Nissan March

[indothai]

Just an update. We have a March on order from a local dealer and last week received a letter directly from Nissan Thailand, apologizing for the late deliveries, stating overwhelming orders, etc.., anyway, they said the cars are being delivered by queue numbers (date order placed), and that ours will be delivered next month... We'll see....

Meanwhile, I agree with the recent discussions above @Katabeachbum, etc., that the top March models too closely match pricing on Jazz, Yaris and Mazda 2, Vios, City, and I would not buy a top model as the true B class are a better value at the higher price.. We ordered the 425,000 Baht manual tranny model, and don't have the airbag concerns of some others perhaps.

Congrats on the purchase !!!!

Wife and I ordered the Auto top line... need to go financing and awaiting paper work.. dealer told us that we "might" get it June or July latest... we booked ours back in early February.

[keemapoot]

Well...I have an interesting report for all of you.

Today we got a call from the dealer. "Come down immediately, your car is here..."

We dropped everything and went down. Dealer said: " we have a small change....The 425,000 Baht manual transmission model you ordered has been canceled. We proudly offer you the 579,000 upgraded model with auto transmission. They further detailed that Nissan has discontinued all cheapie manual transmission models and only offers auto models in the upper 500 thou baht range.

We thought "why that hel_l would we buy a relatively ugly Nissan March for about 600k, when we can have a perfect Jazz for the same price?

We voted with our feet. CANCEL. give me my deposit back.

We are going with a new Jazz. Cheap bait and switch tactics by Nissan will not prevail with me. In America, Nissan would be class action sued for illegal consumer bait and switch....Shameless practices...

Edited June 2, 2010 by keemapoot

[rixalex]

Well...I have an interesting report for all of you.

Today we got a call from the dealer. "Come down immediately, your car is here..."

We dropped everything and went down. Dealer said: " we have a small change....The 425,000 Baht manual transmission model you ordered has been canceled. We proudly offer you the 579,000 upgraded model with auto transmission. They further detailed that Nissan has discontinued all cheapie manual transmission models and only offers auto models in the upper 500 thou baht range.

We thought "why that hel_l would we buy a relatively ugly Nissan March for about 600k, when we can have a perfect Jazz for the same price?

We voted with our feet. CANCEL. give me my deposit back.

We are going with a new Jazz. Cheap bait and switch tactics by Nissan will not prevail with me. In America, Nissan would be class action sued for illegal consumer bait and switch....Shameless practices...

I'm stunned! Shocking business practice! Well done for walking.

[JimmyTheMook]

Not happy to hear this as my wife wants one of these for running around the city.

I'd be more inclined to buy a 2nd hand Honda Jazz from a foreigner .....

[JimShortz]

Today we got a call from the dealer. "Come down immediately, your car is here..."

We dropped everything and went down. Dealer said: " we have a small change....The 425,000 Baht manual transmission model you ordered has been canceled. We proudly offer you the 579,000 upgraded model with auto transmission. They further detailed that Nissan has discontinued all cheapie manual transmission models and only offers auto models in the upper 500 thou baht range.

We thought "why that hel_l would we buy a relatively ugly Nissan March for about 600k, when we can have a perfect Jazz for the same price?

We voted with our feet. CANCEL. give me my deposit back.

We are going with a new Jazz. Cheap bait and switch tactics by Nissan will not prevail with me. In America, Nissan would be class action sued for illegal consumer bait and switch....Shameless practices...

Can anyone else confirm this? I have the 425,000 manual transmission model on order (due around October, apparently). I have heard nothing of the model being cancelled, and would be incredibly surprised since the full model range is advertised all over the place. It seems more likely to me that this was a dodgy dealership thinking they could switch cars on the rich farang.

Which dealership are we talking about here anyway? Anyone know more?

I know I could go and check at the dealership where I ordered, but this sounds too absurd to be true...

[indothai]

Our March will also be our second car, serving as our daily commute. I'm hoping our dealer won't change the dates on us.

Got our March! Have to say, the dealer delivered on time, but we had to delay pickup due to loan delays.

So far loving it! Too early to report on anything other than.... new car smell!!!

We have the black-top-line model along with other accessories, spoilers, skirts, etc.

The steering is awsome light, I think it's due to new tires, but I hope it stays that way... I love easy turnings. I've been told on some Thai forums that some people are giving negative feedback to the steering beeing too light... They've never driven a non-powered steering car before I guess.. or they are weight lifters.

On the first day driving it, we pretty much just sat in traffic for the better part of the day... Front seats are confortable, haven't sat in the rear seats yet.

***

Regarding, slow delivery posts:

I feel for you guys, hang in there! I think Nissan and their dealers are doing what they can. Some customers are being "capitalistic", offering dealers "more" money to get infront of the line or offering more for the demo car. Hang in there!

[aussiebebe]

Well...I have an interesting report for all of you.

Today we got a call from the dealer. "Come down immediately, your car is here..."

