Smithtown Nissan Unethical Contracting Behavior towards a single mom St. James New York

I am writing to you to let you know of the horrible experience I had with employees at Smithtown Nissan and the incidents that occurred during the lease of my vehicle:

On March 30th I went searching for a new vehicle since my lease of my Toyota 4 Runner was expiring in 3 months.

My first stop was Smithtown Toyota with whom I have leased with for the past 6 leases. Because of the rising gas prices I decided to go with a car rather than the SUV. I was quoted a price of $360 per month with 3k total out of pocket for a 2009 Toyota Camry. They advised me to wait until my lease was up in June.

After leaving Toyota I went directly to Smithtown Nissan where I was greeted by Salesman Danny Tiefenwerth. The showroom was very busy because they were running a huge promotional sale that would expire at the end of the month, so I was told. Danny asked what Toyota quoted me and I gave him the information. I let Danny know that I was interested in the Nissan Maxima in black with a beige interior. He wanted to know how much money out of pocket that I could apply. I told him the absolute most would be 3k. He ran the numbers and came back with a price of $359 per month 3k out of pocket and would pay off my 3 remaining payments with Toyota for a 2008 Maxima. I asked if the 3k would cover EVERYTHING out of pocket and his reply was YES. Okay we had a deal. I allowed him to process the 3k on my credit card and left with only the receipt of the credit card transaction even though I did sign an agreement for the price, color of the car and amount. I asked why I wasn't getting a copy of the Buyer's Agreement and was told that he did not have the Vehicle identification number yet so he could not give me a copy.

Monday morning, the following day, I received a call from Danny explaining that he could not get me a black Maximum with the beige interior however he could supply black with gray or black with black. I agreed to the black with gray. Approximately 15 minutes later I received another call from Danny letting me know that he could only get the black with black. I told him that I probably would not happy with black with a black interior but that I would stop by to see it.

Since I knew I wouldn't be happy with the color offered, I stopped by the Smithtown Mercury/Lincoln dealer first and fell in love with a black with beige interior Mercury Milan. The dealer offered me a deal of $318 per month with 3k out of pocket. I was very excited about the vehicle and told him that I had to go back to Nissan first for a credit for the 3k that was charged to my account and that I would return.

I looked at the black Maxima. I was not happy with the dark interior. I let Danny know that I would not be taking it and that I was interested in the Mercury Milan. The Manager came out and began offering me other deals including taking an Altima. I did test drive the Altima but was not satisfied with the way it drove. They both continued to be very strong in selling me a car.

In the showroom was a white with light gray interior 2008 Maxima. The manager asked what kind of deal he could give me to lease the white Maxima located in the showroom. He began to run off numbers and incentives for me to purchase this car. He also claimed that Lincoln/Mercury was not a dependable or safe vehicle to drive. I did agree to purchase the white Maxima after an offer of $299 per month, 3k out of pocket, free car washes for 60 days, free maintenance for 30 thousand miles, pin stripe and a wood grain package. It seemed like a great deal that I could not resist.

Prior to sitting with the Financial Manager, Stan Sigerson, the salesman, Dan, asked that I empty my truck. Since it was raining that day I asked if I could transfer all of my items from the SUV directly into the Maxima. He was reluctant for some reason and offered me a big bag to put all my items in and bring them into the building.

While I was sitting with Stan and before signing a contract, Dan informed me that my truck was already on its way back to Toyota located in Connecticut. Not thinking too much into it I said "okay, wow that was quick."

So here I am sitting with Stan and my first impression was how arrogant he was. He called my insurance company while I sat waiting. He printed out a contract for me to sign. As he pushed the contract in front of me he stated that I needed to give him $3600 dollars. I immediately told him that I already paid $3,000 and asked him about the additional $600. He explained that the $3,000 I put down did not include(I don't remember exactly what he said because I was seeing fire). I blurted out that there was no way I was putting down $6600 on a leased vehicle and that Dan did inform me that $3,000 was all of my out of pocket expense. Stan told me to just put it on my credit card. He also continued to push the contract in front of me while trying to explain the costs. I asked to speak to the manager. I explained to the manager the situation; he claimed to be furious with Dan but said that he could not let the car go with only 3k out of pocket. I asked for my truck back but was told that it's too late; it is already gone; "it had been grounded". He told Stan to make the deal work somehow and walked away. Stan played with his computer and came back with another ridiculous offer which was more per month and a little less down. I just sat there in total amazement that they all could think I was that naive to fall for this. When the manager walked back in he asked Stan if the deal was done. Stan replied yes as he again shoved the contract in front of me. I loudly replied that the deal was not done. They both showed me the computer screen pointing out how they are not making any money on this deal and that they were already in the minus. At this point I was very tempted to call the police because basically they stole my car. I couldn't walk out because I had NO VEHICLE.

