jocam23

This letter is in regards to an unpleasant buying experience I recently encountered with a Southern California Nissan Dealership, Cerritos Nissan located in Cerritos, California:

I am in the market to purchase a new vehicle. After much research and contemplation as to what vehicle would fit my needs, I have decided to purchase a brand new 2005 Nissan 350Z. Using the Nissan website, I was able to find the exact 350Z that I wanted in the right color with the specifications that I required. It was located at Cerritos Nissan.
On July 10, 2005, I called this particular dealership to inquire if the vehicle was still in stock since on the website, it showed that there were two of the same vehicle in their inventory. I initially spoke with a salesperson that offered to help me locate the vehicle and check if they still had the car in stock. He then introduced me to his manager. The manager informed me that they did have the vehicle in stock and urged me to come down to look at the vehicle and hopefully make a purchase. I agreed and told her I would be at the dealership within an hour. I spoke with Lynette later that afternoon and told her that I would not be able to make it until 10:00 a.m. the following morning Monday, 7-11-05.

My wife and I arrived at Cerritos Nissan the next day Monday, 7-11-05, at noon. I asked to speak with the sales manager. I believe she was busy at the time so I spoke to the salesperson instead. He greeted me and told me that he would go and get the vehicle so that I could take a look at it. After about 20 minutes of waiting, we were wondering what was going on. Finally, after 10 more minutes of waiting, the salesman pulls up to the front of the store with the 350Z. I asked him what took so long and he told me that he needed to get the car from the back of the lot. We go to the vehicle and he opens the door so that I can inspect the interior. As I was looking inside to make sure the vehicle had all the options I wanted, my wife inspected the exterior. She calls me over to the rear of the vehicle. To our surprise, there is a deep dent on the left side of the rear bumper. After more inspection, we see that the right rear taillight is cracked. We question the salesperson because I have never heard of a dealership trying to show, let alone sell a damaged vehicle. He told us that the car might have been rear ended by another vehicle as it was being unloaded off the truck and that the damage could be fixed at their cost. There is nothing to worry about because they have their own body shop and once the damage is fixed it will look brand new.

At this time I am upset. The whole buying experience was ruined. As a customer I expect to go to a dealership and expect the best customer service I could possibly receive. I was excited that I was going to be the proud owner of Nissan’s top of the line vehicle, the 350Z, and instead my excitement turned into shock that a dealership would try to sell me a damaged vehicle. Not only was I in shock, but also I was embarrassed for the entire Cerritos Dealership. I asked the salesperson why he did not tell us about the damage right from the start, because if he did we would have reacted differently. Did he think that we were not going to notice the damage? At this point we told him that we did not want to buy a vehicle that we knew had damage from the start. He even went inside the office to ask someone if the dealership was going to receive another 350Z with the same specifications. No managers or staff came outside to try to address this issue. They just let us go like nothing had happened. Something did happen. They lost valuable customers and business and everyone we know was informed at how bad the Cerritos Dealership treats its customers.
To top this bad experience off, the following day Tuesday, 7-12-05, I receive a call from the Quality Assurance Associate from the Cerritos Dealership. She herself did not know what the problem was and what occurred at her dealership the following day. She asked me that if it was a credit issue I had a problem with or a cosigner issue. I asked her if she knew what my problem was and obviously she did not know. I suggest that if the quality assurance person calls to try to apologize and make things better with their customers, isn’t it a good idea to know ahead of time what the real situation is? After telling her my story, she asked me if there was anything she could do to keep us as customers? I said no, she had lost us as customers but I told her to learn from this mistake, and to reevaluate their quality control policies and customer service policies so no one who expects to buy a vehicle at Cerritos Nissan will experience what my wife and I had to go through.
At this time I have not purchased the 350Z and will wait for a response from the consumer affairs department at how they addressed this issue with the Cerritos Dealership. I truly hope this is an isolated incident and when I do try to purchase the 350Z at another dealership we will have a better experience.

Sorry for the long a** letter but I wanted to warn everyone I know about the type of service at this dealership.

bogey

when i was a car salesman we sold damaged vehicles but we disclosed everything even if the customer didn't notice and adjusted the price accordingly

del105

iTrader: (4)

you could have gotten that car way cheap.

