Avoid this dealership at all costs! My experience: Bought new '10 Altima SL end of May 2010. Returned 2 weeks later to have the following done: moon roof wind deflector installed, window tint installed by nearby outside vendor, and pinstripe applied. The deflector was installed immediately, and next on the list was to take the car to the outside vendor for the tint. Several hours later, I was informed that my car was almost finished at the vendor. It was after this that all the trouble began, and following is the body of the letter I sent to Tim Pohanka:

"When I decided to purchase a new Altima, I researched several dealerships in the greater Richmond area. I came to the conclusion that Pohanka Nissan of Fredericksburg would best suit my purchase. This determination was made even after one dealership four hours from my home offered to deliver a new Altima to me at my home address without my ever having to visit their location. Also, Victory Nissan of Mechanicsville is just 25 minutes from my home, whereas your dealership is one hour from my home. I never thought that purchasing from your dealership would turn out to be the bad decision in my purchase of a Nissan product.

You may think that you are aware of everything that transpired in the unfulfilled promise of a pinstripe for my Altima, but you are mistaken. After several questions to Ken Kerr concerning the stripe on the day of my purchase, May 29th - he never treated the stripe as of any importance. It was very important to me as it was part of the $795.00 add-on tag which was portrayed by Ken as not optional, and included the locking lug nuts and nitrogen in the tires. I felt that if I was going to be required to have the pinstripe, the least your dealership, and especially Ken, could do is provide it without me having to nearly beg for it. And then on June 12th, when I returned for my window tint and moon roof deflector, from morning to afternoon, it was still like pulling teeth to get Ken to check on having the pinstripe applied. I was the one who had to go to him and inquire about it, and it took hours for him to get an answer for me. Of course, as I already told you, the answer he gave me last Saturday, and which he denied in my phone conversation with him on June 14th, was that the employee who installs the stripes was off June 12th and the other employee he spoke to about applying the stripe was inexperienced and Ken did not trust him to do it properly. I did not want to argue at that point, and after all of the trouble with the mix-up with the wrong vehicle being delivered to the tint shop, I let it go with Ken promising a phone call Monday, June 14th, with a date when I could return to have the stripe applied. I had already made up my mind at that point that I was NOT going to drive an hour each way and burn all that gas and put all those miles on the car for a simple pinstripe application.

When you and I spoke on the phone June 14th (and I admit I was very angry with Ken at that point), I really thought the matter had been handled to my satisfaction. Then today in the mail I receive the promised refund for the pinstripe. I have returned the check to you as I am greatly insulted at the amount. You may as well have made the check out for one cent, because $25 out of the $795 for three items is a slap in the face as far as I am concerned. Allow me to note that the customer whose vehicle was mixed up with mine for the window tint was offered (in my presence) a free window tint job by your service department for her trouble. That's a $280 offer! And while I agree that she was put out as much as I, how in the world do you equate my $25 refund to what was offered to her?

I was really hopeful that after our conversation I could put this matter to rest. The paltry refund I received has made me lose total confidence in your dealership, and you must realize that what has happened to me will result in an untold amount of bad advertising as I will let everyone I know to never purchase a vehicle from your dealership. I fully expect that you will ignore this letter and write me off as just one disgruntled customer. So I have learned my lesson and will take my future car purchases elsewhere."


Tim never responded to this letter. I returned the $25 check to him with the letter, and at the end of 2010 Pohanka's accounting dept. had the nerve to send me a letter inquiring as to why I never cashed the check, and if I had lost it I could either request a new one, or they would write the amount off their books if they heard nothing from me!

Nissan corporate sent me their standard customer purchase satisfaction survey within weeks of buying the Altima. I filled it out, relating that I was very happy with the car, but disgusted with the dealership. Nissan understood and sent me a $100 AmEx gift card. At least I know Nissan cares, even if Pohanka does not. I will NEVER buy another car from ANY Pohanka dealership!