NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – New York Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday announced settlements worth over $1.9 million with five Nissan car dealerships in New York City and on Long Island for overcharging New Yorkers.
An investigation by the Office of the Attorney General found that between 2020 and 2023, the dealerships added junk fees or falsified the price of vehicles. The agreements require the dealerships to pay more than $1.6 million in restitution to more than 1,100 consumers and a civil penalty of $340,000.
The OAG opened an investigation into five Nissan dealerships — Nissan of Kings in Brooklyn, Nissan of Queens, Nissan of Staten Island Baron Nissan on Long Island, Nissan of Westbury on Long Island — after consumers reported they were being overcharged and given inaccurate receipts.
According to the investigation each of these consumers leased their Nissan cars under an agreement that gave them the option to purchase the vehicle for a set amount after the lease term ended. When the consumers returned to the dealerships when their leases were up to buy their car, the dealerships substantially overcharged them.
The dealers either added miscellaneous "dealership fees" or "administrative fees," or inflated the vehicle’s price on the invoice given to the consumer. In some instances, customers were overcharged as much as $7,000 on an $18,000 vehicle.
The investigation also revealed that the dealerships provided customers with deceptive invoices including misrepresenting illegal upcharges as government fees, such as a $37 state inspection fee that dealers charged as $300, and a $50 title fee dealers charged as $500.
According to the agreements:
- Baron Nissan will pay $204,656.89 to 186 overcharged consumers and a $51,190 penalty.
- Nissan of Kings will pay $437,560.86 to 420 overcharged consumers and a $147,000 penalty.
- Nissan of Queens will pay $608,347.83 to 276 overcharged consumers and a $69,757 penalty.
- Nissan of Staten Island will pay $282,255.61 to 184 overcharged consumers and a $55,200 penalty.
- Nissan of Westbury will pay $102,636.07 to 72 overcharged consumers and a $19,440 penalty.
"Today’s settlement is a victory for consumers everywhere! Adding junk fees to lease buyouts is flat-out unethical and violates our consumers' trust. New Yorkers deserve honesty and integrity," Assemblymember Kimberly Jean-Pierre said. "I sincerely appreciate Attorney General James for investigating this issue and ensuring that consumers are compensated for the wrongs done by these dealerships. This settlement sends a clear message that these deceptive practices will not be tolerated."
The penalties paid by each dealership will vary based on the number of consumers overcharged and the pervasiveness and severity of the overcharging.
The dealers have also agreed to audit all deals between the start of the investigation and the present, and will provide additional refunds to overcharged consumers identified in that audit.
Consumers entitled to restitution do not need to take any action to receive the payment and the dealerships have already begun paying restitution through mailed checks in the full amount of the overcharge. The dealerships have also agreed to reform their invoicing practices to ensure all lease buyout customers are neither overcharged nor provided with inaccurate receipts.
Attorney General James asks any consumers who may have been affected by deceptive or fraudulent lease buyout practices to file a consumer complaint online.
"Ignoring agreements and adding bogus fees harms New York consumers, and that is something my office won’t allow to go unchallenged," AG James said. "These car dealerships lined their pockets at the expense of hardworking New Yorkers who were trying to have a reliable car to get to work, take their children to school, run errands, and live their daily lives. Our investigation and settlement put money back into New Yorkers’ pockets and send a clear message that lying to New Yorkers and manipulating costs with shady tactics will not be tolerated."