Jut bought m45 from Private Party and dealer is telling me this???

[CocDiezel]

I just bought a 2007 Diamond Graphite M45 with 29k miles from a fella that had absolutely babied the car. He had a Injen Cold Air Intake and Element 114 exhaust installed. He changed the oil himself only using syntehtic, only used premium fuel and only hand washed it. Its in beautiful conditon. So clean that I didnt even need it detailed when I bought it.

So I told the Infiniti saleman I was no longer in the market. This is his repsonse:

"There are alot of Infiniti's that people do not take care of including not doing their scheduled maintaince. If not everything is done, or things are skipped in maintance, your factory warrenty can be voided. And you will be paying out of your pocket to fix the problems, we see it all the time. Not to mention right when you bought that car you have to do a 30k service ( ranges between $900-$1200 ) We got internal record on that car you are looking at and we found this out. it has never been serviced at a infiniti dealership and the only time it pops up on our radar is when it was towed to beaverton of infiniti 3 times in one week for having his exhaust cleaned because its aftermarket and it gets so dirty his engine loses power. All they did was wash the air filter. Just so you know, this car you are looking at is the worst case scenerio infiniti you can buy. With intake and exhaust you know he drove it hard and with no service records your warrenty is voided for sure!!! i allready asked my service manager. If i lost your business to a suckers car i would be devistated. You are doing this guy a huge favor by taking it off his hands because if its a lease he will pay thousands and thousands of dollars in neglecting mainance and aftermarket work. I really want to earn your business and i dont want any infiniti cutomer to get a bad taste with our product. If you dont buy from an infintii dealership you will be another vicim of buying a bad car"

Is this guy on point or blowing smoke to get me to buy from him? I know the previous owner took excellent care of this car, but wasnt sure if I should be concerned...
Modified by CocDiezel at 5:26 PM 6/4/2009

[jbillion]

I think the saleman is using scare tactics to try and get you to buy from him. According to the warranty booklet (extended warranty not factory original) "You are responsible for properly using, maintaining and caring for your vehicle as outlined in your Infiniti Owner's Manual.

Evidence of the performance of required maintenance must be kept and may be need to be presented as proof of such maintenance in connection with related repairs."

No where does it say that the maintenance has to be performed by an Infiniti dealership. As long as the previous owner kept record of all maintenance, you should be OK.

I don't know the price of the 30K service, but the 60K ran me ~$1000.

[marlin29311]

That's the only problem with doing your own service (ie, oil changes, etc) - you don't have a receipt. Sure, you can show that you bought 5 quarts of oil and a filter, but no guarantee you put it in.

Follow up with the dealer and have him show you all of the stuff that he is talking about - just as a little check up. In the end, the person that sold you the car could also have been trying to give you a run for your money too...

Better safe than sorry - good luck!

[maqueswell]

CocDiezel:

The dealer was/is a MORON. You can call Infiniti direct and give them your vin number and they can tell you the history of your new M45. I would call them anyways and give them your updated info ie. name/address so in the rare chance of there being a recall you can be contacted. Here's the below infor for Infiniti:

InformationFor general questions about Infiniti, Infiniti vehicles, and Infiniti Retailers:Infiniti Consumer AffairsP.O. Box 685003Franklin TN 37068-5003800.662.62008:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Eastern / Central Time / Pacific TimeMonday through Friday

Good DayMad Max

[striz923]

I wouldn't buy a car from that guy at the dealer no matter what... what a jerk. The problem is that if he really has talked with the "manager" or whatever, that he is setting you up for headaches anytime the car has a warranty problem. I can hear him now "I told you that this car wouldn't be covered". I would call that meintenance manager and ask him in person if this is true about voiding the warranty. If he says yes, then I would say something like "well I WAS giong to get all of my future services/work done here, but since my warranty is already voided I am going to go somewhere else." I would also call a dealer in a different part of the state to see if you get a consistant story.

I think there is some sort of consumer protection law where the dealer has to PROVE that something you did specifically that caused the problem for them to not honor your warranty.

[jonlex99]

You should call and verify some of this information. But my thoughts are that the salesman is a jackass, and might be upset about losing the sale.

[mazz]

regardless of what the salesman saysyou need to know some factswas the car REALLY towed in 3 times?Who says the guy really takes care of his cars..... got receipts for the oil and filter and other parts used to get to 30ka fancy muffler and clean exterior dont mean jack except the car was clean when you saw it not necessarly last 2 yearseither the seller or the salesman is lying a few receipt or shop bills on towing will prove the pointspa always said just because you got your shoes on dont mean your walkingi dont know what that means but he always said that

[CocDiezel]

Here is the response I got from the seller... oh, btw I had my buddy who runs a tire / mechanic shop do a PPI for me too before I bought it.

