Premier Nissan of Metairie

This review is more about our 2005 Nissan Xterra rather than the Premier Nissan dealership, as the car was purchased new back in 2005. Like many other NOLA denizens, we found ourselves purchasing a new car after Hurricane Katrina. However, our car was not damaged, as we had evacuated. It was simply time for a new family car as we were getting ready to drive to our new home in Los Angeles, CA.
The Xterra had just been refreshed with a larger body style and a much more powerful 4.0 liter V-​6 engine (261 HP) than the previous model year. We started our search at Premier Nissan and were fortunate to have Phil Demma (no longer with Premier Nissan) as our salesman. Phil was very versed on the entire Nissan line and answered all of our questions toute suite. But more importantly was the great deal that he gave us. His asking price, which was well below the MSRP, was even less than I was originally going to offer; so our negotiations were short and sweet. Voila, we were the owners of a new 2005 Nissan Xterra named Ruby.
After a quick break in period, the Xterra was westbound and down for Los Angeles. For the next 10 years, the car was almost totally flawless, including a fully laden trip on Route 66 from Los Angeles to Oklahoma City, and then down I-​55 back to New Orleans. Aside from the regular maintenance items such as oil changes, brake jobs, 2 new batteries and new wiper blades every year, the Xterra was as dependable as they get.
We only encountered 2 issues in 10.5 years. The 1^st being a faulty VDC (vehicle dynamic control) light which was reset by the mechanics at GT Automotive and never came on again. The second was the # 5 ignition coil, which failed at 9.5 years but was also replaced quickly and cheaply by GT Automotive.
The only reason I do not give the Xterra 5 stars is that it was a pain to get in and out of the rear seat, as the wheel arches cut sharply into the door space. All in all, Ruby was a very dependable SUV. Unfortunately, with the introduction of the Nissan Rogue (not a fan), the Xterra was discontinued in 2015. However, if you are looking for a great used SUV, check out Premier Nissan’s pre-​owned vehicle lot and pick you up one.

Was traveling on business and got three phone calls to ensure I would be at the appointment to see the vehicle I had picked out on their website. When I arrived for the appointment the salesman wasn’t there and nobody could find the vehicle. After an hour of waiting I was told the car had sat on the lot a looooooong time and was being sent to auction. I was also told it was in mid city and would be back in 20 minutes. The car didn’t show up nor did the salesman that evening, but I did get a text later saying it was in Florida… and would be back. A colossal waste of my time. Oh and when the vehicle shows up the next day the salesman tells me he wants to get me a good price to make up for my trouble on the previous day… then quotes me the price off their website!

Went in traded in my Camaro for a Maxima got a great deal, this wasn’t the problem. When I got the car the gas light was on E. Never have I got a car and had to put gas in it right off the lot.

Free manicure while you wait?! Yes, 4-​star indeed. Well, I didn’t stay that long, so I didn’t get a chance to try it out, but the idea is definitely neat.
I have had the best experience this time compared to before. They have really improved their customer service. I just got an oil change, and the person who was assisting me were so friendly and nice. He did not sell me any additional services while I was there.

Quick Summary:
We left feeling good about the used car we purchased and good about our interaction with the used car department. As a general rule, I avoid dealerships for maintenance ($$), but I would return to this dealership to buy another used car in the future. Compared to the other dealerships on Veterans Blvd, this place was a humble, kind, professional, accommodating, and transparent.
More Details:
I was surprised to see all of the other negative reviews because our own experience was really quite good. We arrived at the dealership after having done our research and having checked the Kelly Blue Book value and the Carfax report for the car we were interested in. Our salesperson (Anthony Williams) was kind and helpful. Since this single car purchase is our only interaction with them, I can’t speak for the whole organization, but I do recommend working with Anthony.
We were treated professionally. He provided us with records for the services they performed on the used car we were interested in buying and he came along with us to our preferred mechanic while we had the car inspected before even agreeing to buy it. Negotiating a fair price was easy and there was no hard selling or upselling. And aside from some challenges we had in our own payment methods (totally our fault), everything was very smooth.
They take cash, check (as long as it has your name and address pre-​printed on it), certified checks, and debit. But they do not take credit cards.
The offices are not fancy. But I’ll take transparency and ease in working together any day over a fancy chair.

