders above the nearby Toyota dealer.

I was down to the Toyota Matrix and Nissan Rogue and first stopped at the Toyota dealer for a test drive. I even made an appointment with the Toyota dealer 3 days before and told them I wanted to test drive an AWD Matrix. So they assigned me to a salesman and said to meet with him at the time of appointment. We get there 10 minutes before appointment and the salesman that I was assigned to was in the middle of helping other customers. So we think, alright no biggie, we're a little early and we'll just go look around. 15 minutes pass and another salesman comes over to inform us that they no longer have the Matrix AWD in stock and sold their only one 3 days ago. So we test drove the base model just to get a better idea of the Matrix and it was alright. I didn't really want to rule out the Matrix until I had tried the AWD. After the test drive the 2nd salesman brings us back inside where we could wait for the original salesman to finish up what he was doing so he could finally meet with us. 20 minutes pass of sitting on the couches and I'm about ready to walk out the door. Original salesman comes over and says the nearest AWD Matrix is 90 miles away, no other dealers in Columbus had an AWD model in stock either so that was the reason for picking this dealer, and the manager wanted a $500 deposit to bring it in just so that I could test drive it. Then I told him flat out okay see ya, we're going down the road to test drive the Rogue.

We get to the Nissan dealer and decide to find the salesman that worked with my fiancee when she leased her Altima. Come to find him helping another woman at the time but he grabs the keys to blue rogue for me and tells us to take it for a test drive on our own, but to take our time so that he could try and wrap things up with the other lady. We drive off, get some lunch, put on about 30 miles, and then got back to the dealer where the salesman was ready to work with us.

First the salesman tried to make it seem like I was getting a good deal when he knocked $500 off the MSRP and they tried to low-ball me with only $2500 for my Xterra on trade in. I told him yeah right, KBB has my Xterra for at least $3000 in good condition and I won't settle for anything less. Also the Edmunds True Market Value has at least $2000 off the MSRP and I won't settle for less than that either.

Couple trips back and forth to the manager and they still aren't giving me the numbers so we threaten to walk out. Finally the manager comes over and works with me face to face. I told him what I wanted to bring the price down to and what I wanted my monthly payments to top out at knowing he'd come back with something higher. Then he gives me a figure just a little bit above that and bam, I got the deal I was looking for.

Coming in my only demands were for the Indigo Blue in AWD with at least a sunroof. They only had two blue models and both were fully equipped with leather and premium so I had a feeling they'd be determined to get rid of one of them and make a deal.

I've already received a call from my salesman just checking in on things and also one from the service department because they'd like me to bring it in at 1000 miles for a complimentary checkup just to make sure everything is going well.

So thanks Toyota for helping make my decision a lot easier!

[SlideWRX]

- Model (S, SL, SL AWD), and any options (Premium, Leather, Technology Pack, extended warranty, etc)SL AWD, with Leather, moonroof and premium packages.- Month And Year purchased7/2009- State/Province and Country of purchaseMichigan - Ann Arbor Nissan- Your comments... good or bad.

I called Friday asking if they still had the one we wanted in stock. Yep, so I made an appointment for Saturday to get things done. The guy we made an appointment with was busy, so we were given to another salesman. Talked to the guy, agreed on price, then he went off to help others that he was working with when we were given to him. Not a big deal, but just the start. We took a test drive while he 'worked on numbers'. When we came back, I made an offer ($300 over invoice) and he accepted it. Cool! Oh, and there is $214 worth of 'documentation fees'. Ok, so roughly $500 over invoice. : Unfortunately this was the day after the cash for clunkers website opened, then crashed, so we would have to wait for monday to finish things. Ok, but we were there about three hours to just put down a deposit.

Monday we show up and nothing has been done; no credit check, no financing arrangements, no cash for clunkers stuff, nothing, and *then* they ask about registration & insurance on the clunker, title, etc. We though ahead and had most of it. We wait around for another three hours while they run credit check and clunker info and whatever else they need to do and haven't done. Eventually they give us a dealer plate and let us take it home overnight, since it's been three plus hours of nothing.

Tuesday the wife shows up to finish the deal during lunch hour. Burns another two hours of waiting but finally gets things done. As she is leaving, they run after the suv; they need our marriage certificate (recently married and shows name change on registration) and proof of no lien on the clunker title. wtf?!? We've been there THREE times for at least eight hours total and they can't figure this stuff out ahead of time? have they EVER actually sold a car before this? She says 'you did a credit check; payments (and end of payments) would show up on there' and we end up faxing them a copy of marriage title.