Darkgentleman
Junior Member
I have a 2016 Nissan 370z Nismo with 6160 miles on it. I took my vehicle to NL Audio (a performance shop) to have an exhaust done. I was told by the owner [referred to as "owner" below] that if I wanted more performance out of my car I should get rid of the catalytic converter and install a tuner (Bully Dog tuner). I told him that as far as I don’t get any warning lights after the job was done that it was ok. He reassured me that it would be ok so *he removed them. *I drove the car for about 100 miles. Throughout the 100 mile drive my check engine light came on several times. I called the owner and he said just to reset it with the bully dog tuner, that he had to order an extension for my o2 sensor and that it was not a problem if I drove it like that. *
After 2 weeks of driving the car *the vehicle stalled out, started to ping and knock. The check engine light came on. I took it the owner at NL Audio and he worked on the vehicle again. After about two hours he suggested that I take the vehicle to the nearest Nissan dealership which I did. I took the vehicle to XXX Nissan in PA. The next morning Nissan service department recommended that the motor and the catalytic convertors be replaced. They said that the person that installed the exhaust didn’t replace all the holes and that’s what caused the damage. They would not cover the repairs because the owner removed the catalytic convertor. The entire morning that I was at Nissan the owner was there too talking to the service manager. After the owner and the service manager finish arguing the owner told me not to worry that he had a friend the works in YYY Nissan in NY. He had the vehicle towed to YYY Nissan at his cost. Once the vehicle arrived YYY Nissan the service tech there (the owner's friend) let the vehicle sit there for 10 days without even looking at it and told the owner he would not work on it and to come pick it up. The owner went to YYY Nissan himself and picked up the vehicle and towed it to ZZZ Nissan in PA. Once the car arrived at ZZZ Nissan the owner told me not to say anything about the bullydog tuner. He disconnected all wires leading to the bullydog and hid thme in the vehicle, this is what I was told by him.
ZZZ Nissan got the vehicle running and said all they had to do was clean the mass air flow sensors. I took the vehicle that night drove home from PA to East S about 50 miles and the very next morning the vehicle had the same symptoms. I had the vehicle towed back to ZZZ Nissan and they said it was the aftermarket parts causing the problem and they would not cover the repairs. But as a courtesy for being a two time Nissan customer they will try to diagnose the problem at no charge to me. After ten days of being at ZZZ Nissan they could not find the problem and would not go any further because it was getting to costly. I then had the vehicle towed to AAA tuner in MB, PA where I had a tech look at the vehicle he also said the motor should be replaced and the owner also came to the shop to hear his diagnosis. At that point I had the vehicle towed back home to East S, PA. The owner contacted me the next day and said he want to tow the vehicle to his shop and put the catalytic converters back on to see if that would fix the problem. I said “do what you have to do”. *The day came for him to pick up the vehicle and the owner was a no show. I called him in the morning and he said he had to contact his lawyer first before he takes the vehicle. *
Here is a side note. I called bullydog and was told by the tech there that the product that the owner put on my vehicle was not really made for Nissan or Toyota and if he put this on my vehicle and removed the catalytic converters it could cause motor damage. I was told by bullydog tech that if he put this setup on my vehicle I will get all the symptoms that I got... I informed the owner and told him to call bullydog and he refuse to do so.
All this time the owner has been telling me that if the warranty did not cover he would do whatever he could to fix my vehicle and that he would submit under his company’s insurance because he installed the exhaust and BullyDog Tuner but now he does not want to respond to the error he has made on my vehicle.
*
My question is to the community does this look like I have a good case? I also spoke to my lawyer and he said to pay for the damages first so we have a set amount to show the mediator. Is this good advice?
After 2 weeks of driving the car *the vehicle stalled out, started to ping and knock. The check engine light came on. I took it the owner at NL Audio and he worked on the vehicle again. After about two hours he suggested that I take the vehicle to the nearest Nissan dealership which I did. I took the vehicle to XXX Nissan in PA. The next morning Nissan service department recommended that the motor and the catalytic convertors be replaced. They said that the person that installed the exhaust didn’t replace all the holes and that’s what caused the damage. They would not cover the repairs because the owner removed the catalytic convertor. The entire morning that I was at Nissan the owner was there too talking to the service manager. After the owner and the service manager finish arguing the owner told me not to worry that he had a friend the works in YYY Nissan in NY. He had the vehicle towed to YYY Nissan at his cost. Once the vehicle arrived YYY Nissan the service tech there (the owner's friend) let the vehicle sit there for 10 days without even looking at it and told the owner he would not work on it and to come pick it up. The owner went to YYY Nissan himself and picked up the vehicle and towed it to ZZZ Nissan in PA. Once the car arrived at ZZZ Nissan the owner told me not to say anything about the bullydog tuner. He disconnected all wires leading to the bullydog and hid thme in the vehicle, this is what I was told by him.
ZZZ Nissan got the vehicle running and said all they had to do was clean the mass air flow sensors. I took the vehicle that night drove home from PA to East S about 50 miles and the very next morning the vehicle had the same symptoms. I had the vehicle towed back to ZZZ Nissan and they said it was the aftermarket parts causing the problem and they would not cover the repairs. But as a courtesy for being a two time Nissan customer they will try to diagnose the problem at no charge to me. After ten days of being at ZZZ Nissan they could not find the problem and would not go any further because it was getting to costly. I then had the vehicle towed to AAA tuner in MB, PA where I had a tech look at the vehicle he also said the motor should be replaced and the owner also came to the shop to hear his diagnosis. At that point I had the vehicle towed back home to East S, PA. The owner contacted me the next day and said he want to tow the vehicle to his shop and put the catalytic converters back on to see if that would fix the problem. I said “do what you have to do”. *The day came for him to pick up the vehicle and the owner was a no show. I called him in the morning and he said he had to contact his lawyer first before he takes the vehicle. *
Here is a side note. I called bullydog and was told by the tech there that the product that the owner put on my vehicle was not really made for Nissan or Toyota and if he put this on my vehicle and removed the catalytic converters it could cause motor damage. I was told by bullydog tech that if he put this setup on my vehicle I will get all the symptoms that I got... I informed the owner and told him to call bullydog and he refuse to do so.
All this time the owner has been telling me that if the warranty did not cover he would do whatever he could to fix my vehicle and that he would submit under his company’s insurance because he installed the exhaust and BullyDog Tuner but now he does not want to respond to the error he has made on my vehicle.
*
My question is to the community does this look like I have a good case? I also spoke to my lawyer and he said to pay for the damages first so we have a set amount to show the mediator. Is this good advice?
Last edited by a moderator:
