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Problems post-purchase of a vehicle, I'm unsure what options are open to me

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kamcknig

New member
North Carolina

This is a bit of a read. I am not exactly sure what I want out of this issue. I have had the thought that instead of dealing any longer with the dealership that I would simply like to return the truck. Pre-emptively, in case they deny me, I'd like to know if I have a case to force the issue, or if I have any other options for redress.




I purchased a 2022 Nissan Frontier on June 24th, 2023, a Saturday. I was promised that the broken key fob would be replaced or fixed, that a tow package would be installed, and that a dent on the driver door and the scratches on the truck would be fixed. I was told to call back on Monday to schedule the repairs.

While I was at the dealership, the financial officer was incompetent. She did not know how to work the technology they used for signing documents, and she constantly forgot to have me sign papers and therefore had to continuously go back to resign papers in other places. Afterward, I had to wait longer for the truck to be detailed. Multiple times by my sales rep I was told it wouldn't take long. Three hours later I went to dinner with my partner and came back, the truck was still not done, and I waited at least another hour. The sales rep also told me that the fuel tank would be filled, but when he tried, his gas card wasn't working, so he offered $40 cash from his own money. He then never gave it to me before I left, and I did not ask for it as that felt very awkward. The truck also, had not had an oil change since December of 2022 according to the sticker. Nissan had not changed it either before selling it to me. I did not notice this at first and later asked them to add it to the list of repairs already promised, to which they agreed.

I called on Monday the 26th first thing in the morning and no one answered. I left a voicemail asking to receive a call back. I did not receive a call the entire day; an hour or so before Nissan was scheduled to close, I called again and still received no answer, but I didn't leave a voicemail this time. I then called in the morning the next day on the 27th and spoke to someone that told me he would leave a message for my sales rep to call me. I never received a call that day. I do not enjoy hounding people, so at this point I decided to wait as I was not really in a hurry. I assumed he was simply busy. On July 5th I emailed my sales rep using an email given to me during purchase to send him insurance documents. I never received a response. I called again on July 17th, this time calling until I could speak to a manager. I believe his name is ***. He took my information, I relayed all that I have written so far, and he told me that he would set it up and call me back in 30 minutes. I never received a call back until that evening or the next day. He told me to bring the truck in on Monday, July 24th, and I did so.

I drove 45 minutes to Nissan and was given a loaner; another Frontier truck on Monday morning. The truck was poorly detailed with trash still in it, and the fuel tank was not filled. I drove 45 minutes back to Asheville to begin work. I received a call around 10a from Nissan asking me to bring the truck back because they had sold it. I left work to drive 45 minutes back to Nissan. I then had to wait an hour while there before receiving another loaner rather than having it ready for me. Once again, this loaner was not detailed and did not have the fuel tank filled. I drove 45 minutes back home, wasting half of my workday.

On July 27th, I received a call from my original sales rep informing me that the hitch would arrive at the dealership on the following day, the 28th. again, so asked if I would be able to drive the loaner back yet again to the dealership as they were looking at selling it. I had dinner plans and told him he could come and pick it up there if it was necessary. Instead of telling me that he wouldn't interrupt my dinner, he informed me that he would let me know if it was necessary. I did not receive a call that night. On July 29th or possibly July 30th, I received a text from the dealership asking me to call because they had sold the loaner, I was in. I called and told them they could come pick it up as I couldn't continue to waste workdays, and they agreed. The loaner they left me had low tire pressure, the fuel tank wasn't filled, and yet again was not detailed, with trash left in the cup holders. The person that delivered the vehicle also told me that I would be receiving a call from my sales rep that day about the truck. I received no call.

Once again, I decided to simply wait it out. However, I also started to notice that it had been over a month, and I still had not received any financial info on the loan and how to pay it. On Tuesday, August 1st I called at 1:10p and left a voicemail with the finance department. I called back at 4p three times attempting to get ahold of anyone, and each time was sent straight to voicemail. I then called the sales department and was sent straight to voicemail as well. I left pretty much the same voicemail, asking someone to call me about the finances. This was very important to me. I did not want to miss a payment, so I also wrote up a very long message about all of this and sent it via Nissan's website through their "email/text" system, to their Instagram account, and to their Facebook account. I have known businesses to respond very quickly via social media when there is a problem, and I was getting a little worried.

I received no response back that day or the following morning. I finally got ahold of someone the following day, Wednesday, August 2nd, and once again I had to force the issue and ask for a manager. I believe this manager’s name is N. N took all this information I have mentioned to this point and told me she would help me out. She put me on hold first to check out the truck repair situation. She told me that the truck was completely done in the service department and the last thing that needed to be done was for the tow package to be installed. This seemed strange considering they should have had the hitch available to them for over a week, but I did not say anything. She told me that the truck would be done that day possibly, or maybe the next August 3rd. She then transferred me to the finance department so I could get that straightened out. The person I spoke to there asked if I had received a flash drive. I had not, so she had another peer send the documents. It was, however, a misunderstanding, as they were simply the papers I had already signed, still with no way of paying for the loan. I then had to call back and speak again to N. It was finally figured out that the papers were never filed on their end with the excuse being that the finance person that took care of my account was "no longer with them." While this did not surprise me, I received no calls in that month informing me of this, or of any financial issues at all. When I got off the phone with N, she told me that she would call me with an update on the truck because it was supposed to be ready that day or the next.