Terrible service department… crooks and liars. I have my vehicle serviced by them one month and they do a complimentary inspection with the oil change. They say I need a rear differential service, but little did they know I recently had that done at Sears. So I tell them and refused the service. Another time They said I need over $ 1200.00 worth of services, things I know don’t need to be done and are just money makers for the dealer. Funny how I got my oil changed 3 months before and everything was in «excellent» condition. Either last time they didn’t really check anything, or everything is going out on my vehicle in a matter of a few months, or more likely, they are making up all this stuff. Either way they are full of it, and try to take advantage of customers. I’ve been to great Nissan dealerships for service at many cities around the country. This one gives them all a bad name.

Went in to buy 2 cars for my kids for college and was greeted by a salesman outside, asked him what he had under 10,000 for used cars… He went inside to check what he had and never came back out. I walked the lot on my own and saw quite a few! Wow i guess they don’t need the business… Go To Lakeside Toyota. Much better service!!!

I don’t know what to say here. I was screwed just about every way possible when buying a new car. Most of it was my fault for not realizing what was happening at the time and not asking questions or making demands.
To summarize my situation was there 3 hours+ and since I said I was making a down payment, they increased the price of the car so that I financed the same amount I would have as if I made no down payment in the first place. I know I should have known better and stopped it, but you should be able to trust that someone isn’t going to inflate the price without your knowledge.

Read the service reviews here and was apprehensive about having my first warranty/​purchase oil change done. I was expecting long waits, inadequate and feeble service. Fortunately my experience here was nothing like that. I had quick, courteous and efficient service. Thanks to Abdul the service manger. You made a great first impression.

Horrible! I had to wait for 3 hours to get the oil change done! I would never come back again.

Our experience test driving new vehicles was fine, but for us the Premier Nissan experience became very uncomfortable when we agreed to let them appraise my car for trade-​in value and to look at some initial numbers. They took our keys and the car’s registration papers and our drivers licenses. The lease/​purchase numbers we reviewed were both confusing and ridiculous (we later estimated they had us at about 20%apr), and it became clear only after about TWO HOURS of back and forth and making us wait that neither party was going to negotiate. A salesman responded to me saying that their trade in was too low so I preferred to sell my car privately: «Well, you have to be careful if you sell it to Guido down the street. When something goes wrong he might come looking for you.» At that we got up to leave, but didn’t have our keys and license and had to ask two people to gather them.
THE WORST: Two hours later, at another dealership where we were treated nicely and made a good deal, we realized that Première Nissan STILL HAD OUR CAR’s REGISTRATION PAPERS. We called immediately and the saleswoman wasn’t forthcoming about whether the papers were there, and said they would «look into it». We’ve followed up with a phone call (message left) and a text (no response) and still have no registration papers.

