Purchasing a New Car - Part III

After test driving the Rio5 and the Fit, it was time to check out the Nissan Versa. For an entry level car Versa looked very good. It did not have as many standard features as Rio5, but for about the same price (including CVT transmission and the Technology package) it had most of them. The quality of the upholstry and stitching looked very good. Deep pockets in the doors, front hand rest, and the glove compartment gave plenty of storage room. There was enough leg room in the back and the padded back hand rest provided two cup holders. Versa is eqipped with the Blue Tooth technology (included in the Technology package). It allows twinning with a cell phone to receive or send phone calls. The built-in speaker makes it possible to have hands-free conversation. We were not very happy with the way the back seats folded. It created a fairly high step reducing an evenly flat area for carrying large items. The ride in the car was comfortable. It seemed much quieter and less bumpy than than the other two cars we had tested. The CVT technology made the ride very smooth. The steering wheel, however, did not feel as tight as the Fit or the Rio5.

The customer service at this dealership was very poor. No one came to ask us if we needed any help even though they did not seem to be busy with any other customers. When we mentioned to the receptionist that we needed help, she asked one of them to help us. He took us to his cubical and grabbed a pad and pen to write down numbers without asking us if we needed to test drive the car. He did bring the car around when we asked him to test drive it. The only information we got from him were his answers to our direct questions. He did not make any effort to "sell" the car. He told us that we did not qualify for the grad discount ($350 off, 4 free oil changes, and 0.25% off the finance rate) as we had just passed the qualifying period. But he said he would give us the $350 and 4 free oil changes if we bought the car. He could not give an additional 0.25% off the financing rate given to grads by Nissan. In other words, he was coming down $350 plus the cost of 4 oil changes (at his dealership) from the MSRP. He also offered to waive the "documentation fee" of about $400.



In the next installment--The Conclusion!