I did not receive a call from N on the 2nd or the 3rd by 2p. On August 3rd at 1:37p I called and asked to speak to N and was told that she was not working that day, despite having told me that she would personally call me with an update. The sales rep that picked up the phone told me that he would find out an update on the truck and call me back within five minutes. By 2:28p I had not received a call back. I called again and was sent straight to voicemail where I left a message asking for an update. By 4:05p I still had not received a call. I called back and once again asked to speak to a manager. I was transferred over and sent straight to voicemail. I did not leave a message but instead called back immediately at 4:07p. I asked to have the phone handed directly to the manager or barring that I would simply wait on hold. I waited on hold, and when the manager picked up, it was M again. He told me that he would get an update and call back in five minutes. It was about half an hour before I received a call from a phone that he told me was his personal number and to use it if I needed further help. He guaranteed me a date of Saturday, August 5th to have the truck completed.

By Saturday 3:30p I had not received an update. At this point I started a text conversation with M at the number he had given me:

Kyle: "No word yet today on the truck. I assume the shop is closed fairly soon as well. I'd at least like another key fob as a backup ordered for all the trouble this has been."

M: "It's ready! I thought we agreed on Saturday! My apologies."

Kyle: "Well this is Saturday. Unsure why I wasn't called then yet again. I now don't even have time to pick it up today. So I will be in tomorrow."

M: "We close in Sundays!"

Kyle: "Of course. So I reiterate. For all the trouble, I really feel like I should get something out of this."

...No response for 10 minutes

Kyle: "Do I even get an explanation about why I wasn't called today? I have never cared about the time it has taken, what has been the problem is communication. Not a single person is called me unless I have forced the issue with a manager."

Two minutes later I received a call from M. He informed me that the truck had taken so long because they still had to buff out the scratches. The truck at this point had been with them for two weeks, and I had been told by N a week prior that everything aside from the hitch was done. This was incredibly upsetting, but M told me that, “they were doing all they could for me.” This is obviously not true, and I told him so.

continued in a comment...
 


kamcknig

New member
On Monday, August 7th, I drove 45 minutes to Nissan to arrive there at 6:55a. Google's Maps app reported that their service department opened at 7a. However, the sign on their door read 7:30a. Thinking google might not have been updated, I checked Nissan's website and confirmed that they opened at 7a, not 7:30a. This begins the frustration of this encounter. A service rep in the garage noticed me and opened the door. I would like to send praise his way; in all of this, he might have been the only helpful person. I told him I was there to pick up the truck and he couldn't find the key and asked which service rep I was working with. I told him that I wasn't directly dealing with service, that it was through a new sales purchase. This is when he informed me that sales would have the key, and he had no way of getting it. M declined to inform me of this detail.



I texted M cell at 7a, "I'm here to pick up the car. They don't even have the key." I didn't expect a response immediately, but rather than wait, I called the number and was sent straight to voicemail. I left a message, informing him of the situation, and asking why I was not told. It was also important that I get the truck as soon as possible, yet again this was during a workday. I had arrived so early in order to be ahead of the traffic going back home. I never received a response.



At 8a, one hour before the opening of the sales department, a sales rep walked outside and asked if I could be helped. I simply informed him I was waiting to pick up a truck. He invited me in and went to get my sales rep. My sales rep then told me that I'd have to wait, the keys were locked up. I waited until 9:10a. At which point the sales rep came back to inform me that it would be ready in half an hour because they had to program the key fob. I had already been told by N a week ago that the only thing left was the tow hitch, I had been informed by M the previous Saturday that the truck was ready to be picked up, and yet here I had to wait yet more. At 9:30a I was informed by my sales rep that they could not program the key fob; that it was still broken in the same way. Instead of simply offering to get a new key fob, they chose to send me home with the broken one and told me that they would have to email the manufacturer and would call me back when I would yet again have to bring the truck back in.



At 9:43a I left the dealership with the truck. I once again noticed the truck was not detailed nor had the gas been filled. I pulled into a gas station to refill the tank and walked around it. The tow hitch had been installed and most of the scratches had been buffed out. However, the dent still had not been fixed. In addition, the temporary tag first put on the car had expired, and they neglected to replace that while they had it in their possession. I once again texted M's cell.



"So after waiting two hours, I'm told to wait another half an hour because the key fob isn't programmed. Yet was told by you that the truck was ready Saturday. And apparently the key can't be programmed as it's still broken, so they have to contact the manufacturer. But I was told everything was done on Saturday. I've also now inspected the truck and the specific dent that I asked to be removed at time of purchase has not been removed."



I received no text or call back.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
Simply returning the truck is not an option unless they agree to it.

Beyond that, yours appears to be a straightforward contract issue. You contracted with them to do XYZ, and they haven't done Y and part of Z. You should get a quote to have the work done from another entity and see if they'll pay for it.
 

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