Affinity Auto Programs Inc

To whom it may concern;
Thank you for the opportunity to address the...

concerns of [redacted], of [redacted]. Affinity Development Group does administrate an Auto Buying Program for [redacted] Credit Union members. The Auto Buying Program provides a value proposition for [redacted] members for pricing of both new and preowned vehicles, coupled with an easy transaction process.
Ms. [redacted] contacted us originally on July 11th, 2015 subsequent to her purchase of a 2013 Nissan Altima at [redacted] Nissan.  Ms. [redacted] was concerned with a number of mechanical issues that presented themselves after her purchase on July 8th. At the time of her contact with us, Ms. [redacted] explained that the dealership had already addressed all of the issues that she experienced, however, was unhappy with her purchase and was requesting the dealership rescind the transaction and return any payments to her that she had made at the time of the transaction.
Ms. [redacted] went on to explain that the dealership was willing to transfer the purchase to a new 2016 Nissan Altima, extend all incentives and/or rebates to her, with the only financial differential being the MVA vehicle registration and associated state fees paid on the previous purchase. Ms. [redacted] advised us that she decided against pursuing that option presented by the dealer.
In further discussion with Ms. [redacted], we confirmed that she did receive the appropriate [redacted] member pricing for the vehicle she purchased.  In addition, Ms. [redacted] expressed some concern with regards to an ‘Extended Warranty’ program that she purchased at the time of her transaction. Our Auto Buying Specialist offered to contact the dealership to assist her in cancelling that purchase and refunding her the price of the program, however, Ms. [redacted] explicitly requested that our Specialist not contact the dealership regarding same.
Affinity Development Group carefully considers many aspects of a potential franchised automobile dealership prior to accepting that dealership to participate in the [redacted] Credit Union Auto Buying Program. These characteristics include, but are not limited to, pricing value on both new and preowned vehicles, Customer Satisfaction Index scores for both the dealership and salespersons that interact with [redacted] members, inventory levels, etc. In addition, we feature an extremely robust Auto Specialist Group that is available for [redacted] members before, during, and after a transaction to assist with any questions or concerns that a member may have – the group that has been in communication with Ms. [redacted] subsequent to her original email to us.  [redacted] Nissan has participated in the [redacted] Auto Buying Program for over 5 years, and we have no records of any similar issues with any of the hundreds of other [redacted] member interactions during that timeframe.
We are happy to continue to discuss with Ms. [redacted] any other questions that she may have specific to the transaction, however, Affinity Development Group is not able to satisfy Ms. [redacted] desired settlement of paying off her auto loan in the amount of $19,894 plus fees.
Please feel free to contact me should you have any questions or require further information.
Sincerely,
[redacted] Credit Union Auto Buying Program

