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345 SE 5th, Madras, OR 97741 | 541.475.2275
Miller Ford Nissan will soon be just Miller Ford.
The Madras dealership announced last week that it is ending its relationship with the Japan-based carmaker. The changeover will be official on Feb. 8.
Dropping the Nissan line was strictly a business decision, noted Terry Hanlon, owner of the dealership. He said it cost about $2,000 a month to provide Nissan, from providing brochures to other expenses. Hanlon determined that it was no longer worth it.
He estimated that the Nissan line represented about 15 percent of the dealership's new vehicle sales.
One drawback to ending the affiliation is that Miller Ford will no longer be able to do Nissan warranty work, repair work paid for by the automaker. Hanlon noted that he will still have a Nissan-trained technician on staff to work on Nissans, but that won't qualify the dealership to perform warranty work.
The dealership sent out letters to those who purchased Nissan vehicles from them noting the change. The letter encourages those who are due for warranty work, and who want it done in Madras, to come in before Feb. 8.
"We'll have new signage going up later this month," said Hanlon.
Nissan (formerly Datsun) had been sold by a Madras dealership since the mid-1960s. Bill Miller, longtime Madras Ford dealer, purchased the Datsun dealership in 1972, and merged his Ford operation with Datsun in 1982. Miller sold the dealership to Hanlon in 1994.