We dropped everything and went down. Dealer said: " we have a small change....The 425,000 Baht manual transmission model you ordered has been canceled. We proudly offer you the 579,000 upgraded model with auto transmission. They further detailed that Nissan has discontinued all cheapie manual transmission models and only offers auto models in the upper 500 thou baht range.

We thought "why that hel_l would we buy a relatively ugly Nissan March for about 600k, when we can have a perfect Jazz for the same price?

We voted with our feet. CANCEL. give me my deposit back.

We are going with a new Jazz. Cheap bait and switch tactics by Nissan will not prevail with me. In America, Nissan would be class action sued for illegal consumer bait and switch....Shameless practices...

I'm stunned! Shocking business practice! Well done for walking.

I feel for you, having that happen. I remember feeling cheesed off when Honda offered me a different coloured car to the one I ordered. Did Nissan return the deposit? Why's the price so high? I thought 509k was the most expensive, what else has been upgraded?

[keemapoot]

Today we got a call from the dealer. "Come down immediately, your car is here..."

We dropped everything and went down. Dealer said: " we have a small change....The 425,000 Baht manual transmission model you ordered has been canceled. We proudly offer you the 579,000 upgraded model with auto transmission. They further detailed that Nissan has discontinued all cheapie manual transmission models and only offers auto models in the upper 500 thou baht range.

We thought "why that hel_l would we buy a relatively ugly Nissan March for about 600k, when we can have a perfect Jazz for the same price?

ugl

We voted with our feet. CANCEL. give me my deposit back.

We are going with a new Jazz. Cheap bait and switch tactics by Nissan will not prevail with me. In America, Nissan would be class action sued for illegal consumer bait and switch....Shameless practices...

Can anyone else confirm this? I have the 425,000 manual transmission model on order (due around October, apparently). I have heard nothing of the model being cancelled, and would be incredibly surprised since the full model range is advertised all over the place. It seems more likely to me that this was a dodgy dealership thinking they could switch cars on the rich farang.

Which dealership are we talking about here anyway? Anyone know more?

I know I could go and check at the dealership where I ordered, but this sounds too absurd to be true...

We did not go check other dealers, (there are 3 in our city), but I probably agree with you, that this was a shady dealer practice. Having said that, I do think Nissan is pushing dealers to upsell the higher priced models and discouraging the baser models.... Anyway, we ended up buying my wife a new Mazda 2, which we are delighted with. One nagging factor about the March was the relatively ugly styling; which I thought was forgiven by the 425,000 price tag. Anyway, if you can get the 425k model, best of luck and enjoy!

[chrisk108]

hey there guys... congrats to those who already got their March... im gettin married in December & would need a second car at that time... do ull think i shud book mine rite now for a December delivery??? Ill be goin for the top range 500K model... & also wanted to know.. whats the minimum downpayment i can put on the table.. is it possible to give a 10% downpayement & installments for the rest??? please let me know... thanx....

[JimShortz]

hey there guys... congrats to those who already got their March... im gettin married in December & would need a second car at that time... do ull think i shud book mine rite now for a December delivery??? Ill be goin for the top range 500K model... & also wanted to know.. whats the minimum downpayment i can put on the table.. is it possible to give a 10% downpayement & installments for the rest??? please let me know... thanx....

Yes, I think you should be ordering now for December delivery - if you are lucky!

I was told that as a farang the minimum downpayment was 25%. Of course if you put it in your missus' name you could pay much less down.

[katabeachbum]

hey there guys... congrats to those who already got their March... im gettin married in December & would need a second car at that time... do ull think i shud book mine rite now for a December delivery??? Ill be goin for the top range 500K model... & also wanted to know.. whats the minimum downpayment i can put on the table.. is it possible to give a 10% downpayement & installments for the rest??? please let me know... thanx....

Yes, I think you should be ordering now for December delivery - if you are lucky!

I was told that as a farang the minimum downpayment was 25%. Of course if you put it in your missus' name you could pay much less down.

I tryed to book in June, but no chance for December delivery. Phuket. Other dealer may promise something else.

[katabeachbum]

The steering is awsome light, I think it's due to new tires, but I hope it stays that way... I love easy turnings. I've been told on some Thai forums that some people are giving negative feedback to the steering beeing too light... They've never driven a non-powered steering car before I guess.. or they are weight lifters.

March comes with electric power steering, like most (all?) modern small cars with power steering. I believe its supplied by Conti, and probably taken off the shelves designed for a 20% more heavy car (Polo?). I find light steering for a car like March perfect.

When car leaves factory its on tyres storage pressure (40-45psi) to avoid square tyres during storage. Thai dealers are well known for sloppy predelivey checks, so you may want to adjust your tyres pressure according to recomondation on sticker in drivers door sill. Could make your steering more heavy, but improves handling, braking, comfort and tyres lifetime

Edited July 2, 2010 by katabeachbum

[aussiebebe]

The steering is awsome light, I think it's due to new tires, but I hope it stays that way... I love easy turnings. I've been told on some Thai forums that some people are giving negative feedback to the steering beeing too light... They've never driven a non-powered steering car before I guess.. or they are weight lifters.