Complainant (CP) thanks the Revdex.com for an opportunity to respond to Affinity Development Group’s reply to her complaint.Affinity Development represents and advertises itself as the [redacted] auto buying service. The name “Affinity” appears in small print on their web site while [redacted] auto buying service is displayed in large letters. This representation has the tendency of misleading [redacted] Credit Union ([redacted]) members into thinking they are dealing with [redacted] when in fact they are not. Affinity is an independent operator doing business with [redacted]. This relationship became apparent to CP when she wrote [redacted] about her horrible car purchasing experience and they immediately referred her complaint to Affinity for assistance.While Affinity states that CP contacted them on 11 July 2016, they fail to mention that CP asked for their help to get out of the sale. Instead, Affinity advocated the dealer’s position and assisted the dealer in several ways to ensure the vehicle sales transaction (i.e., added the new 2016 Altima vehicle to the list of authorized vehicles eligible for the auto buying program discounts; provided the dealer training on manufacturer rebates; and supported the dealer’s position not to offer the full [redacted] auto buying discount, etc.).As far as Affinity offering to assist CP in the cancellation of the vehicle service contract (VSC), that was an empty gesture as the VSC allowed cancellation of the contract with a full refund, minus a $50.00 cancellation fee within 60 days of its purchase date. Moreover, Affinity was willing to negotiate this contract despite its web site claim that they do not provide individual car purchase transaction. Yet, here they were willing to assist in this matter. CP believes they did so in this instance as it had no vested financial interest in the matter as the VSC was between the dealer and Nissan USA.Affinity states that the dealer had addressed all of CP’s concerns that she addressed, but fails to mention these concerns were not to her satisfaction and are still ongoing as of this writing. Affinity also states that CP opted not to purchase the 2016 Altima after the dealer proposed to roll the MVA fees and excise tax into the 2016 new car deal. These fees would have resulted in additional costs to CP, but Affinity saw nothing unethical or illegal about this proposal and offered CP no assistance.Affinity states that they confirmed that CP did receive the appropriate [redacted] member pricing for the vehicle purchased. However, Affinity boasts that [redacted] members receive a substantial discount not offered to the public, but a $500.00 discount, minus the dealer processing fee of $300.00 results in a savings of only $200.00. $200.00 is not a substantial savings that the public could not negotiate! Moreover, the [redacted] auto buying service web site boasts great savings, but does not show the member price and guaranteed savings before talking or meeting the dealer, thus Affinity keeps the credit union member in suspense in terms of pricing. Also, participating dealers are supposed to provide the member with a value sheet showing [redacted] auto buying program’s established member savings. The dealer in question did not show any savings, just the [redacted] member price. Affinity states it carefully considers many aspects of a potential franchised automobile dealership prior to accepting participation and uses other characteristics such as a customer satisfaction index score and pricing values on new and pre-owed vehicles. However, what other aspects do they use? Their web site states pricing is through a participating, “CERTIFIED” dealer network, but certified in what and by whom?Affinity states that the dealer has participated in the buying program for over 5 years and they have no records of similar issues. However, if Affinity had contacted other reputable and reliable sources such as the Revdex.com and the Maryland Attorney General’s office they would have learned that this dealer has a history of consumer complaints.Affinity states they have no records of similar issues. One reason they may lack this info is their customer survey ask mostly about the dealer and not the vehicle purchase. Moreover, Affinity does not state on its web site what will happen if the member is not satisfied with the vehicle nor does it have a customer satisfaction policy to resolve disputes between the dealer and the purchaser. The only assistance they offer is that they will answer questions and concerns.As far as CP’s settlement demand, Affinity doesn’t even apologize for this horrible vehicle purchase experience nor does it attempt to offer a resolution to CP’s concerns. Because of the lack of these policies, CP believes that Affinity is acting as a broker between the dealer and the credit union member and that Affinity steers credit union members to a particular dealer in exchange for a commission or monetary incentive and while there is nothing wrong with this practice, Affinity should note on its web site that it is not the [redacted] Credit Union and that it has a compensation relationship with the dealer so that an unsuspecting [redacted] member may make informed car buying decisions and understand that the Navy Auto buying service may not offer the best price as claimed.

To whom it may concern; Thank you for the opportunity to address the concerns of [redacted], of [redacted]. Affinity Development Group does administrate an Auto Buying Program for [redacted] Credit Union members. The Auto Buying Program provides a value proposition for [redacted]...

members for pricing of both new and preowned vehicles, coupled with an easy transaction process. Ms. [redacted] contacted us originally on July 11th, 2015 subsequent to her purchase of a 2013 Nissan Altima at [redacted] Nissan.  Ms. [redacted] was concerned with a number of mechanical issues that presented themselves after her purchase on July 8th. At the time of her contact with us, Ms. [redacted] explained that the dealership had already addressed all of the issues that she experienced, however, was unhappy with her purchase and was requesting the dealership rescind the transaction and return any payments to her that she had made at the time of the transaction. Ms. [redacted] went on to explain that the dealership was willing to transfer the purchase to a new 2016 Nissan Altima, extend all incentives and/or rebates to her, with the only financial differential being the MVA vehicle registration and associated state fees paid on the previous purchase. Ms. [redacted] advised us that she decided against pursuing that option presented by the dealer. In further discussion with Ms. [redacted], we confirmed that she did receive the appropriate [redacted] member pricing for the vehicle she purchased.  In addition, Ms. [redacted] expressed some concern with regards to an ‘Extended Warranty’ program that she purchased at the time of her transaction. Our Auto Buying Specialist offered to contact the dealership to assist her in cancelling that purchase and refunding her the price of the program, however, Ms. [redacted] explicitly requested that our Specialist not contact the dealership regarding same. Affinity Development Group carefully considers many aspects of a potential franchised automobile dealership prior to accepting that dealership to participate in the [redacted] Credit Union Auto Buying Program. These characteristics include, but are not limited to, pricing value on both new and preowned vehicles, Customer Satisfaction Index scores for both the dealership and salespersons that interact with [redacted] members, inventory levels, etc. In addition, we feature an extremely robust Auto Specialist Group that is available for [redacted] members before, during, and after a transaction to assist with any questions or concerns that a member may have – the group that has been in communication with Ms. [redacted] subsequent to her original email to us.  [redacted] Nissan has participated in the [redacted] Auto Buying Program for over 5 years, and we have no records of any similar issues with any of the hundreds of other [redacted] member interactions during that timeframe. We are happy to continue to discuss with Ms. [redacted] any other questions that she may have specific to the transaction, however, Affinity Development Group is not able to satisfy Ms. [redacted] desired settlement of paying off her auto loan in the amount of $19,894 plus fees. Please feel free to contact me should you have any questions or require further information. Sincerely, [redacted] Credit Union Auto Buying Program