Strike 1#. I will never step foot in that heinous place again! In February I called about a used truck that I saw online and I asked them if it was available and on their lot and the rude woman on the phone assured me the car was there and I could come take a look at. So I take a whole day and an hour and half to go look at the car and when I arrive they leave me standing around for about 45 min twiddling my thumbs in their used car lot and when they finally came to «help» I ask about the truck and they act like i’m a crazy idiot and this truck that I was told would be there was a fragment of my imagination. I asked to look at their other vehicles and the rude guy «helping» me just stood there pointing at one and then the other wasting my time. So i left as anyone can imagine very irritated with them and my experience
Strike 2#. So now it’s about mid April and my Sister in law who was 7 months pregnant at the time and commutes in a Nissan Rouge so the car stalls as she is driving up the Hale-Bogg’s bridge and she calls premier for road side assistance well they said they would send a truck. So now she is waiting and waiting for the tow truck and after about three hours sitting on the side of the road in the sun, pregnant she calls a different tow company and they show up in about 20 min to deliver it to Premier Nissan’s service department. After about four days Premier calls to say the car was ready and that there was a problem with the fan belt. So she goes to pick it up the car and when she shows up they gave her this ridiculous bill, she reluctantly paid and that was that. Well about two days later she brought the car to Pep boys for a new tire and they looked at the car without her asking them to and found that none of the problems supposedly fixed were even worked on and the problem wasn’t the problem Premier Nissan said it was, So Pep Boy’s fixed the car for pennies compared to what Premier Nissan charged to do nothing. I was just furious hearing about what was done to her.
Strike 3# August. So again I am in the market for a car and I see a car on Premier Nissan’s website at a good price so I called about the vehicle in the morning and another rude woman answered the phone and I told her that I wanted to know if they «actually» had the car on the lot and she told me it was in her inventory so I scheduled an appointment with the sales department later that day and went on my business. I called them back 30 min later to make sure the price I saw was correct and they assured me I saw correctly and they agreed to call me if the car would sell before my appointment so that was that. About two hours after the first two phone calls the customer satisfaction department called me to find out how my experience was and actually this woman was polite enough to talk to so i told her that my appointment was for in about an hour and half and I just wanted to make sure the car was «physically» on the car lot, and she assured me again that the car was not only in inventory but physically on the lot so I went ahead and made the drive. Well when i arrived at premier Nissan for my appointment a girl comes and and looks up my profile information on the computer and then immediately says, «OH» you wouldn’t believe it but that car sold about an hour ago.” So I got pretty furious and was like why the hell did y’all not tell me this before I came out of my way for nothing??? Well I was able to figure it out myself and I’ve been around many car sales and they take not 30 min like premier Nissan suggested but many hours. No longer than 5 min after I left that horrible place the customer satisfaction department calls me to ask how was my visit so I told them about it and to have the manager call me within thirty minutes or they will never get my business because I deserve an explanation and and I never received a phone call so that goes to show you how much upper management cares about their customers as well. They are lying crooks that post «deals» online to get you in and to look at their other inventory. They are filthy rotten scoundrels and deserve to be closed down. Premier still has ads on Auto trader for the truck I looked at in Feb, and it never existed. They tried to play the same trick on me again and I will never step foot in there again. I feel everyone should know how terrible they really are. BUYERS BEWARE!!!

We bought our 2011 Nissan Versa Hatchback. Everyone was great. I bought the car for our first oil change and it went downhill from there. I mean it doesn’t take that long to do an oil change on a Friday evening. Everyone went home and it was one lady left trying to get everyone checked out. Another lady and I both had oil changes and it took forever. Hopefully next time I can convince my fiancé’ that we can go elsewhere for an oil change. I defintely recommend buying a car but not anything else.

I have had problems with the service dept here as well, but I have to give an amazing review for Mr Waganer. Always deal with him for leases and sales

Like many others here, I have complaints about the service department at Nissan. It is a shady place! And I have once and for all made up my mind to NEVER return.
I went in because my mirror was knocked off. They kind of looked at me and were like, «Well what do you want to do about it?» When I said fix it. They looked annoyed. They were clearly backed up and did not want any more costumers. They kind of directed me to different places, and finally came up with an estimate of ALMOST $ 400. ALMOST $ 400 TO FIX ONE mirror!!! To add, I still had the cover, so I didn’t even need one part.
Also, there service department was much better 2 or 3 years back. A guy, maybe his name was Chad, would often help to ensure that I didn’t get ripped off. I tried to tell them that my mirror was hit off 2 years ago and I am CERTAIN it did not cost me $ 400 to fix it at this same location.
I know all auto shops price discriminate, but it is SO obvious. I feel like they were trying to push me away, and only wanted to work on the most profitable jobs. Needless to say I immediately called up my local (New Orleans) service shop. It is a reputable place and he told me the total cost of parts and labor would be $ 130.
Don’t go here. Long waits, shady staff, rude service. I suggest Cesar’s Collision Center in New Orleans