March comes with electric power steering, like most (all?) modern small cars with power steering. I believe its supplied by Conti, and probably taken off the shelves designed for a 20% more heavy car (Polo?). I find light steering for a car like March perfect.

When car leaves factory its on tyres storage pressure (40-45psi) to avoid square tyres during storage. Thai dealers are well known for sloppy predelivey checks, so you may want to adjust your tyres pressure according to recomondation on sticker in drivers door sill. Could make your steering more heavy, but improves handling, braking, comfort and tyres lifetime

That's good advice, I agree that lighter steering in preferably on a smaller car.

[culicine]

Has anyone taken delivery of they March yet. I'm starting to like this little car after seeing quite few on the roads. This would save a few thousand baht a month in petrol over my civic.

On that point can any owner give their opinions of their march and its petrol consumption? One a Thai website they got 17.25 km/l for the cvt and 18.05 km/l for the manual. I would lean towards the 425K manual - according to the website its over 3 seconds faster to 100 than the cvt version (12.43 vs 15.63 sec). I'm not a boy racer but that would be quite a noticeable difference. The manual can also hit 180km/h (according to the speedo). Thats quite fast when compared to my old mini cooper replica with modified engine.

Any input from owners would be appreciated.

[Velocette]

Seems the press have given the new March a critical reviews. One claiming the engine is rough and restrained, and slow in any gear, manual box is notchy but cv auto is smooth. Another claiming that when you put your foot down down the auto is smooth but very noisy and wailing, says manual makes better use of what little power there is. Europe will get the 98bhp supercharged engine, while Thailand gets the low power 78bhp version. Seems like a lost opportunity for Nissan, or are car journalists just too critical ? . . .I guess a long, long test drive before parting with your hard earned 'spondulux' is the only answer.

[MoonRiverOasis]

Seems like a lost opportunity for Nissan, or are car journalists just too critical ?

Not to say that I think Thai motoring journo's are industry pro's we should actually heed the advice of, but, in the broader B segment that the March belongs to there's competition that simply do some basic things better than the March does - albeit at a price of course.

Lower in the March range the car stands proud - what it does for the money is unrivalled (ATM, this will be challenged very soon). But as you move to higher price brackets it starts competing with some cars that are just, frankly, all-round better cars. If you're looking at price-points above the entry-level March it's a compromise - choose the March with more goodies for your Baht, or choose a base model in another brand for something that just drives nicer (and is bigger).

Wow, I think that's the most opinionated I've ever been here

Edited September 11, 2010 by MoonRiverOasis

[culicine]

I saw the March at Central tonite. I'm 189 cm and had plenty of room with the seat full back. My wife couldn't operate the reclining lever - its a nasty looking piece of plastic. Overall it looks like a nice car for the price, but think the manual would be better value for money.

I'm waiting to see what honda will produce by way of its ecocar. Any specs on this car yet MRO?

[JimShortz]

V cvt in Phuket is 507.000, ad 3500 for transportation, ad 5.000 for tax/reg, ad 15.366 for insurance and finally ad 7.000 for white. Thats 537.866 baht and they throw in lisenceplate frames and window film of unknown brandname and quality. Interest is 2,99%. Can not promise delivery this year. anyone done better?

in comparison a Vios is exactly 100k more for same equipment level, but a much larger rearset and trunk. order in september for november delivery and interest is presently 2,45%.

You need to change dealership!

My 1.2E model has just arrived at the dealership in Chiang Mai (Mahidol road one) yesterday, after a 5 month wait, and I went down to finalise the figures and the finance ready for a Saturday morning collection.

The basic cost of the "E" model is 425,000 + no transportation cost + 2,500 for registration + 600 for PRB (tax) + 7,000 insurance + 7,000 for the pearlescent white option + 3,500 deposit on red plates (refundable; no actual cost overall).

The only thing I got for free was license plate frames, and only that after suggesting I had options as to which Nissan garage to use for services - but then I was with my missus (Thai) who seemed to feel sorry for the salesman and thought we should get nothing free. She's a hopeless haggler, and I'm not much use either! Anyway, I don't want the window film - I want to see out at night...

Interest is at 2.35%, which means in total I put down about 118,000 and pay about 7,400 a month for 4 years. I'm reckoning that in 4 years it will be still be worth not far off 300,000, making it not much more expensive to own than an old car that needs a lot more (annoying) maintenance.

My only annoyance is that my missus got a phone call from the dealership about 10 days ago saying that they had a fully skirted model in stock that we could take now for 27,000 Baht extra, or continue an unknown wait for what we ordered. I figured it for what it was (an attempt at up selling) and told them that due to not being a boy racer and wanting to avoid being laughed at I'd pass on the skirted model and they should go ahead and get us what we ordered. They said this could take some time, but then amazingly had our car a little over a week later... Smells of shoddy salesmanship to me... but the missus thinks he has done great getting us what we ordered so quickly - hence not wanting to haggle more! Naive? No...