dealer crashes customer's Z

koeppelnissan

A few weeks ago, customer brings in his 2014 Nismo 370Z (4 months old) for some concerns with alignment and bearings. Mechanic checks out the car, takes it for a spin, somehow loses control and hits a parked car. The damage was substantial and the Z ended up getting totalled. This was at our store.

Obviously the customer was irate, and that is completely understandable.

Today, we finalized the terms of his new Z. He asked me to get him another 2014 (wasn't crazy about the 2015). We have him financing the same amount that he owed, with a much better interest rate, and waiting on the Armytrix Valvetronic exhaust that we threw in as part of the deal. We matched his down payment, didnt charge any extra for the Audio package and ordered the exhaust for the inconvenience.

(complimentary Audio, complimentary Armytrix, and a 4% lower interest rate which saves him $6k in finance charges)

Unfortunately we couldn't fire the mechanic for the accident, but he definitely won't be driving any customer's cars again.

I don't want rumors to start about how we screwed up, so I figured I would post it here on my own. The customer and I both believe that the end result was more than fair, and he picked up his new Nismo today. Just has to wait 3 weeks or so for his exhaust to come in! Thank you Kevin, for allowing us an opportunity to make this right for you!

Yes we definitely screwed up, but we owned up to it and made good on it.

Super Werty

So what were the concerns with alignment and bearings on a 4 month old nismo?

Did that cause the accident or reckless driving?

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The Build

koeppelnissan

embarrassingly enough, I believe it was wreckless driving

dP3NGU1N

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Chuck33079

Wow. Well done guys. I'm very impressed by the way you're handling this.

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1LIFE

I heard about this elsewhere on the web and was wondering what the outcome would be. Sounds like the customer ultimately came out ahead, good to hear.

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Mike

why can't you fire the mechanic? Union?

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koeppelnissan

exactly - as much as I hate the situation, he is a union employee that had an accident, so can't be fired for that. He sure as hell, wont see a Z or GTR on his lift again

Jordo!

I know this is tied up in the union, but I think that's reasonable if he's otherwise been a good and valuable employee and he was honest and forthcoming about the whole incident.

Everyone has a bad day, but unfortunately for him, this one was catastrophically bad.

I'm sure you will NEVER have a problem with him again.

You gents did the right thing -- my hat's off to you, sir

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Enjoy it. Destroy it.

Super Werty

So if you owned the business and that money came out of your pocket you would still keep that employee?

I know for sure I would not feel sorry for him as I fired him.

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The Build

JARblue

Interesting. I am impressed like everyone else. Nicely done

Our Acura dealer keeps breaking $hit on our ILX but never enough to total it out

That's what insurance is for...

Everyone makes mistakes, so I'm not against second chances. But in a small company, you typically don't get to make mistakes of that caliber and keep your job.

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Jordo!

It depends. If every other day he helped make the workplace a success, I might be furious, but I'd be shooting myself in the foot to let him go.

If he had a record of being "on the cusp" and then managed to wreck a car, I'd feel differently.

He certainly wouldn't be up for a promotion anytime soon, but unless his actions forced the business to shut down if they didn't absorb his salary, all we're doing is throwing out a good worker who had a bad day. That means another person who is unemployed and a family who may be in dire straights. That's a hard lesson considering everyone carries insurance and US wages are stagnant...

I'm guessing the dealership has still turned a profit this year, making this compensatory act possible.

Leaning towards cutting someone loose the second they become a liability in one way or another is the norm in the US -- how's that been working out for the workforce?

Maybe he's been a screw-up from day one? If so, then see my second point.

If this is the first time he's managed to royally screw up, my guess is it will not only be his last, but he will be determined to toe the line henceforth.

I am certainly not criticizing Koeppel for wanting to fire him -- I'm saying, it might be for the best that they didn't if they can cover the the liability and they now have an employee who will be doubly motivated to appreciate his job and work hard.

Beyond that, I am always going to be more sympathetic to the worker than the boss, given the power/opportunity/risk-reward differential.

What if the OP hired the guy -- should the person who hired Crashy McCrashypants also get the boot for picking a loose cannon from the applicant pool? We're getting into "dog bites person, who gets the blame, the dog or the owner?" territory...

I think the dealership handled themselves admirably and appropriately in this ugly matter, and my prediction is, it will more than make up for any immediate losses by way of continued patronage from folks.

If I had gone though all this, I'd be furious, but I would also continue to do business there. Actually, I kind of did just go through this with another place; they made good, and I am still there, happy as I had been before.

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Enjoy it. Destroy it.

Davey

Glad you stepped up and made it right.

Jordo!

Wait -- the customer turned down a 2015?!

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Enjoy it. Destroy it.

Davey

I really am not understanding the seeming hatred for the 2015... I think it looks great.

I hated the 2013 (standard Z) when I saw pictures but then I saw one in person I changed my tune. I wonder if people just haven't seen the 2015 "in the flesh" because it really is a stunning car.

Then again it is a little more subdued with the smaller wing, so, different strokes I guess.