Purchasing a New Car - The Conclusion

We had tested all three cars we were considering: The Kia Rio5, the Honda Fit and the Nissan Versa. The first Kia dealership experience was not very satisfying, and to give a fair comparison, we thought we should visit another. In any case, we had seen and test drove Rio5, and had enough information to compare the car itself with the other two. All three had some things that we liked and some we did not. Rio5 came with the most standard features, the Fit had the best space management inside the car, and the Versa had the smoothest ride due to the CVT technology. We had to make a decision. Nissan Versa seemed like the best compromise as it came with most of the options Rio5 had, it had the smoothest ride of the three, and overall it looked better appointed than the other two.

Since we were leaning towards Versa, we decided to visit at least two other Nissan dealers to get the best deal. The second Nissan dealership we visited was Southside Nissan, Vancouver. Just next to it was another Kia dealership which was convenient for us to visit. We were hoping to get a better sales person and to have a second look at Rio5.

We first went to Nissan. A sales person who was standing just outside the door greeted us by introducing himself as John and asked us if we needed any help. After knowing that we were interested in Versa, he asked if we wanted to test drive it. He brought the demo car around right away. We wanted to find out if the feel of the steering wheel was the same in all Versa models and not just in the one we had tested earlier. It did have the same feel.

John was waiting for us when we got back after the test drive. He seemed very hospitable and asked us if we wanted coffee or soft drinks. He took us to his cubical after finding out that we did not need any drinks. He wanted to know if we had been anywhere else, and what discounts were offered by them. We were honest and told him what discount the other dealership was willing to give us. He asked us if we wanted to give him a dollar figure for the purchase of the car or would prefer him to tell us how much he will be willing to sell it for. We asked him to give us the figure. The discount he gave us over the MSRP was more than the first Nissan dealership, although we were still hoping for a slightly lower purchase price. We had not yet been to a second Kia dealership, and had only one previous price quotation from a Nissan dealership. We had a choice of going to another dealership for a third quotation or giving a counter offer and ending the search here.

We were impressed with the customer service, the hospitality and friendly attitude of John. So we decided to give a counter offer for the price we had in mind. John went to check with his manager, and we ended up splitting up the difference to make the deal.

The efficiency with which the formalities of the sale were handled was impressive. We were taken by John to his brother Clay who handled the financing. In addition to financing, he explained some of the other options such as rust proofing, upholstery fabric protection plan, and extra insurance if we were interested. We paid the down payment. The car was to be picked up the following day. We asked if they could give us a ride to the dealership the next day for picking up our new car. John said he would arrange that.

We were picked up the following day as scheduled. Our car was being washed and cleaned for delivery. John sat in the car with us and explained all of the features. He also demonstrated the use of Blue Tooth technology. An ICBC agent was already at the dealership to sell us car insurance. A few minutes with him got us the insurance and the license plates. It did not take them long to put the plates on the car. The cleaning and pre-delivery inspection was already done. Our new car was ready with a full tank of gas to be driven off the lot.

It has now been a week that we have been driving the Versa. We just received a follow-up call from John asking us if everything was OK. So far, we have been very happy with our purchase and the service we have received from the dealership. What happens in the long term remains to be seen, but for now we can recommend the Versa to anyone looking for an entry-level hatchback.