Rairdon's Nissan of Auburn

Rairdon's Nissan of Auburn responded

My staff members had a complete breakdown in communication. They did not follow processes in place to prevent pricing errors. Those mistakes were compounded in emails between the customer and us. The customer was talking about one black car and we were talking about a different black car. Now that I have had time to talk with Mike and Robin I see that neither party used any stock #'s or Vehicle ID #'s. As sales professionals we were completely in the wrong because we should know better. This incident has brought attention to a couple of areas in our internet sales process that needs immediate attention and retraining. This is an unfortunate deal, and I do apologize. This was an avoidable mistake on our part. I'm glad that you understand this was a mistake and not something intentional.

Rairdon's Nissan of Auburn responded

We are not aware of any broken promises made by us. None were described in several communications with the customer. The only issue we can determine is that Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp would not approve the loan to include aftermarket accessories installed on the vehicle weeks before the customer purchased it. The customer believes we should never put dealer installed wheels and tires on the vehicle if NMAC would not finance them. So he wanted us to leave them on the vehicle but remove the charge. We tried to explain that many vehicles are equipped with a tire and wheel package. It’s not that NMAC will not finance dealer installed wheels and tires, they just wouldn’t for him. Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp (NMAC) finances consumer purchases based on credit and financial worthiness. Although NMAC refused to finance the entire loan for the consumer, we did obtain financing thru Wells Fargo Financial. For the exact terms originally agreed to by the customer.

TG - Federal Way responded

Take responsibility for what you say - you said you would NOT run my credit with other agencies, you DID, now acknowledge your mistake and correct it accordingly. File the appropriate paperwork with each banking lender to remove the inquires from my credit report because they were not authorized to run my credit on your behalf, BECAUSE YOU were not authorized on my behalf. Simply task, simple ask, a little time consuming, but make things right rather than blogging FICA policies online. Again, take ownership for a mistake. Take responsibility for what you sell - If Nissan Finance didn't finance my wheels which you as a dealer installed on the truck as a dealer option, and I could of stayed with Nissan Finance if the wheels were not included separately on the listing invoice, then remove the cost of the wheels, in the future don't install them on the next Xterra you sell, absorb the cost for your mistake this go around, and live with it. Its part of doing business. Do you realize when I was first told this, I agreed to cash pay half of the wheel cost out of my pocket to you outright realizing it was me attempting to meet you halfway? I asked if you would absorb the other half on your side to make it right? When Michelle called me back and said, Rairdon's Nissan of Auburn will pay half the wheels if I (the purchaser) shorten my loan period so you can get a "bigger" kickback for a shorter loan sale to Nissan Finance to cover your half of the wheel cost?. Lets get this right, I needed to shorten my loan period and raise my monthly payment amount to pay for your half of meeting me half way on the wheel cost for your mistake? Wow, great offer Rairdon, maybe I'll give you two quarters for a single dollar bill, because two is more than one. Ya think? Next, when the owner of Rairdon's Nissan of Auburn, Nissan North America and Nissan Finance receive my letter please do the rightful thing. Should they bother to contact you, please truthfully explain to them all of the things you didn't know: One, putting after market wheels on a new 2011 Xterra CANNOT be financed with Nissan Finance. Two, you were advised by a Nissan Finance representative that I was approved for a loan and then your representative changed the deal which made you look bad. Additionally, rather than making it right on your side, you lost a good customer and passed along a horrible experience to be shared among the community. Three, when you were ASKED NOT TO RUN my credit with any other agency other than Nissan Finance, RAIRDON NISSAN of Auburn, took it upon themselves to run the credit report with 11 other lenders. Now 21 days later, you've still not attempted to remove the inquiry's from my report, but you'll take the time to explain FICA. Four, you've soured this deal, soured this relationship with this consumer, and what's happened cannot be fixed. I'm not interested in a friendship with you as a dealer, what I expected was integrity and professionalism upfront. Five, lastly, acknowledge you did nothing to assist me in cancelling my extended warranty which was of assistance or value to me as a consumer. And still have not offered to make it right, but you'll invest 30 min's a night writing this blog asking to be my friend.

Rairdon's Nissan of Auburn responded

Any used vehicle has the potential of unknown mechanical issues. Especially a 9 year old vehicle with over 100,000 miles on it. Knowing that, we evaluate every vehicle before we offer it for resale. We take into consideration the age of the vehicle, the miles on the vehicle, exterior condition of the vehicle, and any mechanical defects can we identify that need repair. The first three (miles, age, and exterior condition) are averaged against other similar vehicles. The last (mechanical defects) is measured in pure dollars. We have a strict list of safety checks and mechanical inspections we use on every vehicle. We use that information to determine if a vehicle should be sold by us or wholesaled out. This vehicle was in great shape for a 9 year old vehicle. A month after the vehicle was purchased; the customer came back to us with some concerns. The customer wrote. "At first it was ok, but I noticed it was out of alignment right off the used car lot, and the front shocks were not working as well as they could have been. Next the transmission started clunking, so I took it back in for a look. After the truck was on the lift, I could see that the transmission's output shaft seal was leaking, as were the rear shocks..not to mention the under body was covered in rust." Regardless of this being a 9 year old vehicle. Front end alignment, rear shocks not working as well as they could of. Those are minor and certainly within average of any year used vehicle. Although you would certainly expect rust on a 9 year old vehicle. It’s impossible to have rust on an aluminum body. Any rust was limited to the drive shaft or suspension components, which can be found on any used vehicle regardless of age. We never found anything wrong with the transmission. In fact I just spoke with the current owner during their first oil change and they love it. Bottom line though is that we have an unhappy customer. In the interest of customer satisfaction we let our customer pick out a different car. A month later he traded that vehicle back to us for the original purchase price plus the sales tax he paid on the vehicle. We also gave me him full credit for the trade-in against the 2003 Pontiac Vibe that he picked out. That was three months ago. He returned to our service department recently with a complaint of his radiator was leaking and wanted us to look at it. But he didn’t want to pay the diagnose charge. He wanted us to pay it. Our service manager tried to explain that repairs and maintenance are the responsibility of the owner. What we can do is apply the diagnose charge to his warranty deductable. But the dealership can't pay for it. There was nothing wrong with the car when he purchased it. Obviously, because he had been driving it for months already. Customer service is very important to us. It sounds like we have put every effort forward to ensure his happiness. Up to giving free mechanical service. After reading the customer review for the store I initiated a follow up. Try one more time to satisfy our customer. I tried to explain and even finally offered to diagnose his car. The customer responded. "NeverbuyatRairdons wrote on 4/13/2011 6:25:59 PM: “I already had a friend look at it, at his repair shop,and said it looked fine......may have been a loose cap or something to that effect." I expected that since nothing was wrong with the Pontiac Vibe he would remove this post. But I guess not. I assure you my response is not indented to win an argument but demonstrate a level of commitment towards customer service. I will always offer a hand in the interest of customer satisfaction. As the General Manager of Rairdon Nissan of Auburn I have a responsibility to try and ensure the satisfaction of every customer.