My 4x4 bought new in 2008 halved in value in 12 months!

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Ancutza

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I bought a Nissan Pathfinder in April 2008 for 38k including the VAT. Imagine my horror when I called into my local Nissan dealer about a routine query and was greeted by the smiling rep to tell me that it was SUCH a pity that I bought a year ago and not now. They have dropped the price by 30%. Now they sell the same vehicle for 25k including VAT!! :mad:

Effectively, at the stroke of a pen, they had nearly halved the value of my car with still 4 years of the leasing deal to go.

So I wrote to Nissan in Bucharest (I'm in Romania) and thanked them for their consideration of former customers. I stated that it will be the last Nissan I ever buy (which it will) even though I love the car itself. After a few days I got an email back telling me that it was their right to sell the car on the local market at any price they deemed fit (which, of course it is) and that I should have read the contract more closely (which, of course I should have done).

Further research on the German equivalents of carzone.ie revealed that the price of the same vehicle as mine has more than halved. Not bad for 12 months of ownership!! :rolleyes:

Further email correspondence from me to them has elicited no response whatsoever. I had requested at least a free service in exchange for the diservice they had done me. Nothing.

Of course they are within their rights according to the leasing contract but I wonder why they think that their 'tough toenails' attitude to former buyers does them any favours.

I note from Nissans website in Ireland that prices there have not yet followed suite but I'd advise extreme caution to anyone thinking of buying one of these cars.

Not even a Lada depreciates ask quick as this beast! ;)
 
Re: Be careful if you are thinking of buying a Nissan

Aw now that sucks !!


Glad to see you're not tooo bitter about it though. Chin up old boy:D
 
Re: Be careful if you are thinking of buying a Nissan

All SUVs (not just the Pathfinder) are toast, where "value" is concerned. Forecourt prices have dropped because nobody wants to buy them. Why? Because they guzzle expensive fuel, and as a fashion statement are quite out of date.
 
Re: Be careful if you are thinking of buying a Nissan

extopia said:
Why? Because they guzzle expensive fuel,
Click to expand...

I am fed up with this "Gas Guzzling" statement regarding 4x4's. Its an american phrase used to reflect american vehicles that are regulary 6.0+ V8 petrols. Most 4x4's here are 2.5-3.0L with SUVs being 2.0L on average with the bulk of these being diesel and diesel engines having made huge leaps in the last 10 - 5 years regarding economy. 4x4's are heavier on fuel due to their size obviously but the same applies to Vans/Trucks/people carriers.
Never a word about the BMW/Merc/Audi/VW 2.5L saloons on the road, with fuel efficiency not far off that of a 4x4. As a direct comparison between Mpg etc. the 4x4 might look worse but it has a far heavier drive train/gear box / transfer box and load carrying capacity than these saloons. Its these high powered saloons that are the real waste of oil.
 
Re: Be careful if you are thinking of buying a Nissan

If it's any consolation Ancutza, I've just seen the value of my (much smaller!) 1.5 Daihatsu Terios tumble for the same reason.

I bought new in 2007 for €23695
They are now selling (or not selling!) new for €17000

Ah, the joys of motoring!
 
Re: Be careful if you are thinking of buying a Nissan

Yeah I bought a 32" Sony tv a few years ago for over €1500 - you can now buy a 32" flat screen Sony for less €400. My tv is is probably only worth 50 quid if that on Buy & Sell now. I wrote to Sony to complain or at least get a free mp3 player or something for my loss but got no reply. So even though it's a good telly, that's the last time I'm buying Sony and I'd warn everyone else not to either.
 
Re: Be careful if you are thinking of buying a Nissan

I'm joking of course.
 
Re: Be careful if you are thinking of buying a Nissan

What's the OP's complaint???

I bought an apple this morning, then I ate it. Now the apple is gone but when I went into the shop to complain about this fact and demanding a replacement apple I was told where to go. Don't ever buy apples.
 
Re: Be careful if you are thinking of buying a Nissan

I think the thread title is completely misleading.

