Mississippi State employees will be able to buy Nissan or Infiniti vehicles from participating dealers at pre-negotiated prices, since the university has been designated as a Nissan business associate.

Meetings to explain the program for benefits-eligible MSU employees will be held at the Union Small Auditorium on Wednesday and Thursday, Sept. 19 and 20, at 10:30 a.m. and at 1:30 p.m. on both days.

Nissan North America is now building the state's first automobile plant at Canton, and the university's research and extension capabilities were a significant factor in attracting the industry to Mississippi.

In recognition of a developing partnership in which MSU will provide research and development expertise and offer automotive-related programs, Nissan has made university employees eligible for its Vehicle Purchase Program (VPP).

Through the program, participating Nissan dealerships agree to sell vehicles at a pre-negotiated price of dealer cost plus a 2.5 percent delivery fee, less incentives, destination and handling charges, and in some cases an advertising assessment. Dealer installed accessories, fees, and taxes also are added to arrive at the total cost.

Nissan and Infiniti dealers are not required to participate and may limit the models they sell through the program.

To purchase a vehicle through the VPP program, MSU employees will complete a form that will be provided by Human Resources Management, take it to a participating dealer, and select a vehicle. Participating dealers will show VPP customers the dealer invoice for the selected vehicle before calculating the purchase price using the form provided.

Two vehicles a year may be purchased under the VPP program, and leases also are available. Trade-ins cannot be used to determine the purchase price of a new vehicle under the VPP program, but must be handled as a separate transaction. Financing for a VPP purchase will be handled in the same way as a conventional purchase.

More information on the VPP program is available on the Nissan web site at http://www.insidenissan.com. Select "nissan corporate," then "Vehicle Purchase Programs," then "Business Associate," and use "vendor" for the requested user ID and password.

Additional information also is being distributed to all benefits-eligible employees by Human Resources Management.