**posting this for my brother so any responses will come through him whenever he gets time to check this..thanks**

-------

In a nutshell,

I took my 89 Nissan Maxima (195,000 miles) to be repaired by the dealer after white smoke came pouring out from under the hood. I took it to the dealer and they said that I needed a new radiator. So I paid 475 dollars to get that repaired.

The dealer made note of other things wrong with the car. (Temp gauge, Manifold leaks, Brakes) but I am in the process of getting a new car, so I just wanted to get it back in "limited" driving condition.

Less than a week later, The Exact same thing happens to my car. This time they said that one of my hoses went bad. They hadn't detected this problem before even though they claimed to have "pressure tested" the system. This time they said i needed a radiator hose replaced. Another 135 put into the car.

ONE week later, same thing happens. I take the car BACK there again. They dont know what wrong with the car, but they want to take a look at it. They think it may be the thermostat and they offer to fix that for free.

So I leave the car there, and they calll me back and say they still dont know whats wrong with the car. But offer to fix the manifold for 800 bucks.

At this point I said screw that, and went to the dealership and proceeded to discuss the problem (no cussing, no yelling but letting them know I was pissed) for the next 2 hours.

The crux of my argument is why the hell didnt they discover all the problems the first time and then allow me to make a decision to get it fixed/or not. In my opinion, the problem obviously isnt fixed and is the same problem that existed 3 weeks ago. If I would have knowledge that the problem my cost over a grand, or that the problem couldnt be properly and fully diagnosed, then I wouldnt have put ANY money into the vehicle.

The way they talked, they were SURE it was the radiator, I let them fix it, then they were SURE it was a hose, and I let them fix it. Then they THOUGHT it might be the thermostat, and they didnt even follow through and fix that.

I wanted to ask people whom know about cars whether or not I am being reasonable to expectations about the repair work. The service people claim that they fixed the problem that I had, and this is a brand new problem. However the symptoms are always the same. White smoke coming from under the hood and coolant everywhere.

I would like my 600+ bucks back. However, the repair law most often skews towards the repairor. I just wanted to get some opinions from people that know more than me if I decide to go forward with this in small claims court. Even if the repair law isnt of much help, maybe common sense claims would be appropriate.

Even w/o the money, it has become a matter of principle now.The service guy was a asshole. (Rolled his eyes and turned his back on me twice) So his disrepect is motivating me as much as anything. In addition, I wanted to get a new maxima/altima. That damn sure wont be happening through MJ Nissan now.

Hope that makes sense. Thanks for any help.

11/7/2005 12:42:51 PM

you would have been better off taking it somewhere other than the dealership. How hard is it to see where coolant is escaping from? I do think that you were taken for a little ride, though, but proving it is another story.

11/7/2005 12:46:41 PM

^yeah. Make sure it's not leaking from the engine itself or you'll be looking at a pretty expensive fix. Whole engine's gotta come apart for that.

what's the question? Definitely take it to a new shop or zxappeal if he can fit it on his schedule..

135 to replace a hose, g'damn!

sounds like a thermostat issue to me. tell them to go ahead and fix it for free like they said they would, then get your car outta there and to a more respectful place (if it's not the thermostat)

manifold has nothing to do with overheating

[Edited on November 7, 2005 at 12:52 PM. Reason : ]

11/7/2005 12:51:09 PM

in 2001 we bought a nissan pathfinder from there
we had horrible service from them till the day we sold that thing

11/7/2005 12:54:36 PM

its because hes black

11/7/2005 12:56:10 PM

600 dolla is chump change in today's service industry.

I have to say that taking it to the dealer was NOT the smartest move in the first place. Sure, they're trained to work on those cars, but it's really easy to find an independent garage that's had an assload of experience with 'em by now.

My rule of thumb is only go to the dealer for in-warranty repairs or if they gave you a full-service incentive package when you bought the car. Three or four years after a car has been out on the market, the documentation and knowledge to properly service it has pretty much become available to ALL shops and technicians, and believe me, there are LOTS of shops that are cheaper and offer the same level (and in many cases much better) of service.