Think of those who bought a Maserati or Bugatti a year ago - they've probably lost about €40,000 or more already - excluding the depreciation.

Price slashing is by no means exclusive to Nissan nor even the car industry generally. Many mainstream cars are probably cutting prices more dramatically than Nissan anyway.

My 02 Almera, bought in 08 (and with less than perfect bodywork) for the princely sum of €3500 probably hasn't lost any value as it's been fixed up and cleaned up since ;)
 
Re: Be careful if you are thinking of buying a Nissan

Hi Ancutza

The title of your post is misleading. It does not seem to have anything to do with Nissan as such? When I saw the heading, I thought it was a safety feature. I think you should edit the title.

I am not sure of what your complaint is, but here are a few suggestions:

Be careful if buying a new car

I have overpaid for a car I really love

Nissan Customer Service treats customers with the respect they deserve.

Here is my entry for the Viz. Outraged Consumer of the Month competition.

Warning: Prices of new cars may go down as well as...eh... down further

My other car is a Lada

My 4 x 4 is now only worth a 4 x 2
 
Re: Be careful if you are thinking of buying a Nissan

Ancutza said:
Effectively, at the stroke of a pen, they had nearly halved the value of my car with still 4 years of the leasing deal to go.
Click to expand...
It's not all bad news for you.

A lease is a fixed rental payment that incorporates two things:
  • a fee for the cost of borrowing the capital amount during the term
  • a fee for the expected depreciation during the term
As the depreciation was higher than expected, you are paying less for your lease payments than the real depreciation - your unfortunate finance company will make a loss when they try to sell the vehicle at the end of the term. Interest rates are lower now but its very hard to get any kind of finance approved.

If you meant 'hire purchase' when you said 'lease' then just hang onto the vehicle for ten years and look after it.

In Ireland, this car still retails at €48K.
 
Re: Be careful if you are thinking of buying a Nissan

I had the same happen me when i bought my kia ceed....just before the govt announced an emissions tax and therefore my ceed, that i had just put a deposit down on, was now worth 1800 euro less. What could i do? Nothing of course! I still qualified for the cheaper road tax later that year (2008) so it's not too bad. I think Ancutza should hold on to the pathfinder until it is fit for scrap! Of course, fuel aint getting cheaper sooo......

ollie
 
Hi Brendan. Title changed to, hopefully, give a more accurate picture of things.

Yeah, I know. I'm a big whinging baby but, to those of you who ask what my gripe is, I guess it's that I paid a substantial wad of cash for a car which I really hoped would hold onto 40 - 50% of it's value over 3 years. I'm a bit upset to now find it worth 50% after 12 months.

How can Nissan reduce the cost of this vehicle by such a large margin now when they wouldn't even throw in a tow bar when I purchased it? Are their margins so large on new vehicles sold?

Yeah, I'll get over it. Yeah I like the car. Yeah I'll drive it into the ground over the next four years and then throw it away and Yeah, I'll NEVER EVER buy a Nissan again.

Nearly bought the missus a Micra too last year but I went for a.....wait for it ollie....a Kia Ceed!!! Oh gawd! :rolleyes:
 
If you meant 'hire purchase' when you said 'lease' then just hang onto the vehicle for ten years and look after it.
Click to expand...

Sorry Paul. Yes I meant it's on hire purchase. All such contracts out here are generically referred to as leasing. Unfortunately I don't think it will last 10 years as I'm doing 60k kms per year which ain't funny on Romanian roads.
 
Yeah, yeah. Intellectually I know your right but emotionally I'm still a bit steamed up.

I think it's their customer service departments giving me 2 fingers when I called them on it, the fact that they keep sending me e-mails about what a great deal there is on a Pathfinder and the fact that the main dealer is a pain in the rear end to deal with.
 
I think you are being a bit unfair to Nissan, market conditions determine pricing and as we all know we are in uncharted territory at the moment.
I understand your position though, not nice to see value wiped out like that.
Think yourself lucky...you could have bought a house!!
 
Bangernomics is the future buy car for 5K even it lasts 2 years you are laughing. Lots to be had for 5k.
 
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