Team Nissan

I recently had the itch to buy a new SUV/XOver vehicle to replace my ever-reliable, but long-in-the-tooth 2006 RAV4 Toyota, so I innocently filled out an online Edmunds questionnaire regarding getting a fair-priced vehicle, and hoped for rain... The *only dealership* group to call me was a very considerate young lady car sales/finance department employee named Thamara. She told me on the telephone, after leaving a couple messages (I called her back) that were detailed and to the point, that she thought they could put me in a car despite a recently completed Chapter 13 in my credit report. I thought that was very cool of her to offer a disclaimer up front like that, so I decided to try out Team Nissan, and see what they had for sale (because I had no idea about Nissan products in 2014!). Thamara was fashionably late (5 mins) to our appointment, but I didn't care really. My former employers were Mercedes-Benz and BMW high-end automobile dealerships as a sales manager and sales person, so I was prepared for a rough time at Team Nissan considering the "lineup" of salesmen I saw outside waiting for their "up" like a band of cackling wolves snickering over an easy kill at a chicken farm! But Thamara gave me none of that, thanks to God. WE test drove a couple Nissan models that I kn ew nothing about, then were wandering in the new car inventory for a semi-loaded SUV/XOver, having driven the Pathfinder and the Armada, and there was one vehicle that fit the bill, a car I would consider owning if the price was right. That one was a 2014 brand new Nissan Murano, a vehicle that speaks for itself in the market as N issan has been making the same vehicle for some 8 model years and counting, refining it carefully, methodically, and thoughtful of the consumer's enhanced needs, in terms of electronics, trendy extras, and a 4-tiered lineup that pretty much has a Murano for everybody from $29,000-ish to $44,000+sticker prices. What we found was a hard to come by Murano SV with the high-end Bose 9-speaker+ dual subwoofer uptime audio system/Navigation package/HiVAC controls all integrated into one device, along with BlueTooth for streaming audio from your WiFi device. It looked handsome, and I am very picky about what I buy, so this is a huge compliment to Nissan for me to say this, and had just the right mix of optional extras that added up to a sticker price of $35,190. The other extras this model has includes a power liftgate, rearview back-up camera integrated into the 7" touch-screen in dash display, full plush mats including cargo mat, the AM/FM/CD/MMP3/Navigation system/stereo system has Sirius Satellite Radio (3 free months), dual-zone climate controls, 18x7J alloy wheels and premium radial tires by Goodyear, TPS system (tire pressure sensor system), and all the other standard Murano features of the SV trim package. I found out later that the "SV" stands for Super Value package, as indeed that whole raft of Bose audio/navigation equipment/7" color touch-screen display/HIVAC controls is called the "Value System Package"! We drove the Murano, as I had never driven the CVT transmission model before, and was very skeptical of liking it at all...but the test drive changed my mind! Poor Thamara all bujt closed her eyes and prayed as I took the new Murano up to speed a bit (100MPH) and slammed on the brakes with my hands *off* the steering wheel! Ouch! My standard test drive included this technique, as i am BMW/MBenz trained at the track with production cars and NASCAR drivers as our instructors, so fear not!! Anyway, the Murano stopped clean, clear, and safely from that speed on an old country 2-lane road back of the dealership about a mile, and it felt great! The CVT indeed give plenty of performance, had a "Sport" button to give the car move "go" power by going into another mode than "Economy Overdrive lock-up", so I considered things a done deal if we could work out the money part, right then. We went into Thamara's office and got down to bizness...and I've done and played all of the dealer tricks and treats myself, and she knew that up front, and didn't try anything off-color or not straight up out of respect for my experience in the car biz. We agreed on my trade having an ACV of $9000, and Nissan offered a $2000 cash back to the customer on this particular Murano, so that equaled $11,000 down payment. We then hammered out a deal on the Murano's end, and I got a substantial discount of about $1700 off sticker price, no add-ons. I did take a 7-year 85K 100% Warranty package for, unfortunately, $1698, so they made up for some of my discount right there I felt, but agreed anyway as we'd put out a great effort to get a straight trade to Murano deal doing down, and I could see I was getting a fair, if not great deal, financing $27,800 after all fees were added in, minus the $11K down payment. One contingency was the finance plan...it stipulated that I would get a true "0.0%" loan package from the Nissan bank account, and they accepted me after some haggling about my Ch. 13 situation I'd just finished up with, but so be it: the bottom line was I had a $450 payment for 5 years, and it would be all mine after that, at 0.00% interest, a good thing! Thamara and her sales manager did a great job of cutting to the chases quickly, and not wasting my time or theirs with unnecessary haggling, lowballing, or any other of the bad thangs the car bizness is known to still perpetrate on the poor customer. I drove home the new car right then, with a full tank of gas on Nissan, apparently, and my bright Pearl White metallic/beige cloth interior Murano of the 2014 variety were home free and clear, the RAV4 already a memory. It's a beautiful Crossover/SUV my Murano is, and Team Nissan earned my praise for being straight in my dealings with them, I didn't have to talk to but one person the whole time I was there, another blessing (!), and they had a great, clean, modern, state of the art facility that I could look forward to bringing my Murano in for service at, blessing No.# 3!! I was really impressed with the Team Nissan building layout and spectacular showroom auto displays, including all of the Nissan GT/A's lined up in the front of the display area, roped off for normal pursuits like gawking and door-slamming, ie it was a well-thought out floor plan and visually the store came off as ultra modern and hip to the max. My final words are for Thamara and her sales manager who worked out the numbers for us without fail the old fashioned straight way, the only way I will do business at auto dealerships these days, and so I thank them from the deep, dark car salesman part of my heart for doing a stand up job of selling me a new Murano. I highly recommend the store 100% to any queries today, and offer this final thought: "All's well that ends well in this life, and Team Nissan performed 100% great in my car buying experience with them on Jan.11, 2014."