Joe Machens Nissan

We were looking at a pre-owned 2010 Mini Cooper Clubman S at the Joe Machens Nissan dealership in Columbia, MO. First of all, we were more knowledgeable about the car than the sale person, Scott Jennings. We informed him of the various upgrades and packages that were in the car. He was flabbergasted and had a deer in the headlight look when we explained all the the details and features in the car. We had already done our research on the features that we were looking for and the cost associated with each of the upgrade. We made an appointment with Mr. Jennings the next morning to do a test drive. THE NEXT DAY... We showed up and Mr. Jennings informed us that he had done some research on the car. He tried to tell us that it was a John Cooper Works Clubman and not the Mini Cooper Clubman S. We had to point out to him that he was wrong because the only thing on the car with the JCW logo was the aero kit. The car itself did not have the JCW badge, right on the back door was a Cooper S badge. He still wanted to claim that it was a John Cooper Works even though the dealers own tag listed the horse power at 177 and not the 208 of the JCW Coopers. I just hope that the next person who looks at this car is aware of the differences and won't allow themselves to be misled. He wanted to know if we wanted to take a test drive and we did. He got us to come inside to get a copy of our driver license. But, that is where it got sleazy. Instead of letting us take a test drive and then ask us what we though afterward, they went right into the financial stuff. We told them about the financial options available at the MINI dealers because Joe Machens Nissan has something called the Machen's challenge, where they will try to be competitive with other dealers. The sales manager, Dustin Gardner, then tried to "school" and "educate" us on how financing works. He was scribbling down numbers and was very condensing to us. He kept telling us that he was educating us for when we do buy a car. He did not even give us a chance to tell him how much we were willing to put down on a down payment (7,000 cash) in addition to our trade-in (worth $8,000) which would have totaled 15,000 on a car that is priced at $24,900 . So we left there, and went to the Subaru dealership where we got a great deal on pre-owned Mini Cooper Clubman S that had less mileage and more upgrades. We were not bullied but were treated with courtesy and respect. And Mr. Gardner, apparently I was "educated" on financing because I got exactly the monthly payments and interest rate that I was seeking. I would never recommend Joe Machens Nissan to anyone.