BoulderMcBonesteel wrote:Wow! Just found out about this problem, and just found this thread. My 1999 Pathfinder XE with 77K miles is at the dealership. Morley called and told me the car was nonrepairable. I was fine with the whole process until the lady from Morley called offering me $2420 for the vehicle. I looked around and found that everyone listing a Pathfinder on Craigslist and Autotrader was wanting $5000 or more for a similar Pathfinder. I emailed the lady from Morley asking why they were using Kelley's blue book and not NADA or Edmunds (both of which value the car higher than KBB). Within a couple of minutes of sending the email, she called me and stated that Nissan only accepts Kelley's blue book, and that she entered my car into Kelley's as a "Very good" condition and if I persued this, Nissan would downgrade me to "fair" condition and the offer would be less. She also stated that since I bought the car a year ago (after the recall notice came out), I should have checked the vehicles recall notices before purchasing it (As if purchasing the vehicle after the recall gets them out of performing the recall somehow?...)
Anyways, I'm confused here. That phone call sounded like "You take what we offer or we'll give you less or nothing!" Does anyone have any suggestions? I really can't replace this car for what they are offering. Not even close.
Here is few ideas that might help-
Very Important Post-
Recalled Pathfinder Resolved and the common complaints against Morley and Nissan Corp regarding the buyback program...
1st Everyone should know Pathfinders/QX4 from 1996-2004 anywhere in the US or Canada are part of Nissan's Buyback program even in California because you’re SUV can still have strut tower rust issues.
2nd If you're car has rust issues in the wheel well on your Pathfinder you're entitle to take in to any Nissan Dealership for inspection free of charge.(The inspection process can take up to 1 day or 1 month in some cases depending on the dealership in your area.)
IF YOU suspect your car will be consider “un-repairable” because of the rusty strut tower issue, be prepared for a long battle. Morley will not compensation for any upgrades such as Premiums Stereo, Bigger Tires, Rims, Alarm, Low Jack, or Car Maintenance done in the last few years, such as new shocks, engine, tranny replacement or upgrades, these will be negotiated by Morley. Morley doesn’t handle any claims if you have repaired the strut tower and Nissan will only address this matter if you have an accident cause by strut tower failure. Nissan has full liability for the strut tower rust problem. They will only refund with receipt of new tires in the last years, battery replacement last year and few other wearable items with only receipt with in the last year. Example I took out my stereo, new tires, jacks, jumper cables, floor mats, trunk cover, car tools and trailer hitch parts before turning in my vehicle. All my personal items were taken out before turned in my car. I had the old tires and I put those on before I turned in the SUV.
VERY IMPORTANT: MAKE SURE YOUR SUV LOOKS THE BEST POSSIBLE, SINCE MORLEYS WILL TAKE PICTURES WHEN NEGOTIATING THE VALUE OF YOUR CAR. THEY WILL USE KELLEY BLUE BOOK PRIVATE PARTY VALUES ONLY!!!! NO NADA, NO Dealership values, Nothing but
KKB Private Party: Excellent, GOOD and FAIR.
Nissan Corp will only issue a free car rental after inspection and the dealership must determine the car is unsafe or deemed repairable.
During this time you are entitled to a car or SUV of same value as part of your rental. So if you need 4x4 SUV as rental then dealership must provide an equivalent rental only people who turned in 4x4 of course. They usually will give you a compact car to save money but you can demand a SUV rental. Also you must contact Nissan Corp to help with the car rental if the dealership is refusing or delaying compensation. Nissan Corp (800-647-7261). If your SUV has been chosen for repair this process can usually take up to a few weeks but should only take about 1 week depending on the dealership workload of course.
3rd Once they have determine your vehicle is part of the buyback program a 3rd party company (Morley's) will contact you. At this point this company will send auditor to inspect your car. They will take pictures and send them back to Morley’s representative who will determine the value of your car. It’s best to make sure your SUV looks the best possible way since this will be your argument on the value. I left the factory hitch on my car but you might pull any of your aftermarket parts that have more value such as wench hitch or plows, expensive Mud tires. They will give you bottom rock for these parts and most case nothing for any add on's. So make sure to take everything out of the car. Once they determine the value of your car, it’s up to you to negotiate a better rate. (I’ve been reading about people needing their car’s and wasn’t in the position to give up their daily drive because of financial circumstance. With that said it’s up to you to make sure you get the most money to offset the headaches. My SUV was really important to me and finding another car was a huge undertaking. I wasted over a month finding the right replacement and it cost more money than I could afford.)
So make sure you negotiate the most money possible! I know for a fact the first offer from Morley’s was there lowest offer. My car was $6000 high blue book and not accepting the first offer I was able negotiate another $2000 in haggling. Once I told them the hardships in finding another car and all the work done in the last two years totaled over $3000 in repairs they came back with additional $1000. The last $1000 was total in receipts on new tires, a new battery and it included labor cost too. So I settle with $8000 for my Pathfinder on the buyback. The negotiating process from the time I dropped my car to the payoff was close to 4 months. I had a new rental car for 4 months paid by Nissan Corp on the dealership's car rental account and $8000 check from Morley’s.(Do not rent a car and expect Nissan to pay you back for the rental, I've read on this forum it was headache getting your money back from Nissan Corp, so make sure it's the dealership's car or car rental account.) I knew months before turning my car that I will have a problem regarding the strut tower so I made all the arrangements beforehand. I had small rust holes on both sides of the wheel well which could easily been repaired according to Nissan Recall notice and I decided to wait until the holes became un-repairable thinking it would take 2+ years. Interesting enough the penny size holes became a huge 18” crack and basketball size rust spot in 12 months. The car was unsafe and I knew then it was the right decision to take this car off the street. It was the right move me to hold on to the car so it couldn't be repaired. Unfortunately that isn't the case for all Pathfinder/QX4 owners. Here is story title under TamiW (
http://news.consumerreports.org/cars/20 ... anger.html) she had MA DMV state inspected and failed inspection and took it Nissan dealership for the recall which they did a crappy repaired job only to have it fail state inspection the second time. According to her headache she can't sell it back to Nissan for the buyback because it's been repaired and she can't drive her car because DMV won't aloud it on the streets because it's unsafe. Hopefully you can learn from these stories and be prepare when setting up your next move on the Nissan Rust Recall. I hope my experience will help the next Pathfinder/QX4 owner.
Good luck!