The bottom line from this horrific ordeal, after spending 7 hours at the dealership, was an offer of $325 per month, $3400 out of pocket, and instead of the 15k mileage per year that I had requested, they adjusted it to 12k per year.

I have been waiting for the pin stripe that I was promised since March 31st. I left Dan numerous messages but never received a return call. I finally drove to the dealer and confronted him. Again he promised he would call me with a date and again no call. After a week of waiting for him, I contacted the manager and finally received a date from Allie in service of April 22nd. I was to drop the car off the night before and pick up a loaner car for the day. I called to confirm on April 21st and spoke to Allie. She asked that I hold on while she checked to see if there was a loaner car available and the next thing I know I was transferred to Dan. Dan was surprised that I went around him to schedule the pin striping. I explained to him that I was very frustrated with him for not returning my phone calls. He informed me that a loaner car was a problem because there were non available since they were all reserved. I explained to him that I was just calling to confirm and that I had spoke to Allie the week prior so why was it that a car was not reserved for me. I also let him know that I had canceled a doctor's appointment so that I could drop the car off. Back and forth we went again. When I asked to speak to a manger he indicated that there were no managers in the office that day. I found it very hard to believe that there were no managers available. I have been leasing vehicles for years and I know that managers are always available. He finally admitted that he did drop the ball with scheduling a date for the pin stripping and apologized only after I asked to speak to a manager again. We finally made arrangements to drop my car off in the morning, which would make me late for work, but I agreed.

While dealing with Dan, I was constantly reminded to fill out a positive survey when I received it from Nissan North America. After finalizing the date for the pin striping, he offered to fill my gas tank if I showed him the positive survey before mailing it. I suggested that since I opted not to take the wood grain package and how unhappy I was with the entire ordeal that he throw in a GPS System. I laughed to myself after I said it knowing that this would never happen. He replied that he couldn't offer the GPS System but if I showed him the survey he would talk to his manager and try to work something out.

I truly feel that I was taken advantage of and I am very unhappy with the turnout of this lease. I feel as if the cost is more than I was willing to pay since I was offered a Mercury Milan for $318 per month, 3k out of pocket, 15k mileage per year and the color I originally wanted. I also believe that they purposely took my car prematurely to trap me into leasing with them and that the whole incident was staged. They knew that I would not have leased a car with them if my out of pocket expense was $6600. I was upfront with Dan when I told him from the beginning that I could not pay more than $3000 out of my pocket.

On April 28th I called Nissan North America about the survey and the history of this lease that I had sent them approximately a week prior. I was told that the behavior by Dan, encouraging me to fill out a good survey, would be reported, however, the contract mishap could not be handled by them. They recommended I speak to the General Manager of Smithtown Nissan, Craig Fina.

When Craig returned my phone call I could tell immediately that he was annoyed. I asked if he was aware of the situation and he told me he was having my file pulled by Dan. I explained the entire situation to him in detail. I included the part that it was pouring rain out that day and Dan asked that I empty my truck with all my personal belongings. He offered me an oversized garbage bag and told me put the bag under his desk. I asked if I could just transfer the items from the truck directly into my new vehicle and he insisted that it would be better to do it this way. After explaining this to Craig he told me to get to the point and stop telling him about the weather that day. I explained to him that I felt as if I was "verbally raped" that day. He jumped down my throat immediately explaining that those were very harsh words and is there such a thing. I told him that what I was trying to say is that I felt as if I was taken advantage of.

Craig mentioned that I spoke to him twice before and that I never mentioned a problem to him. I had no idea I spoke to him in the past but then remembered when I was trying to get a date for my pin stripping and was having a problem with Dan returning my phone call, I did ask for the manager. I did not know that Craig was the manager that I spoke to. That was the only time that I spoke to him. As we continued to speak on the phone his voice was getting angrier and he wanted to know why I tried to bribe Dan with a GPS unit. My intention was not to bribe anyone; it was to be compensated for how I was treated and for not taking the wood grain package. He angrily asked what I was looking for. I told him that I wanted what I was promised from the beginning; $299. per month, $3,000 out of pocket, 15 thousand miles per year, free maintenance until 30 thousand miles, free car washes, pin striping, and although I was offered the wood grain package I was not interested in taking it. As we spoke, he told me that I was being unprofessional so I asked if he thought his people were acting professionally when they took my car without a signed contract. Because he continued to be hot and voices were rising, I told him that I will be contacting a lawyer and soon after hung up on him.

They have succeeded in there quest to lease me a car but they have lost me as a customer in the future. As mentioned earlier, I lease a vehicle every 3 years and I will definitely not be returning to any Nissan dealers in the future.

Joann
lake Grove, New York
U.S.A.

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