"Hi Michael,

That email made me laugh out loud, and it made me a little mad. Wow. I don't even know where to start.

There is absolutely no obligation to have regular service work performed by a dealership to maintain your warranty. In fact, you could do all the stuff right in your garage as long as you don't screw anything up. The proof of burden in denying a warranty claim lays with the dealership. If you failed to clean your air filter for 3 years and clogged something up, somehow destroying a certain part, the only part of the warranty is affected would be that particular part. There's a federal that pertains to this, it's the Magnuson Moss Act. If you add an aftermarket intake to your car and the mass air flow sensor goes bad, then you might have a problem. If the transmission dies, then that obviously has nothing to do with the aftermarket intake. Same goes with the exhaust. If an O2 sensor goes bad, you may have a problem....but the only part of the warranty that is affected will have to do with that part of the warranty that covered the OEM Infiniti exhaust.

As far as the 30,000 mile service goes, yes it is due. However...check VERY carefully what they're charging you for. Ask for a list of things that they perform and only authorize them to do those specific things. The car is only 2 years old and with 30,000 miles, you certainly don't need the radiator flushed, or the air filter changed, the brake pads replaced, and so on and so forth. If I still owned the car I'd probably have the automatic transmission fluid changed, but this is something you can do yourself, or something that probably costs less than $100.

Sorry if I'm going on about stuff you may already know, I'm just picking apart his horribly innacurate email.

As far as the car being towed, it did need to be towed to a dealership in Los Angeles when I was on my trip to Florida and back. The dealership there tried to (unsuccesfully) tell me that my aftermarket intake system caused the car to quit running. The supposedly "did" something to fix it and when I left the car died again. I then got into a very heated argument with the jerk service manager (who sounds very similar in opinion as this guy you got the email from) who in essence kicked me out and sent me down the road to another dealership in Los Angeles. Within 5 minutes the other dealership found out that the main ECU had a grounding problem and they replaced it under warranty without any quesitons whatsover about my intake or exaust. So I'm sure that's what the guy you got the email was talking about, even though his facts are WAY OFF.

It really, really sounds like he's just trying to talk you out of buying somewhere else because - let's face it - hardly anyone is buying cars right now in this awful economy.

I say this with absolutely NO reservation and I give you my word of honor that the car is tip top, was well cared for, and should provide you with many years of trouble free service. In fact, it'll probably be better than it was when I owned it, because the bad stuff (the ECU needing replaced) has already happened when I owned it. And like I said in my online ad, the car was run 100% flawlessly since then.

It's an awesome car. I wouldn't worry about that guy's email. Having said that, anyone can run into problems at the service department (like me.) Just stand up to them and know your rights about service and warrantly laws. I've run into almost as many jerks at the service department as I have in sales. It's REALLY frustrating sometimes.

I hope this helps and sorry for rambling.

Tony"

[szh]

If I still owned the car I'd probably have the automatic transmission fluid changed, but this is something you can do yourself, or something that probably costs less than $100.

I totally agree with changing the ATF every 30k miles. However, don't do this yourself ... get a full powered flush (and remember to use Nissan J fluid only!!!) at a place that has a proper system that cycles the gears while the fluid is being exchanged. The good dealers have this ...

Costs a bit more than $100, but well worth it.

Z

[maxnix]

Yes, you can change the ATF yourself if you own your own BG or Sun exchange machine. Drain and refill is merely diluting the remaining contamnated used ATF (60%) and the detritus it holds.

You must realize that after market intakes and exhaust can void your warranty, so be sure to have the OEM parts to bolt on if a problem develops. Additonally, they may actually decrease power due to poor 9usually not dynamometer bench testing) and increase wear due to inferior intake filtering. You also must be able to verify the OCI with a statement and receipts form the previous owner.

[striz923]

You must realize that after market intakes and exhaust can void your warranty

I have always heard that after market intakes and exhausts definately do NOT void your warranty. I think the guy he bought the car from explained it perfectly. That law says the dealer must PROVE that what you did directly caused the problem you are getting serviced. For instance if your navigation goes bad, they can't say your warranty is voided because of intake/exhaust since they are in no way linkable.