Bought a car a couple of months back and am now inundated with emails from all their subsideraries. They’re usually deleted with swift grace, but ‘oil change & lube for $ 9.99′ stuck out like a sore thumb. Headed there the Saturday before Christmas to avoid crowds.
I was promptly and pleasantly greeted, but there was quite the fact checking, because nowhere in the email mentioned ‘Nissan vehicles only’. Once they decided it was legit, my car was whisked away, while I sat with complimentary wifi, HDTV and K cup coffee. Well, they only had decaf left, so I didn’t try it. Decaf means there’s not much left to live for; kinda’ like drinking O’Doul’s.
There was a wait, as I started out too late in the morning. They also had to drive down the street to buy an oil filter for Hank, my Ford SUV. They apologized for the delay, and escorted me to my car after I paid for the service.
Please send me another coupon in 2 – 3 months. I’d go back to deal with your service department anytime.

I am really wary of car dealerships as I have had some pretty bad experiences at various dealerships. However I have to say that I have been pleasantly surprised with Premier Nissan so far.
I totaled my beloved VW in mid-​January which was heartbreaking, and I was not really prepared emotionally or financially for buying a new car. Car shopping is never fun but honestly I really liked my salesperson at Premier, Angelo. He was very funny and not high-​pressure at all. I ended up with a Versa which was a good fit for me. Yeah they did play some of the standard car sales games (wanting you to buy that day, then stretching the sale out for hours so that you are so exhausted you’ll sign anything just to get out of there) but really nothing egregious.
The only person I wasn’t too thrilled with was Bryan the finance guy. I was trying to use my old plate on my new car and he basically refused to answer my calls or emails (until I called his manager!).
My purchase came with a free one-​year maintenance package, and I just got my first oil change today. It actually went very quickly. While I was there I sat in their nice little waiting room. They had wifi so I was able to get some work done. The service agent came into the waiting area a few times to let me know how things were progressing which was very courteous. He was surprised that my wiper blades were streaking after only 3000 miles so he got them replaced under warranty! I realize that it’s not exactly a huge expense but it was a nice gesture.
Bottom line — car dealerships suck in general, but Premier is alright in my book.

The service department here is PISS POOR.
I have bought 3 vehicles from this dealership. Previously, I never had any issues with the service department. Phil Demma, the former service technician was absolutely great. Any problems that I had, Phil would personally take care of them. Recently, Phil moved to another dealership and Premier’s service department has suffered tremendously.
The new service tech who replaced Phil — «Moe» — is extremely rude. I dropped my truck off at the night drop with a list of problems my vehicle was having — mainly a broken A/​C blower module which causes the fan on my A/​C to blow at full speed whenever the vehicle is running.
He called and woke me up at 7:00 am to tell me nothing would be covered by my warranty because I was 38 miles over my 36,000 mi warranty. Yep…38 miles. Awesome.
He also went on to say that there «Ain’t no module for the A/​C»
I wanted to laugh in his face. He’s no mechanic, and shouldn’t pretend to be. The guy looks like he should be working at McDonald’s or something. Moe — unless you’re going for the McDonald’s employee look pull your pants up and tuck your shirt in. You’re supposed to be a professional.
Anyhow, I have already looked up, purchased, and will install the new blower module myself (Yes Moe — it does exist: Nissan– Variable Blower Control Module 27 151-​ZM70A) There’s the part number right there, bud!
Premier Nissan will NEVER see as much as a CENT from me again.

Their service department seems to be over worked as they are the only Nissan dealer on the east bank. I haven’t been there for service in a while but it was a real pain to deal with them when I needed too. Based on the my experience with their parts and sales departments I would imagine that the service department still lags.
Their parts department people are borderline rude and while they did help find the parts and accessories that I needed they weren’t very friendly.
I was shopping for a car last December (’09) and test drove an SUV here. I told the sales guy that I was dealing with that I was just starting to shop and wanted to visit other manufacturers. He brought over another guy to help close the sale. This guy was horribly rude and informed me that my method of car shopping was ridiculous because I didn’t narrow down certain makes and models before visiting the showroom. Needless to say I didn’t choose Premier.

They will indeed sell you a car for the best price.
But their lame service department will be a wort on your butthole for years to come. ..