Paranoid? Or car not new? (long) (vehicle, 2014, best, truck)

[mic111]

What would you do? Here is the situation.

I love the Nissan Quest but no one in my area had or could get one that was in the color I liked in the LE (top of the line) trim so I decided to order. The dealer said they needed the order at a certain date so they could get it in during their window for the production run targeted for deliver around mid-August. I selected 4 factory installed options and was thrilled at the thought of getting a brand new off the assembly line car.

A couple of weeks after I ordered I got a call that they were redirecting one from someone else's order that was in the process of being shipped so it would be here early and had everything on it just like I ordered. After it arrived we asked to see the invoice. They admitted it didn't have the factory installed options so they were ordering the parts and would install them. A couple of days later we got a call that it was ready so I went to buy it the next day. Now I'm not so sure. Here is what I found:
- Dirty leather driver's seat
- Dirty steering wheel
- Scratched up drivers side door
- Scratches under the door handle as if it had been used alot. In fact the door area looked alot like my 14 yr old car.
- Deep gouges in the door well where the dealer installed the illuminated kick plates. They were not factory installed but instead installed by the dealer. This they could not fix at the dealership and needed to make an appt. with a specialist.
- Scratches on the passenger side
- Dirty carpet under the drivers left foot
- Layer of dirt/dust in the cup holders
- Paper scraps and misc. other things that look like residue from people using it under the floor mats
- Chrome in back might have the beginnings of a rust spot
- Manufactured in 10/12 according to the door sticker. Not just from the factory as I had been told.
- Paper door sticker that was a print out and not the original that comes with the car (not on the waxy paper with two colors and sticky backing for putting in the window)

Somehow this had 9 miles on it? I need to go back and recheck the mileage. I think I may have been looking at the trip computer.

That is the part I can't figure out. This car just doesn't seem new. What I saw doesn't make sense to me as a new car. If I walk away I only lose the $500 deposit.

The dealer has not exactly been trustworthy. They originally quoted me a $500 deposit but when I went to sign the paperwork they changed it to $1K. I changed it back and they accepted that. They also tried to add on the security etching which I also crossed out and they accepted that.

I wanted factory installation of my options and the dealer redirected a basic LE and then added my options on. Basically that should be Ok in theory. However, given the state of the car when I went to pick it up they don't seem to be very good at quality control so I'm not sure that I trust them having the options put on correctly. My options were the tow package, illuminated kick plates, splash guards and carpeted floor mats. They couldn't even put the floor mats in with any type of quality control because they just put them over trash and didn't even vacuum first.

Is it possible that this was damaged in shipment and somehow went into limbo until my dealer got ahold of it? Could it have gone to another lot and maybe used as a demo car? I guess I really need to check the mileage to see if this is the case. If it wasn't used, why all the wear and tear under the door handle? Why the trash under the floor mats? What sort of dealer calls a buyer in to see a car which has obvious damage and needs to be detailed? Your first thought when you go to buy your new car shouldn't be 'this car needs to be detailed'.

I could walk away and order a 2014 from another dealer to be sure of a 'fresher' car.
I could take this one and ignore all the warning signs and hope for the best.

Thoughts? Am I paranoid or is there something here I'm not being told?

[duster1979]

Check the mileage. Given the condition you describe it does sound like it's been used (by used I mean driven as a demo, not that it's a used car). If it was manufactured on 10/12 it almost definitely came from another dealer's lot. And given the date of manufacture I would think it would have more miles than that just from being moved around the lot for 8 months.

I'd definitely refuse this one. Hold the dealer to the original special order if possible so you don't lose your $500, otherwise cut your losses and go to a less slimy dealership.

[CSD610]

Why not stick with the original order and wait until August and refuse this one. Someone is not telling the complete truth and you should not lose any money because they want to get a vehicle off their lot that is NOT what you ordered, as you ordered it direct from the factory.

[blackhemi]

Sounds like a demo, which can be sold as new.