An old car is a big turnoff to the dealership shops because it's not a huge money maker. They tend to really overbid the job in hopes that you will take it elsewhere. If you fall for it, they make their money (but they still think of it as a HUGE pain in the ass). If you don't, then great...because they can spend their time doing added-value selling of (sometimes not-so-needed) services to people with nicer cars and the money to spend on them.

For future reference, call Rex @ Happy Jap's in Cary @ 467-2884. He's good and trustworthy.

I also do a lot of services on Japanese cars, and I've spent a lot of time working on Nissans. But I work out of my garage.

11/7/2005 12:59:01 PM

Damn man... that sucks, i'm sorry to hear about it. I can't believe they didn't try to replace the thermostat first. I mean what's a thermostat $10 retail? $30 for top of the line? And take what, 30-45 min to replace? I hate dealerships for service.

11/7/2005 1:30:46 PM

HOLY SHIT

~500 FOR A RADIATOR???

11/7/2005 1:32:05 PM

Quote :

"I wanted to get a new maxima/altima. That damn sure wont be happening through MJ Nissan now."

Go to the sales manager and tell him that

11/7/2005 1:33:22 PM

^^^^And I don't know this zxappeal guy, but from what i've read he seems like an honest guy who knows a thing or two about a thing or two. Don't underestimate garage mechanics.

[Edited on November 7, 2005 at 1:35 PM. Reason : .]

11/7/2005 1:35:11 PM

Parts are expensive from the dealer period. Nissan thinks *each* of the wheels on my Maxima are $595.

11/7/2005 1:36:47 PM

The sales side of MJ is just as sketchy. I was looking at some cars there and I noticed the "MJ Signature Service" that tacked about $600 or something like that onto each car. I asked the salesperson what that was and he told me something like the first three oil changes are free and you get a shuttle bus (not even a loaner car) to Durham/RTP when you take your car in for warranty service. Long story short; I didn't buy the car they were trying to sell me.

Some time passes and one of my roommates decides he wants a car that they have on the lot. I told him about the "MJ Signature Service." I recommended that he negotiate a price and then after agreeing on a price say that he doesn't want that one item. He worked in Raleigh, so the shuttle bus was worthless to him and the oil changes weren't worth $600. THE SALESPERSON WAS PISSED. They wouldn't agree to remove the charges. If there is a line item added to the invoice of the car, you have every right to choose not to buy it. It's not like an option that they had already installed.

The salesperson was really pushy and wanted to run his credit even though he already told them that he would be financing through SECU. He finally agreed and the guy asked him to sign two papers approving the credit check. He read and signed the first paper, but the second one caught his attention. THE SECOND PAPER WAS A FUCKING BILL OF SALE. WTF? HOW DO YOU TRY TO TRICK SOMEONE INTO PURCHASING A CAR? My roommate just left.

Sketchy as fuck.

11/7/2005 1:49:40 PM

Thanks for the responses.

I know that taking it to a dealership is hardly ever the right move, but when youre driving down 40 and your car starts smoking, you kinda want to get it to a place where you know they can fix it and you know the location. In hindsight, this was a dumb ass move.

It is impossible for me to tell where the leak is coming from. ALL I see is smoke and green Predator blood coming out.

Of course when I asked the guy why he didnt fix the thermostat, he said that it ended up not needing it. He also said that it was a 250 dollar part, so that shows you how full of shit they are.

Rest assured, I wont make the same mistake again, but I have had shady "regular" garage guys as well. I will definetely do more research next time. I might even be contacting you Zx. I am buying a new car (Charger -- I will make another thread for opinions on that), but I would like to have another car in driving shape for going to work and stuff.

Thanks alot though. I am still trying to figure out what I am legally able to do and have an appointment with the Sales/complaint supervisor to talk about the incident.

11/7/2005 3:24:55 PM

$250 thermostat? was that just the part cost or was the part + labor to replace it? Good gosh!

http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductList.aspx?parttype=133&ptset=A&searchfor=Thermostat+-+OE+Replacement

11/7/2005 4:47:54 PM

i paid 115 for the radiator and replaced it myself in the celica geez louis 800 !

