Big_Ham

iTrader: (1)

BOYCOTT INFINITI OF TAMPA!

I went by there on my lunch after my contact called me to inform me that they had the new G35 coupe with a 6 speed. Excited, I made my way over there. I got to the dealer and was told I could not drive the 6 speed. I found this reasonable as it was still in plastic (even the wheels) and was in no shape to go on the highway.

(FYI, the short throw shifter RULES and the brembo calipers look great peeking through the 18" wheels)

I then ask Leo - my sales rep - if I can just drive the automatic so I could at least get a feel for the car. Then comes the Spanish Inquisition. Asking when I will buy and how serious I am about the car. The whole song and dance I have heard before. I was up front with him and let him know that I wasn't immediately interested, but could be very interested in a month or two. After a 15 minute conversation about my intentions, he goes inside to see "which G35 we'll be driving". He comes back out and says that his manager won't let me drive it because I'm not immediately interested. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I proposed the question, "How is someone going to buy a car they don't drive?" His answer was that I could just come back in when I was more serious about my purchase and then I could drive one. Well, I promptly told him that I would just leave and go buy a car from another dealer. Leo handed me his card and asked me to call him if I changed my mind. I told him not to expect a call.

So, here I am, asking for the .org's help. Lokey Infiniti in Clearwater is a reputable dealer and is not that far from us here in Tampa. Help me make them sorry that they treated me the way they did. Also, was anyone else in the same situation as I was? Specifically with the G35 coupe? I'd love to claim age discrimination as I look about 21 y/o, but maybe they just do this to everyone? Either way, I'm a little upset as you can tell and I feel this was VERY bad business on the part of Infiniti.

IF YOU ARE IN TAMPA, BOYCOTT INFINITI OF TAMPA!

Padsy

iTrader: (1)

Wow!!! Just go and buy one from another dealer, and drive it to them and ask about their service rates.

Loosing a sale on a g35c will be punishment enough.

njmaxseltd

iTrader: (19)

I'd write a really nice letter to that dealer. I'd also copy my family lawyer and the local newspaper, TV stations, ect ect.

Quite frankly, I think Infiniti saw you as a kid, being you mentioned the 21y/o thing and blew you off.

Big_Ham

iTrader: (1)

I would think so too, but I don't want to assume age discrimination unless I get other hard facts.

johnvt1111

iTrader: (2)

Definately agree, that would be a great idea.....and then be like ask your buddy if he remembers when his manager wouldn't let you test drive the car, and tell them the dealer you bought it from did.....then give him one of these

ripper

Same thing happened to me when I tried to get drive in a 350Z.

A couple of weeks ago, I go in to Rosenthal Nissan on a Saturday to pick up a part that I ordered and there are three beautiful Zs sitting out front with a couple or three sales guys standing around.

Now, I wasn't planning on even seeing these cars, let alone getting a test drive. But damn, those cars looked like they needed some time on the road.

I stop on my way out, parking my 2k2 Max two spaces from the Zs. As soon as I start looking at them, two of the guys walk away. The youngest hangs around to finish his cig but he was probably the only one who didn't see the problem coming.

I walk around a charcoal one a couple of times, tell him it is great looking car and ask him if he has the keys. He says it open. So I sit in it for a minute, turning ***** and pushing buttons, pop the hood, etc. Finally, I can't take it anymore so I tell the guy to get the keys. He says... "what for". I tell him so we can take it out and I can determine if I'm interested. He immediately runs over to one of the older salesmen, they whisper a couple of hushed lines and the older guy hurries off to put even more distance between himself and the problem.

The young guy says that only the sales manager can authorize a test drive of the Z. I say no problem, go get him. Meanwhile, this is starting to seem like a contest to me. I am 6'2", 225, over 30 black male and I was getting the impression that noone thought I could afford the Z, so "let's run this guy off".. I admit that I look younger than my age (in my mind anyway) but I felt like I needed to fill out an application just to look at the thing.

The sales manager shows up, his description is the same as mine, so I'm thinking that I will start to get some respect.

WRONG! He was ruder to me than anyone preceeding him. He so much as said that he didn't think I could afford this car. He asked if I would trade my new Max and I said no, the Z would be in addition. He then threw the prices at me for the Zs (all of which were used by the way), "this one is $34K, that one is $36K and this one is $39K".

I told him that those prices were no problem. I informed him that I have owned two Zs ('81, '86) and that I am on my third Max ('95, '00, 02) and that the '00 was bought from this Rosenthal. I told him that I get my cars serviced there all the time. That SOB asked me who my sales person was from three years ago. What difference could that possibly make?

I am sorry to write such a long post but I have come to the conclusion that this is my last Nissan. I have owned many and I think the Max, the Z, Alt, G35 are all great cars. But I refuse to be disrespected where I am spending my money.

I just read somewhere that Nissan has a hotline for just this kind of complaint. I am not expecting anything, but they need to know what's going on in dealer showrooms.

johnvt1111

iTrader: (2)

that is some crappy treatment.......maybe they didn't think you were interested in buying because they noticed you had a new 2002 max, not about you're race. Although it does seem far to common that these damn managers are rude and need to get someone's peice of mind. Next time you feel like you're being disrespected say something how you don't appreciate it to their face, i'm sure they'll take another tone with you....thanks for the info though, i now know 2 places to never go to buy a nissan product

MaxAtack

What a way to do business!! I woulda walked out.

Luckily, the 2 times I bought my Nissans, the 1st being an 01 Altima and then the Max, I had 2 hotties as my sales girls. They were very friendly, didn't pressure me or play these stupid games (other than flaunting their a$$es here and there, showing some cleavage and umm....) *Ahem!* It was an overly pleasant experience......

MMMMmmmmmm........hotties.............

MetaOrbit

iTrader: (19)

Yeah, age discrimination is a b*tch. When I was looking to get my car, I hardly went into any dealerships by myself for that reason.

I *did* go to the Acura dealership to look at the CL-S, and surprisingly an older salesman was very helpful to me. He even offered to let me test drive the car. I told him I wasn't interested in driving it at the time but thanked him for his offer. I probably would have gone back there, if not for reading about the various paint, tranny, and service problems with the Type S, but that's another story.

If you're intent on driving this car, and are still having problems - Try driving up with a parent or a friend with a really nice car. It seemed to work when I went with my dad to the lexus, infiniti, and pontiac dealerships (don't worry, it was a WS6 ).

I must say, my experience with Infiniti has been class act, they offered to let me take a G35 out for a weekend the first week they got them in and even give me loaners when I take my car in. I know these experiences vary dealer to dealer though. I wish you the best of luck.

John

Minimalmaxima

Man it seems that a lot of us have had similar experiences. Someone earlier said that they believe age made a difference, but not race...I don't think race made such a difference in the experience I (22 year old black male) had, but I'm sure this kind of stuff happens all the time. This old dude at my church told me about this guy who was a farmer or something and he wanted to get a couple of caddies for his daughters and he went to the dealership in his overalls and stuff, like he dresses all the time. He got no respect from the salesmen but this one dude decided to ask him what he could do for him and this dude ended up getting commission on them two caddies.

I was blown off by this guy when I was at a Nissan dealership getting my max serviced earlier this year. I wanted to drive a 6spd 02. Dude was like, "Only salesmen can give test drives and they're not here yet [8:50 am]." I believed that, but he sure did seem to get some enjoyment out of telling me that I couldn't get a test drive, and to be honest, I think he was a salesman. What a snob. But at the same dealership, when I was considering getting a base '01 GXE before I settled on my 97 SE, another sales guy did give me a test drive. He was pretty cool. I'm sure you got your jerks in a all colors shapes and sizes anyway though.

BTW, is there sometimes an age that dealerships want you to be before they will give you a test drive? My folks are thinking about getting my little sis (19yrs) a car and I took her to the place I got my car to test drive a focus and a civic and the sales guy said she could not drive. This young guy (c. 25 or 26 by the looks) said that she would have to be accompanied by the person buying. I bought that, but I was wondering if that was really the dealie cause the dealerships are supposed to be insured and my sister and I are fully covered on my parents' policy.

P.S. the reason I came upon this thread is that I was doing wild card search on shift* cause I was looking for discussions of the shift_performance, shift_this, shift_that, etc stuff you see at the end of Nissan commercials. What is the meaning of that? Also, I was watching the Denver Oakland game tonight and there was a commercial with the max driving so fast that it causes water vapor to condense and freeze as frost, making the car look like it has a silver paint job. You guys seen this? Cool commercial, but guess what I see two commericial breaks later--A CTS driving along a similar road, but intead of frosting, the car starts getting orange-hot and then stops at an intersection and turns back to it's original color. I'm like man, I hope Nissan aired their commercial first. If they did, it seems like everybody is copying Nissan now. Have you noticed how much the the lights and front end on the Accord look like the lights and front end on the altima? I don't even like the look of the new altima, but you know that Nissan has come up from the millions-in-debt car company it used to be when you see honda copying Nissan looks and Cadillac copying Nissan commercials. Good time to be Nissan owner.