I totally understand frustrations from the dealership. They day I bought my 03 Z, i drove off the lot and within 30 minutes, the check engine light came on. I live an hour from the dealer so I called them and they said it most likely came on because they recently replaced the clutch...not to worry, just bring it back when i had time and they would reset the light. On top of that, the tint looked pretty dark, so I asked if it was within the legal limit. They assured me it was.

So i go to get an inspection a few days later and whoaa...turns out it FAILS emissions and the tint WAS too dark (23% where the MA legal limit is 35%). Bring my car back to the dealer where they take 2 weeks to replace the intake solenoid valves. Pick up the car, and again after driving off the lot, the check engine light comes back on.

Leave it for another week before they put a call into the corporate engineers and find the flywheel was off a small amountm and that caused all the problems.


As you can imagine i was frustrated, but i think the best course of action is to maintain your composure and talk to everyone in person. My sales guy was very apologetic, and I appreciated his effort. I talked to the owner (always go for the top person), and to make up for my bad experiences, he offered to make my first monthly payment, and to pay to have my car retinted wherever I chose. Just remember that sometimes these course of events are simple neglect, but other times they're just a series of bad luck. No dealership wants a customer unhappy, because an unhappy customer will not come back, and will specifically tell their friends and family to stay away.

I think you letter was very well written, but i would suggest going to the owner to talk to him one-on-one. Don't go necessarily with the expectation of getting any reimbursement or free services, but at least show him you are serious about your concerns.


Best of luck with it all, and i hope you finally get to ENJOY your new Z!!

 

I have to agree here, though you are not a mechanic you should have had the car check out better, after all you did purchase from a stealership. Salesmen really know nothing about the history of a car they're selling, it's up to you to have it looked at by a proper mechanic before purchase.

 

Even if it was a Roadster $31k is a rip off for a 03' model... you got taken badly...

 

to answer a few questions... and updates
no i did not pay 35 000 sticker price
29 000 flat, plus i got a full warantee for another 2 years... obviously this doesnt cover my recent mishaps.

And I'm not looking for compensation, i said that write in the letter.
i got the service records today.....
There was an FULL inspection done the day they got it, in 2005. and only the front tires were replaced then... Only the front on a rear wheels drive car... they ahd to knwo the rear ones were bad then too.... Anywho, the day i drove off in the car, they did an "updated inspection", not a full, whatever that means.
they instantly asked me if there were any electrical problems... so now i'm wondering.

One other thing... I think I am going ot mention some warrantee things that they need to clean up.
1) i'm having that issue with my automatic wondows, how they just pop half way back down.
2) grind into 3rd gear... possible tranny problem. always third, clutch always fully pressed in

it jsut takes the fun out of the car when i have to deal with all this stuff.

 

29,000.00 Canadian Dollar = 26,159.10 US Dollar

Not knowing the trim line, mileage, etc. I did some KBB valuation. A 2003 Enthusiast Coupe with 53000 miles on it (average for this age of car) would retail for $21,835USD. A Touring Coupe with the same mileage would retail at $24,570. A Track Coupe, again with the same mileage, would retail for $25,065.

These values are based on a California zip code with an "excellent" condition. Kelly Blue Book defines "excellent" as:
If the dealer responds, I would have a conversation with the used car manager, or even the general manager about how the car was represented to you...the consumer. You indicate that the car received a full inspection back in 2005. Quite a bit of time has elapsed since the inspection and purchase. How many test drives has the car been out on since? I know that when I test drove my Z, the salesperson told me to "have some fun with it" and "open it up a bit." No doubt to get me excited and to ultimately purchase the car.

Personally, I would not let this go.

 

That letter has quite a few grammar errors, as a well as some internet "slang." I suggest you have somebody who is willing to proof-read for you take a look at that letter and make some suggestions.

And "firstly" isn't a word.

I hope this was a learning experience for you. Don't trust a dealer to do a full inspection on a car. Most of them don't. Or even if they do a full inspection, unless they find something that is just glaringly obvious or an immediate, major safety issue, they probably won't fix it. You need to give the car a thorough look over before buying it. I cannot imagine buying a used car without checking the tread depth on the tires, or with a car that has open wheels like a Z, not checking the brake pad thickness.

 

it was the touring model, with 30 000 on it. for 29 canadian

 

That's a pretty good price! 350Z's are cheaper new in the states than they are up here.

It's pretty hard to find a roadster for under $30K........mmmmm roadster

 

When did you write them this letter? I hope it was not, like yesterday, and you have given them no chance to respond before posting it here. Did you raise these issues with the dealer as the problems arose, and if so, what was their response?
And if the tires were that bad, how could you not notice when you bought the car? Did you just kick the tires or did you actually look at them? You mentioned that you were impressed with the quality of the interior, under the hood, etc but you missed tires worn down to the wear bar? And while you were showing off your new ride (c'mon we all did that!) no one ever pointed out bald tires? Did the inspection report actually list the condition of things like that?
I'm not bashing here but when you buy a used car, its buyer beware. I would have requested the inspection prior to doing the paperwork for the sale and financing, not after! But if your inspection form lists those items as OK, you should have some leverage in getting them to fix the problems. If you have raised any of these points with the dealer prior to writing the letter, I am sure we would all be interested in what their response was, as you did not mention anything in your letter.

