350Z Died, Or How The Dealer's Screwing Me
 

Bought an 03 Z on 12/20/2005. Last week, the car would stop accelerating all at once. The only rememdy was to turn off the ignition restart the car. This happened 2 times within five minutes.

(I should note that the Service Engine Soon light came on at this point)

Took the car to the dealer and they diagnosed a faulty throttle actuator sensor, and replaced the entire throttle body ($1000). Drove the car off the lot and 2 minutes later, it did the same thing.

Now Nissan claims that the original owner modified the electrical system in such a way as to require me to purchase a new computer and some other component to the tune of $3500! They claim that the electrical wires are "shrink wrapped" and that's evidence that the previous owner tried to mod it. The only problem is that they have no idea why a person would want to do this.

I'm sick to my stomach over this. Anyone have any suggestions on what to do?

A) demand your money back for what they replaced on your car and if they give you a hard time, threaten them with getting a lawyer and going after more then just $1000...this time your gonna go after time, hastle, suffering, time off work, lawyer fees ect.

B) if they dont buy it, actually go and and get a lawyer

C) take the car to a real mechanic, not a dealer....never ever ever ever ever go to a dealer unless it is under warranty......if they diagnose the problem as the dealer did, take that same lawyer and go after the previous owner lol

Welcome. Sorry about the problems.

If you study the threads here, you will find many that suggest Jerry-rigging the electrical system including How do I disable VDC? and How do I hard wire a widget to the ECU? This type of do-it-yourself wiring may work, but down the road presents one hell of a headache for a new owner.

Unfortunately you have little choice. If the trust the service department, then work with them. I suggest that you ask for a price break considering you spent $1,000 for a throttle body which did nothing to solve your problem.

Who did you buy the car from? I would explore recourse options with the purchaser and also good advice above about getting a second opinion in writing.

I've heard of cars doing this from a dirty MAF meter as well...pretty typical for them to get gummed up with oil from an aftermarket gauze type filter. This can be cleaned with electrical parts cleaner from Radio Shack.

The dealer cant sell you a car without inspecting it.

If a dealership says X will fix the problem, then they do it and it doesnt fix the problem you can (might have to use a lawyer) get your money back.

On another note, becuase the old owner modded the car he has no grounds to go over the car dealership, how did they know it was modded at one point? a clean looking car came in so they did the normal inspection, brakes, tires, alinment, fluids, no check engine lights, rust/holes... they sholdnt have to track down all the wires to see if they've been cut before.

you have no grounds whatsoever to go after them.

If it was my car I'd track down those taped wires then make sure they're put together the right way. This means soldering them back together or replacing the wire all together.

Don't think he said he bought it from a dealership, might of been private sale. One reason I would never buy a used car from a younger person that looks even slightly modified. Happens to often they think they know what there doing and screw up there car then sell it without telling anyone what they did. The new buyer gets screwed.

I would definatly ask for a refund on the part they sold you since it did not help. If they will not refund it, take them to small claims court.

NISSAN has a strict policy of Electrical parts being Non-Refundable... If there is a manufacture defect they are cover for 1/12000 on all parts sold over the counter...

$1000 for a throttle body... thats quite a bit steap... they are $593 LIST PRICE! We sell parts to our internet customers around 25% off that!

Most "dealerships" have very limited warranty when selling Used cars... If it is a car that is still covered under the factory warranty... Electrical components are covered under the basic warranty from NISSAN... 3/36000... If the car still falls under that.. take it to another nissan dealer and hopefully they can help you...

Good luck!

BTW... new ECU is $840 list... figure 25% off that as well for our internet customers....

Find out all the parts you need and Ill save you the $

Thanks for the replies. Yes, bought it from a private seller. Going to take it to a different mechanic on Monday.

I'm also considering taking the seller to small claims cart for non-discolsure of issues. However, I did get an inspection prior to the sale; do they have any liability for giving the car a clean bill of health?

As for the throttle body issue, has anyone ever won a claim after a mechanic "repaired" a part that didn't fix the issue?

Yeah, the problem is that the dealer is claiming that the origina owner messed with the ECU...they claim that the wires were shrink-wrapped or something. Therefore, the warranty is voided.

wow

i know one thing, i will NEVER buy a used car from a dealership

when I traded in my mustang it had all sorts of stuff wrong with it - tranny was on the verge of going (guess I shouldn't have put a shift kit on the strongest (race) setting with stock parts, heh), odometer and speedometer didnt' work (because of the 4:10 gearing and I hadn't bothered to get the ecu tuned to make up that that) and a few days after I'd traded it in I saw it on their lot with a HUGE sign saying 'MECHANICALLY CERTIFIED'

LMAO, merchanically certified my ass.

This deserves a sticky for future reference.

I doubt it. As the claimant, you would have to present a preponderance of evidence showing that the shop is incompetent.

Look around for a good mechanic shop that works mostly on modded cars, usally they are far more competent then the dealerships and there labor prices are usally 40% less then what the dealership charges.

If your warrenty is no longer valid might as well have some fun with aftermarket parts.. :D

sorry to hear about all this. Unfortunately, its things like this that are hard or impossible to inspect yourself while buying a used car. The bad news is that if you signed a buyer/seller contract with the old owner of the car, and it said your buying the car in "as is" condition, and you signed it, you cant go after him. The judge might award you some compensation because the defect was not noticeable to the average person...but hopefully it should not come to that stage.

First, I would work on getting your 1g back from the stealership. They have NO reason to keep your money. Im almost sure they will give it back to you. Good luck

normially cars are sold "AS-IS" as far as non disclosure... it may have been running perfectly fine for him and whoever inspected it... they cant gaurentee that things wont happen in the short or long term future...

i wish you luck but i dont hink you will get very far w/o spending At least what the repair will cost.: and of course the original owner will say it worked when he sold it... and it must have because you bought it.. icon22:

Can anyone suggest a good mechanic in the Austin area, preferably in the north part of town? I'm going to have to drive from the dealership, and don't know how long the car will last...

Thanks in advance; I might be buying some of those parts off you soon.

Bump for some help.