I bought a car from Auffenberg Nissan. Some parts of the experience I was happy with, others I was not.
I went to Auffenberg because I wanted to look at the Nissan Altima and believe it or not, this was the only Nissan dealer in the St. Louis area open in the evening during the week, and since I was in a crunch time was, this was a necessity. Dustin greeted us, listened to what I was looking for, and showed us some cars. He was happy to let us test drive the 2.5L and the 3.5L Altima on the interstate, and he even let us drive far before coming back. He was very passionate about the cars, and his excitement shone through as he pointed out all the different features on the car. In the days after my visit, I found myself wanting the Nissan, even more than the car I had been saying I was going to get to replace my old one for the past year or so. So in that sense, Dustin did a very good job as a salesman. He was knowledgeable, passionate, and really able to get me interested in the car.
My situation was a bit unique. As I mentioned, I was in a time crunch. I came to the dealership on a Thursday evening, and just a few days later I was going to be out of the country for 3 weeks. Dustin told me he would work with me to make the sale without my being there. This was important because when I went, I was able to get $6000 off the regular price due to a sale they were having. I later lost out on $1000 of that, but that was my fault. I tried calling him minutes before boarding my flight to tell him I'd take it, but I couldnt reach him, costing me the $1000. I was generally ok with that, because it allowed me to think about it more; I was largely rushing into what seemed like a good decision, but one I may have regretted. I left a message for him telling him I'd take the car.
Unfortunately, the message wasnt enough. He needed my credit card number and a few other things, none of which he mentioned when I visited the dealership. This was the beginning of the downturn. Another strange thimg is that when I was at the dealership discussing price, apparently he had a very long list of groups or organizations or whatever and if you are part of one or can claim one, you get a different (lower?) price for the car. For example, if you are in the military, you get a different (lower?) price. Silly me, I thought it would cost the same regardless. I dont fault him, as I think this is the dealership, or perhaps all dealerships. Anyway, I thought about it for a few more days and eventually decided (again) this was the car for me. I emailed him saying I wanted it and he told me the info he needed and I gave it to him. I put down a deposit/down payment on the car. It was good.
Eventually I returned to the US. I wasnt real anxious to pick up the car because I had a lot to get caught up on after being gone. After a few days of being back, Dustin called me and said I had to come in and take delivery of the car on a particular day or I would lose the other $5000 off the sale price. Unfortunately he told me this with very little lead time, and he insisted on being there. The end result was I had to drive there in a snowstorm to take delivery on this particular day. I was not happy. When I got there, things got worse. They told me that I had to finance the car through them to get the agreed upon price. I had made my own arrangements of how to pay, so although it worked out ok, I thought this was a bit strange. Then they kept asking me all these other questions about other things I might want. Did I want an extended warranty? Auto Butler? I think they asked about something else too. Of course, I had to decide on each of these things right then and there, and nobody had ever mentioned them to me. I got the extended warranty; I normally wouldnt but Consumer Reports said some very bad things about the car, and although I asked Dusting about them he had no idea what they were talking about, I figured I should get the extra protection in case it turned out to be a lemon. If nothing else, I figure some nonessential thing is likely to stop working while the warranty is still valid. Then he asked about Auto Butler. Auto Butler is a detailing service. They do both the interior and exterior. As for the exterior, it leaves the car looking brand new. Nice. The problem is that they present it like all Nissan dealers do this. They dont. The only CAR dealers in the St. Louis area that offer Auto Butler are Auffenberg and West County Honda; the next closest place is in Paducah, KY. So you have to take it to one of them. However, Auffenberg is the only one that does the interior work. I live 38 miles from Auffenberg, on the opposite side of the city. So its a major pain to take the car there. Bottom line, dont get Auto Butler. Also, make sure you ask about extras when you visit. You dont want to be surprised when you are ready to sign on the dotted line. read more