Deceptive Sales Tactics – Loyal Customer Taken Advantage - markws011
Deceptive Sales Tactics – Loyal Customer Taken Advantage Of
I visited Morristown Nissan in Tennessee recently expecting nothing more than a routine oil change for my wife’s 2024 Murano Platinum. Instead, I experienced one of the most emotionally draining, misleading, and unethical sales encounters I’ve ever had at a dealership. I was targeted for a bait and switch situation.
After I checked in for service, I was approached less than 60 seconds after sitting in the waiting area by a traveling, contracted salesperson who misrepresented himself as a Nissan Group representative. He made it sound like he was working directly for the Nissan Corporate because he stated he was flying out later in the day. He quickly began a pitch to trade my 14-month-old 2024 Murano Platinum for a new 2025 Murano Platinum.
I told him I had a trusted salesperson at the dealership (who was working that day), and I preferred to speak with them. He brushed this off, claiming they would join us later. He then had a 2025 Murano pulled around for a test drive, which I thought was a Platinum model. It wasn’t. It was an SL, a lower-trim version lacking many of the features my wife currently had. He never disclosed this downgrade.
I felt rushed since I needed to be back in Bristol by 11 am. I trusted his words and we agreed upon a deal, and I made a $7,500 deposit by using both my debit and credit card. I then spoke to my wife by phone, who was really upset that I was trading her vehicle, and I wasn’t going home on time as promised. When I immediately tried to stop the transaction, I was told that I could not cancel the deal, despite the fact that I had not signed final paperwork. I felt trapped.
Eventually, I was allowed to modify the trade-in to my older 2023 Murano Platinum instead of the 2024, but the monthly payments jumped by over $100/month for 60 months, completely wiping out any perceived value of the offer by keeping my monthly payments the same. At that point, I wasn’t even excited about the vehicle—it was just damage control. After completing all the paperwork around 12 noon, I went outside to get ready to leave and that’s when I noticed the SL emblem on the vehicle instead of the Platinum emblem. I refused to take the vehicle, but the sales manager said all the paperwork was done, it was the vehicle I tested and stated the General Manager would not be there until Monday concerning my issue. She stated that the Murano could not stay on the lot overnight. To make matters worse they did not give the keys to my wife’s vehicle back. After a long period of time, I finally drove the vehicle off the lot a few miles and returned so I could get my wife’s key back to leave in her vehicle. I left home at 7 am for an oil change at 8:30 and finally left the dealership at 2:40 and got home after 4 pm The dealership was forced to drive the 2025 Murano SL to Bristol VA and pick up my 2023 Murano Platinum. I refused to drive the vehicle all week in hopes management or owners would make things right.
🛑 Ongoing Efforts to Resolve the Situation
Over the past week, I’ve contacted dealership management multiple times and made several attempts to reach the owners directly. I’ve received no response. I hope that someone in leadership will read this review and choose to make things right.
To that end, I am respectfully requesting a $3,000 reimbursement to reflect the estimated price and feature difference between the Platinum model I was promised and the SL model I received. That would be fair and just resolution for what occurred.
I also contacted Nissan Corporate, only to be told that they do not get involved in dealer sales issues. I find that troubling, especially when contractors are allowed to represent themselves under the Nissan name. My next steps can be to file formal complaints with the Tennessee Motor Vehicle Commission, Better Business Bureau, and Tennessee Attorney General’s Office.
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