Halladay Nissan

I spent a great deal of time researching which small SUV/crossover I wanted before I actually went shopping. When I did go shopping, it did not take me long to decide that the Nissan Rogue was definitely the car we needed to fit our family's needs. I'll review my car in a separate review... I went to Halladay Nissan with no intention to purchase that day, but every intention to get facts, prices, and competitive offers as I was also looking at Tynan's Nissan in Fort Collins, Colorado. My salesman was Ben, a new employee who lacked a lot of the finesse and expertise of someone with more experience I'm not going to dock him anything for that, because everyone's new sometime. My finance guy was Shaun, and the manager I spoke with was Mike. Mike definitely felt like a "car salesman" to me, and I was somewhat put off by his overall vibe. I thought Shaun and Ben were both easily approachable and personable. Shaun clearly had a lot of experience and was very efficient and had a "no-bull" kind of communication. I let them know the minute I walked in that I didn't want to see a bunch of cars I wasn't interested in - I knew what I needed, here was what I required, and could I see the Rogue. My wish list was: 25+ MPG, AWD/4WD, seating for 5 + storage for 3-5 suitcases, heated seats, iPod integration, Bluetooth, and a few other incidentals. First, I was shown the SL model, and it's pricetag (at $29,600) was a good bit more than my desired price range (under $24,000) for a car in this class (such as the Escape, CR-V, Terrain, RAV4, etc). I asked to see the mid-range package, the SV. The SV had most of the features I wanted at a more affordable price. I borrowed the car for the next few hours, and learned more about it. I took it to my husband's office, and together we decided that we could justify a bit more money if we could get all the features we wanted (like the SL) at a good price. Then, we figured we'd be more likely to hold onto the car for 7+ years, and really get more value out of it, versus desiring an upgrade before it was paid off. I arrived back at the dealership and informed them I wanted a deal on the SL model. They originally offered me basically $28,500, but they tricked me - and this is one of the reasons I docked a star... I was shown an agreement stating that they would sell it for $22,300. I was shocked, and didn't look close enough to see that they had "forgotten" to add my trade-in payoff into the loan (which was a little over $5,000). I was ecstatic about such a low price. When we talked further, they mentioned the $28,000 number and I put the breaks on. I asked to see my original agreement and they had put WHITE-OUT OVER MY OFFER! I was somewhat irritated that they would alter a document I had already signed and that put me on guard for the rest of the evening. I still purchased the car, but I felt like it wasn't an "honest" mistake, that it was an attempt (successfully) to get me excited about the $22,000 price without information on my trade-in payoff on the form. I did close the deal - they beat my banks rate at 2.9% with a $500,00 rebate, and I financed just under $30,000, with a final sales price on the car of $27,700. I got the Xzilon coating, the 3-year maintenance (oil changes, filters, tire rotations, etc), gap insurance, and a 7-year/100,000 miles warranty for a total of about $2500.00, plus the $500.00 doc fee (I HATE doc fees). The whole shebang cost me just under $30,000, or about the sticker price of the vehicle to begin with. Overall, I'm satisfied with the deal I got, but I docked them stars for the little bait-and-switch they tried with the first offer, and the fact that the deal took ALL day (though that was probably my fault. I'd recommend them - but I'd also recommend walking in with counter-offers from other dealerships in Denver, FoCo, or from USAA's Auto Circle program. They will match prices, and it's nice to stay local because the tax rate is cheaper here. Why drive to FoCo if they'll match the price?! Do your homework - Edmunds, KBB, and ConsumerReports.org were great resources that we used to determine if we really got a fair deal or not.