Wait for your car, refuse that one.

[vmaxnc]

Originally Posted by blackhemi

Sounds like a demo, which can be sold as new.

Wait for your car, refuse that one.

I agree on both statements. I'd never be able to forget all those issues, and that would ruin the new car experience for me.

[mic111]

Thanks for the replies and the advice. I'm virtually certain that they never ordered one for me so one is not on the way. I can either start over with someone else or with them. I'm inclined to try somewhere else. They just don't have the quality conscious approach that I expect.

As an example I went down there yesterday with checkbook in hand ready to drive it home, really excited to see it. After I pointed out the black grease marks on the steering wheel and the dirt on the seat they brought out the detail guy and the salesman had me point out the areas. I also pointed to the scratches on the door. They took it around back so they could work on the clear coat with the polisher. They then brought it back to show it to me. There was still one black grease mark on the steering wheel and they only polished the scratches out of the upper body panel, not the lower.

I guess I just needed to bounce this off some folks. My husband says everything is fixable which is true but even he isn't that excited about taking the car. I'm concerned about what they aren't telling me. They are working on it as we speak but I told them I really needed to think it over as it wasn't at all what I was expecting.

[fordlover]

Why not just wait for your ordered vehicle to arrive? That's what I would do. For the record, vehicles do get dirty in transport. Any number of people get in and out of even a 'brand new' car by the time it arrives on the dealers lot, so don't be surprised to find scuff marks and dirt in the drivers side of the vehicle.

[duster1979]

Sure it's all fixable. But this is what you wanted:

Originally Posted by mic111

I selected 4 factory installed options and was thrilled at the thought of getting a brand new off the assembly line car.

And you're not getting it. I can't help but think that if you take this car it will always be something of a disappointment.

I'd take the rest of the weekend to think it over. Let the dealership know how you're feeling and make it clear that you expect to buy a car that looks like it just rolled off the truck so they have a chance to detail it the way it should have been in the first place. By Monday if you aren't completely turned off by the thought of this car swing by the lot and take another look and see if it grabs you. If it doesn't, re-order one built especially for you either there or elsewhere.

[duster1979]

Originally Posted by fordlover

Why not just wait for your ordered vehicle to arrive? That's what I would do.

According to the OP's last post it doesn't sound like her vehicle was actually ordered.

For the record, vehicles do get dirty in transport. Any number of people get in and out of even a 'brand new' car by the time it arrives on the dealers lot, so don't be surprised to find scuff marks and dirt in the drivers side of the vehicle.

Yes, but that crap should all be taken care of before presenting it to the customer for delivery. If the OP just happened to be at the dealership and saw it before it was detailed, that's one thing. But it doesn't seem like that's the case at all.

[mic111]

Definitely not the case that I just wandered by. They called me last Thurs. or Fri. to let me know it was in the state at the railhead. They called me on Sat. to let me know that it was there, but the options were on order, just in case I wanted to come buy it before they got all the options installed. I said no I would wait until it was as ordered. They said they would call me when it was ready. I got that call on Mon. They said they were detailing it in the morning on Tues. so I said I'd come by at 1:00 p.m. on Tues. to buy it.

My previous car was a Lexus that was manufactured 2/99, bought 3/99 or 4/99 (I don't recall exactly). I got a call that it arrived the day before and was ready. When I went to pick it up it was perfect. I was really floored when I opened the door to the Quest and saw all the dirt and the black grease. I then looked at the door plate for manufacture date. When I saw 10/12 on my supposedly just off the production line Quest I started pulling up the floor mats and looking under neath to see if it was a flood damaged car or if I could see any signs of repair/crash. That is how I came across the trash under the floor mats and the scratches on the body panels and around the door handle.

Edit: The advice to let it sit through the weekend is good advice. Right now I don't want to see it again as I don't think they will clean everything up and I'm not really in the mood to sit there and fight with them over it.