Complainant (CP) thanks the Revdex.com for an opportunity to respond to Affinity Development Group’s reply to her complaint.
Affinity Development represents and advertises itself as the [redacted] auto buying service. The name “Affinity” appears in small print on their web site while [redacted] auto buying service is displayed in large letters. This representation has the tendency of misleading [redacted] Credit Union ([redacted]) members into thinking they are dealing with [redacted] when in fact they are not. Affinity is an independent operator doing business with [redacted]. This relationship became apparent to CP when she wrote [redacted] about her horrible car purchasing experience and they immediately referred her complaint to Affinity for assistance.
While Affinity states that CP contacted them on 11 July 2016, they fail to mention that CP asked for their help to get out of the sale. Instead, Affinity advocated the dealer’s position and assisted the dealer in several ways to ensure the vehicle sales transaction (i.e., added the new 2016 Altima vehicle to the list of authorized vehicles eligible for the auto buying program discounts; provided the dealer training on manufacturer rebates; and supported the dealer’s position not to offer the full [redacted] auto buying discount, etc.).
As far as Affinity offering to assist CP in the cancellation of the vehicle service contract (VSC), that was an empty gesture as the VSC allowed cancellation of the contract with a full refund, minus a $50.00 cancellation fee within 60 days of its purchase date. Moreover, Affinity was willing to negotiate this contract despite its web site claim that they do not provide individual car purchase transaction. Yet, here they were willing to assist in this matter. CP believes they did so in this instance as it had no vested financial interest in the matter as the VSC was between the dealer and Nissan USA.
Affinity states that the dealer had addressed all of CP’s concerns that she addressed, but fails to mention these concerns were not to her satisfaction and are still ongoing as of this writing. Affinity also states that CP opted not to purchase the 2016 Altima after the dealer proposed to roll the MVA fees and excise tax into the 2016 new car deal. These fees would have resulted in additional costs to CP, but Affinity saw nothing unethical or illegal about this proposal and offered CP no assistance.
Affinity states that they confirmed that CP did receive the appropriate [redacted] member pricing for the vehicle purchased. However, Affinity boasts that [redacted] members receive a substantial discount not offered to the public, but a $500.00 discount, minus the dealer processing fee of $300.00 results in a savings of only $200.00. $200.00 is not a substantial savings that the public could not negotiate! Moreover, the [redacted] auto buying service web site boasts great savings, but does not show the member price and guaranteed savings before talking or meeting the dealer, thus Affinity keeps the credit union member in suspense in terms of pricing. Also, participating dealers are supposed to provide the member with a value sheet showing [redacted] auto buying program’s established member savings. The dealer in question did not show any savings, just the [redacted] member price.
Affinity states it carefully considers many aspects of a potential franchised automobile dealership prior to accepting participation and uses other characteristics such as a customer satisfaction index score and pricing values on new and pre-owed vehicles. However, what other aspects do they use? Their web site states pricing is through a participating, “CERTIFIED” dealer network, but certified in what and by whom?
Affinity states that the dealer has participated in the buying program for over 5 years and they have no records of similar issues. However, if Affinity had contacted other reputable and reliable sources such as the Revdex.com and the Maryland Attorney General’s office they would have learned that this dealer has a history of consumer complaints.
Affinity states they have no records of similar issues. One reason they may lack this info is their customer survey ask mostly about the dealer and not the vehicle purchase. Moreover, Affinity does not state on its web site what will happen if the member is not satisfied with the vehicle nor does it have a customer satisfaction policy to resolve disputes between the dealer and the purchaser. The only assistance they offer is that they will answer questions and concerns.
As far as CP’s settlement demand, Affinity doesn’t even apologize for this horrible vehicle purchase experience nor does it attempt to offer a resolution to CP’s concerns. Because of the lack of these policies, CP believes that Affinity is acting as a broker between the dealer and the credit union member and that Affinity steers credit union members to a particular dealer in exchange for a commission or monetary incentive and while there is nothing wrong with this practice, Affinity should note on its web site that it is not the [redacted] Credit Union and that it has a compensation relationship with the dealer so that an unsuspecting [redacted] member may make informed car buying decisions and understand that the Navy Auto buying service may not offer the best price as claimed.