11/7/2005 4:52:31 PM

I own a Land Rover and you can be certain I do my own maintenance / repairs, although shes been a sold as a rock to date.

*knocks on wood*

11/7/2005 5:04:21 PM

Quote :

"ALL I see is smoke and green Predator blood coming out."

hmmm thats not good. wait for the smoke to clear and try looking for it again (wet surfaces etc). the "pretty expensive fix" I mentioned earlier is because when you overheat like that (and keep trying to drive the thing), the engine gets so hot that engine mating surfaces get warped and coolant/oil start mixing and/or leaking out.

if your car just instantly starts leaking when you start it now, this might be the case

if not, i'm leaning towards thermostat or water pump

[Edited on November 7, 2005 at 5:11 PM. Reason : yeah worst case scenario happened to me and my sister's camry ]

11/7/2005 5:08:30 PM

yeah man, i can't believe they didn't replace the two mose likely culprits for overheating/running hot (thermostat and water pump). Like zx said earlier, older cars are not usually dealership's favorite cars to work on, you'd think they'd try to get you fixed up in a hurry and out the door.

You should raise hell till they do everything but give you a new car for free!

11/7/2005 5:12:36 PM

and that my friends is why i will never ever go to a stealership ever again......and the fact that two stock replacement front sway bar links installed on my jeep cost me 250 bux. and then i learned to work on my own shit.

11/7/2005 5:40:17 PM

what were you doing taking an 89 to a dealer?.....how did you let them charge you 135 to put a hose on?......why did you pay 475 for a radiator?

what you should have done was payed the diagnostics fee and taken your car home or to another shop......ordered the parts yourself cheap and not paid dealer labor

11/7/2005 6:10:28 PM

You just payed in parts and labor what your car is worth. I would bet water pump.
I can come take a look at it tomorrow if you'd like. I can't promise I'll find anything, but it's worth a shot. Free service is better than any stealership.
I drive the same car as you (well a '91), so I know a few things about it.

11/7/2005 6:20:39 PM

should have went to zxappeal

11/7/2005 6:54:30 PM

It's very possible that all that your car needed at the time was a radiator, and the second time all that it needed was a hose. The dealer can run checks, but they can't see the future. I would second an independent garage notion, but there's certainly shady indy garages as well. I wouldn't throw parts on a car (ie waterpump, random hoses), but one has to imagine the thermostat could be replaced easily, and certainly doesn't cost over $50 for whatever type, let alone $30.
Ahmet

11/7/2005 7:40:19 PM

file a complaint with the atourney general

11/7/2005 7:56:23 PM

^Or the Attorney General, either way

11/7/2005 8:12:32 PM

I wish I was competant enough to do my own repairs. I build my own computers, but Im prety sure they are apples and oranges and all I need for my PC is a screwdriver.

Yeah, in hindsight I definetely should have done a full diagnosis, but like I mentioned before, I definetely needed a car. And I have a "grown person job" now. I dont feel right calling in and saying "aw shit man, I dont have a ride." But the lesson was definetely learned, and I will make sure that i dont make the same mistakes again. Live in learn. And I will definetely be asserting my rights to inspection for now on.

I might end up getting a second opinion, but im getting a new car by the end of the week, so if i drop any more money into it, it damn well better be fixed.

I know they cant see the future, but when they want to fix something they should be pretty sure they are getting to the problem. Especially the 3rd time around.

Im gonna see what I can do legally, but more than likely its nothing. Im sure roy Cooper is too busy trying to shut down meth labs than to deal with my problems

11/7/2005 8:48:54 PM

Quote :

"The sales side of MJ is just as sketchy."

I called them one time asking if they were having their Triangle Z car club show that day, and the guy starts trying to sell me a 350Z over the phone... I was like uhhhh. Granted, you need to expect that kind of shit from a salesman, but it was just obnoxious over the phone.

11/7/2005 10:58:35 PM

You can always add this information to
http://www.ripoffreport.com/

11/8/2005 7:59:44 AM