[qship96]

After reading thru this thread, the only MAJOR area of concern that may come back to bite you in the azz is you have NO RECEIPTS for oil changes,which WILL be required to be handed over to the Infiniti gods if you develop engine problems.....in other words, if your engine suddenly starts burning excessive oil{not uncommon on these motors}, or fails,you have NO WARRANTY without written proof of regular oil changes......read your owners manual warranty booklet ,its all spelled out very clearly.

[edh13]

The seller is correct in every way except doing the transmission yourself. There would be no way Joe-car-owner would be able to do a quality job without specialized equip.

You don’t have to keep receipts for service items. No matter what they tell you (Believe me they are all crooks) the burden is on the dealer to prove that you have neglected the area in question and that the negligence has caused the problem that you are requesting warranty work. That includes repairs. The plumber could change your leaking intake gasket. Unless they can prove it was done incorrectly it doesn’t matter. The problem is they will try to convince you that it was the problem and they will not be above using some questionable methods to prove it.

[edh13]

"you have NO WARRANTY without written proof of regular oil changes......read your owners manual warranty booklet ,"

qship, could you please post the section of your warranty booklet that says this...

[Mark Linkous]

I wrote this last week on another of Coc Diesel's threads:Hello,Wow. It is strongly recommended here that prior to purchase to do a PPI (pre purchase inspection) and to run the vin with a Infiniti dealer to see if there is anything amiss. I would guess that your car is a lease turn that obviously had servicing done elsewhere. Given the low mileage, most of the dealer service intervals would pertain to oil changes, balancing and rotation, etc... What is most important is that the car had at minimum oil changes at no longer than 7500 miles. The paperwork must include date, time, mileage etc. If this is lacking, theoretically engine related warranty claims could be denied. Not the entire car though. The Magnussion Moss Act provides a certain protection I believe.The 30/60/90/120 interval is very important. These are the high dollar visits which are essential to having a long service life. The good news is your car has not missed this. Whether at a Dealer or a Independent Specialist, this must be done.

Let's face it, most people who buy a V8 Sports Sedan are going to drive, shall we say, spirited. So I would not worry too much. I would contact the Individual or Dealer to find whatever paperwork could be available. If it is not in Infiniti's system, it will be up to you to have this documentation in the event something major happens. Lame I know.

I would speak to your local Dealer's Service Department and damn sure not a Sales Associate about all of this. I would do it after I tried to assemble all documentation pertaining to your car's former life. Sadly, some who lease cars, treat them with the same respect given to rental cars. Hopefully, this is not the case with yours.

Cheers,ML

[edh13]

If anyone is sucker enough to let the dealer convince them that they are not covering engine repairs because you don’t have oil change receipts deserves to pay.

[Mark Linkous]

Hello,Sucker enough? I think not. You might want to check out the search button as there have been many cases where this has happened. Most of the posts above are written by people who really know their stuff. Maxnix and QShip96 especially. Charming B.S flag emoticon. Hell companies like BMW refuse repair for simply not using the BMW approved oils. You are mistaken.

[MagicM]

Hello,Sucker enough? I think not. You might want to check out the search button as there have been many cases where this has happened. Most of the posts above are written by people who really know their stuff. Maxnix and QShip96 especially. Charming B.S flag emoticon. Hell companies like BMW refuse repair for simply not using the BMW approved oils. You are mistaken.

I completely agree with Mark, i've had a incident where i had to send in one of my land rovers for a warranty problem, and i didn't have proof of oil change on me at the time and they refused to fix the problem. So after phoning up the independent where i get my oil changed and had them fax over my oil change recipes they decided to fix it. Funny thing is the problem had nothing to do with oil ~_~.

[Q45tech]

I see a common thread of misunderstanding in threads.

The WARRANTY is from Nissan Corp.The dealer is an independent business that has 2 sources of income Nissan Warranty Corp and the car owner.The dealer will do anything that Nissan agrees to pay for!The dealer who does not sell you a vehicle has zero obligation to you. Unless you obligate them by paying for work then they inter into a 12 month and 12,000 mile obligation on hard parts they sell you.The point is Nissan depends on dealers for eyes and ears on the warranty but Nissan makes the final call as to what they will pay to repair. Dealers know from experience what is easy and always covered. If they reject your claim up to you to contact Nissan via Regional Service Manager or Nissan Corporate to push your claim and instruct dealer that they will pay the bill.

The only thing required to maintain warranty is LEGAL PROOF of oil and filter replacement at a absolute maximum of EVERY 180 days and 7499.9 miles

You are obligated to maintain the correct levels of coolant and lubes at all times otherwise you are negligent in doing your part.