JRinTXrog

Sounds to me like it was no big deal. The salesman may have not known it was even damaged. I understand you not wanting the car but I dont know that the dealership was trying to pull any thing over on you.

MustGoFastR

iTrader: (13)

The point isn't what the dealership/salesman did or didn't know about before hand, but how they acted and treated their customers once the problem was pointed out. Absolutely unacceptable.

gatti-man

iTrader: (2)

He probably didnt notice. Also the truth is that it probably got hit in the parking lot by another salesman not during the unload on the truck lol. Thats such a lie. The fact of the matter is that about 25% of cars sold at a dealership has had something hit them or little damage that gets fixed or hidden before they are sold. Sometimes its minor sometimes its major but usually they wont tell you. That car may have been hit 30 minutes before the guy was showing it to you, he prob was trying to make stuff up and inadvertantly pissed you off not to make himself sound like a dumba$$

jocam23

My reactions would have been different if he was up front about the damage. How could he not notice that himself...tail light cracked and bumper dented. You just don't show a damaged car...make up an excuse like it was sold or we had the wrong VIN #.

gatti-man

iTrader: (2)

bc to him the Z isnt that special. He probably shows them twice a day. Hes used to looking at the car and just glazed over it, either that or hes a big rookie and was so excited about the fat check he might get that he didnt even bother to check it out. If i was you i would have made a big fuss to the sales manager then used that leverage to get a smokin deal on the car....its not too late you know lol.

KingOfV6

iTrader: (3)

sorry you had to go through that experience im sure u wish u had a Z right now,,,my experience with cars is don't buy anything you are not 100 percent happy with the deal and service, btw what color and options did you pick? just curious

jocam23

Yah I realize that now, but the only way I would buy a vehicle that I know had damage to it right from the start is if they gave me like 2-3 grand below invoice or something close to that...I wish...

jocam23

I was looking at the Silverstone Touring model...Thanks for asking...

jocam23

Hey King, what happened to your 05 Silverstone S2K?

jocam23

Well since I still haven't bought the Z, Im still contemplating the S2000. I know its a 4 cylinder but its still a nice ride. I got a really great quote since my father-in-law knows someone at the Penske Honda Dealership in Ontario, Cali.

gatti-man

iTrader: (2)

s2000's are fine but they are short on style big time. They look like a drop top civic to me.

Qbrozen

frankly, if i was going to retrieve a car and approached it from the front, i would not even look at the back of it to see if it was ok.

and what did you want them to do after you spotted the damage? Come out and kiss yer butt or what? I'm just not following what the problem is. Crap happens. The only real complaint I would have is waiting 30 minutes for them to pull the car up, that's about it.

Tony@Performance

iTrader: (16)

Damaged cars at dealerships are not uncommon, and the salesman probably didn't realize the issue.

What model, and setup did you want? you can call us, we have tons of Zs here....

KingOfV6

iTrader: (3)

My older brother totalled the car when i let him drive, it was pretty bad but we are ok, i have to say the s2k was a true performer on the twisties and the car felt like quality, my biggest complain was the room in the s2k, im 150 and 5'9 and i still had trouble being comfortable in it, i have always been a honda boy, but i got a 350z as a replacement, and let me tell you i feel it is better overall...oh yea traction on hondas suck if the s2k caught traction we would of not spunout, both these cars are rivals, and thats what keeps me into these cars

KingOfV6

iTrader: (3)

well being a former s2k owner, i have to say if you walk around an s2k its actually pretty nice, in no way i would compare it to a civic come on its a 33k sports car , the s2k holds the record for highest compression inline 4 engine or something, its styling on the 05 was great with those new rims, and imo looked good with top up or down.. but my Z has given me more happiness and thats wut matters

jocam23

Qbrozen, my point is that the dealership should inspect vehicles for damage anyway. If they saw that the car was damaged off the truck, they could have taken it and fixed it right away. Then when they delivered the car to me I would not have even known about the issue... I would then drive off in my Z as another satisfied Cerritos customer.

jocam23

Tony, I was looking at an 05 Silverstone Touring Model.