 

What many of you don't seem to realize is that our market for cars is 1/10th of what it is in the US... far less cars are designated by Japanese manufacturers for Canada. Demand greater than supply = higher price.

Typically a 2003 model will sell for $26K-$31K; a 2004 model for $32K-$39K; 2005 model for $38K-$42K... depending on km's. A 2006 model goes for just under $50K.

*** Note these are dealer prices.

In my search to find a used Z, I encountered many US models sitting on Canadian dealer lots. The dealers did not advertise the car as a US model and listed the mileage in Km's. Shady?.. Yes! ...but not illegal. I did my research and was able to tell THEM it was a US model. THey admitted that they purchase the cars at auctions in the US and import them.

Ultimately my decision to buy and import one myself was with the realization that I could pocket the savings myself instead of them. I even had a dealer offer to buy mine from me after I imported it.

Fortunately in this information age, you can do a service record and accident search with the VIN... provided the car was serviced by a Nissan rep. If there is no service record and you have a 2003 model, I would probably not purchase it.

 

 

To whom it may concern,

This letter is intended to let MacDonald Pontiac know how displeased I have been with my experience in purchasing a vehicle. I would also like to advise of the many potential safety risks that have surfaced since purchasing my car.

I purchased a high end sports car earlier this spring. (2003 Nissan 350z)




Dood you bought a Nissan at a pontiac Store and it never occured to you to get the car looked over or look it over your self..... used or not you should check the whole car out im sorry but thats your bad....... you could have probably gotten all that took care of at the dealers expense!

 

I can see where you guys are comming from, but I'm pretty sure in the letter I explain the fact that i realize that some of the responibilty is on me.... I knwo this. I checked, front tires were brand new... and the back tires i felt the tread towards the outside... it was fine... it was the middle that was balder then my nut shaven nut sack. I did get a car fax report, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, asked for the inspection to be done before i signed the papers.... I tried as much as I could to check out the car and it;s history.

ANywho, the point i'm making isn't that It was not illegal, and that i shoudl have looked, cause i did. It;s jsut shady business to be sending someone out in a clearly unsafe car, twice!

THey have yet to respond, but I will post any responses i get here aswell, I fele this is going to be an ungoing struggle.

 

+1 on that. If you're going to buy used, you gotta know your stuff and/or have a third party go over the car. Still, good for the dealership to be made aware of your disappointment.

 

Ongoing struggle? Mmm, I'd call it good and let yourself be put at ease at this point. Tires and brakes are wear items after all, and dealerships sell used cars "as-is", so I doubt you're going to get anything out of them and you'll likely just cause yourself more stress and frustration in trying. Just write them off, tell all your friends how bad they are and deal with a Nissan dealer for service/warranty issues.

 

I'm still curious what the inspection report had to say about the tires and the brakes, as well as whether your letter was your first interaction with the dealer regarding the problems. Believe me, I am not trying to flame here, my relationship with dealers has NOT been ideal either, and I bought brand new. Just trying to fully understand your particular situation so we can give some constructive advice on how to proceed.

 

i pretty much them to dismiss everything but the warrante issues i need to be handled.
right now i need
1) bose Head unit replaced
2) I have that 3rd gear grind issue... so whatever needs to be done there.
3) my windows, go up then back down, like there is something stuck in the window or something and there is a huge grease streak when i put it down.
4) The gas filler hose recall

these are tangeble issues and need attension either way, if they dont want to do anythign about the rest, fine, I said my peice and they know how I feel. But I'm some glad a bought FULL bumper to bumper warrantee on this bad boy for 2 years.

 

I had the window problem - they did a "re-program" for the coming back down problem, BUT, told me it was considered an adjustment which is only covered 12/12,000 so I had to pay $40 for it even though I had only 33,000 miles. The grease streaks are a common problem; Nissan knows the window motors are a POS so I think they grease the crap out of all the linkages/tracks
to give the least resistance. Mine only appeared on the drivers side and was gone at about 2 years, then I had to have that window motor replaced and damned if the grease reappeared! I'm living with it, don't want Nissan touching my car unless absolutely necessary.

 

so they got back to me....
they totaly disregarded any of the saftey issues raised. No apology. THey did the old empathize with the customer " i can understand your frustration" etc etc. They tried to lie to my face about how the deal went down with the deposit. anywho, Now they want me to prove that the issues with my car would be covered under warrantee. they want ME to go to Nissan dealership and find out. Shouldn't THEY be doing this ****. I have the warrantee with GM... anywho... I also asked the dealership to see what is is going to take to get me out of this POS deal. Wonder what he is gonan come back with. I hope they dont; suggest a trade in.... I am not gonna find anythign i want to trade in on a GM lot, unless they want to give me a vette. ... end of update for now.

 

Brakes and tires are not covered under warranty. Next time you buy a Nissan, buy it at a Nissan dealership. One other thing - in your letter you mention that you would like to see the inspection report? Are you telling us you did NOT even read it? This thread is getting crazier by the minute! Jeesh.