Quote:
Originally Posted by fly yellow
That's true, but I don't think people are lining up to test drive a Sentra. It's a particular Nissan, that performs pretty close to some exotics. My dealership said they had a huge problem with people just coming in to test drive the Z. They were very fair with price (beat 5 other dealers on sale price and trade in value), so I don't think people were test driving and not buying because the deal couldn't work.
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I just had to throw my 2 cents in on this one. I went to my local Nissan dealership about 4 months ago (back when the 370z convertible was just a rumor), with my wife reluctantly in tow. Now I was dressed in a nice pair of golf shorts and a collared shirt, and it was about 3:30 PM on a Thursday afternoon, and the place was DEAD.
They had two 370z's on the lot and a GT-R, and while I drooled over all of them, the "salesperson" came out and started the usual "How can I help you today?" I said that I was interested in a convertible Z, but didn't know if I wanted to wait for the new 370 convertible or go for the 350 converitble. He told me that they were not going to make the 370 convertible and that they were going to keep the 350 as a convertible and the 370 was going to remain a hardtop version only (that should have been my first clue).
He took me over to where the 350s were, started telling me about the bells and whistles on that particular 350. I was peering in the windows, and finally had to ask, "Can I see the inside?" He went and grabbed the keys, and came back. He opened the car, let me in it, put the top down, revved the engine, and when I asked him to take it for a spin, he said, "Well, we really don't do test drives without a deposit."
Okay, now I can understand if I had asked to take the 370 or the GT-R for a spin, but the 350??????? Cmon. I'm 36 years old and look like I'm 40, and was thinking of buying that 350 that day. The lot was EMPTY, and no one was losing any business that day. I lost a lot of faith in that dealer, and so I got my wife, and walked out. Could I have pitched a fit and gotten to ultimately take a test drive? Yes. But the moral of this story is that I'll be buying my Z converitble from another dealership which will value my time and money as much as they value theirs. I have no time to waste with a dealership that treats it's customers as if they are only out for a joyride and aren't serious buyers. Any one that does, should be ultimately penalized by not purchasing a vehicle from them.
Kudos to you Roo for showing them how their unwillingness to do their job cost them in the end. Besides, any person who works at a dealership that sells Zs, and doesn't want to go for a ride in one at every opportunity, is not a person I want to buy a Z from!!