The Attorney General's Office in Arizona is making an example out of two dealerships that advertised cars at a lower price but then forced customers to add on various features to increase the price.
ABC Nissan and Pinnacle Nissan were found guilty of advertising cars at a lower price than they were willing to sell them to customers for.
According to the Attorney General's report, customers expected a specific retail price. Still, they were told they had to buy extras like protective coating for the paint, window tinting, and nitrogen in the tires.
When customers said they were not interested in the above options, the dealers refused to sell the cars. The Attorney General's report does not state the exact model(s), but it's most likely Nissan's top-selling SUV, the Rogue.
"Arizonans shopping for a vehicle deserve an honest and transparent car buying experience," Attorney General Mark Brnovich stated in a press release. "While the market may be experiencing fluctuations, dealerships should avoid advertising prices that they are not prepared to honor."
The court ordered Pinnacle Nissan to pay $305,000 in restitution, while ABC Nissan has to pay $100,000. Pinnacle was fined $50,000 in civil penalties, while ABC got a $25,000 fine.
The dealerships still deny the allegations, and the judgments handed down by the court are still pending. The Attorney General is still calling on customers possibly affected by these dealers' actions to come forward.
Buying a new car in the USA has been a pain these last two years. Unfortunately, dealers of several well-known brands are using the current supply shortage to shaft customers. A few Ford dealers did it with the Bronco, after which Ford issued a stern warning.
Thankfully, a valuable online tool was launched recently. It's called markups.org, and it was created to navigate the car-buying world. The website makes it much easier to weed out the shady dealerships, and it is worth checking out if you're in the market for a car.
We can only hope this case in Arizona works as intended and will serve as a stern warning to dealers in the future.