Long rant....looking for opinions on how to proceed?

[Indy Golfer]

My car has been to the dealership numerous times in the last 5 months, with various issues (some reoccurring). I went to my dealership today and I have never been treated so poorly. I spoke with a service writer and service manager today about issues that I am experiencing.

This is what the manager had to say about each issue:

The seat and steering wheel memory are not working properly when the car is started: The service manager said it has to be something I am doing because they clearly would have tested it when they fixed it on 3/30. The service writer went out and tried it twice and it didn't work either time for her. The manager still wouldn’t accept it and said I could leave the car for a few days and they would 'look into it', but told me they probably wouldn't find anything. I have a real issue with people that instantly come up with excuses and lack accountability, instead of finding solutions. When people tell me they probably won't find an issue, they will usually do everything in their power to prove themselves right.

Continued lack of performance: The car has very little acceleration from a stop and sometimes it makes a squealing noise from under the hood. I test drove a different M45 sport before I bought this one and it drove completely different, the way this car should drive. The car I bought just doesn’t run properly, almost as if the power doesn’t transfer properly from the engine to the transmission. He said the sound I have been hearing is probably the tires, as he felt the tread on the tires. I told him it sounded almost like a serpentine belt and felt almost like a slipping clutch, he said 'uh-huh'. He didn’t seem too interested in any other explanation other than the theory he already came up with.

There are 4 scratches in the navigation screen from when a rattle was fixed behind the screen on 3/30, I reported the scratch on 4/7. Since I didn't report the scratch the same day I picked up the car he said he has a hard time believing their technician could have done that, the technician has worked there for 15 years. What does that mean exactly? Is there a point in time where human beings no longer make mistakes? I have been driving for 18 years, should I cancel my insurance? The reason it took me 7 days to report it was because you can't see the scratches unless light is shining on it at a certain angle. So the first sunny day (4/7) I opened my sunroof and it was very apparent, the scratches go right through the radio station identification number. Keep in mind, this was the first week in April in Indiana so there are days and sometimes weeks when we don’t see the sun. He didn't believe me because of the lapse in time. Like I said, he wasn’t interested in any other possibilities and again showed a complete lack of accountability.

I then asked where the next closest dealership was because I wasn’t happy with the level of 'service' I was getting and the way I was being treated. He told me Cincinnati, Columbus, Louisville and Chicago and I was free to use them. He then said "I'll tell you what, you give me back your loaner key, I'll give you back your key and you can be on your way". He told me that contacting Infiniti Consumer Affairs would serve absolutely no purpose, but feel free to do so.

So I left.

I refuse to believe that I need to travel 200 miles to get a level of service that I expected when I bought an Infiniti. I just want the car to work and be serviced properly, which is why I chose the Infiniti brand over some of the other brands in the same class. I spent more money on this car that I originally planned to. The way I justified spending the extra money was because I wanted peace of mind; clearly I regret that decision thus far. It really bothers me that I am rethinking my car buying decision. I have lost all confidence in the only dealership in my area that can service this vehicle, now I am losing confidence in the vehicle itself

I did contact Infiniti Consumer Affairs, but I haven't heard back from them. Any other ideas? BBB?

[M4T5]

Yeah I feel you man. Infiniti branded vehicles are not what I expected either. They have more problems than other cars in its class.My 07' M45 burns oil and puffs blue smoke upon start-up. They are conducting the oil consumption test on my car, but feel it is a huge waste of time since they already witnessed it blowing blue smoke and the oil level being low. I mean, if it smokes, then what is thepoint of the test??????? I will not accept it blowing out blue smoke!I totally disagree with Infiniti stating if it burns less than a quart of oil per 1000mi then it is acceptable! Yeah right! That's the stupidest thing I have ever heard! It shouldn't be consuming hardly any oil between 3,750mi oil change intervals! My memory seats do not work correctly all the time either.

Infiniti's quality & service is sub par in my opinion!

J

[timecurve]

Oh man, I'm sorry to hear this..... We got 2 Infiniti's in my household, an FX35 and M35. The M is recent and FX we've had since end of 2005. I service both cars at a new gorgeous dealership in Glencoe, IL (Fields Infiniti), and I can't say anything less than fantastic. Superb service, always courteous, willing to go extra mile. Believe it or not this dealership has a bar style kitchen with a full time cook, who is making omlets and grilled cheese sandwiches in the morning. All free of charge.Cannot recall any issues with service in the past 4 years. At the same time it should be noted that so far we didnt have any issues with the cars, so I can't say that this dealeship was willing to investigate and eager to fix every squeak and rattle that I heard, but I sure like to believe that they would do so, should the occasion present itself.The only suggestion (aside from switching a dealership) is to get a consultation with an attorney to see if he could perhaps write a letter to them which will give them a little scare? Does lemon law apply in your case? Perhaps you can threaten them with bad publicity (newspaper, blogs, etc...)?

[InfinitiMe]

Call Infiniti Consumer Affairs, absolutely. You don't know if other people have called in about them. THey may have. You may be the one to mobilize Infiniti to do something. Tell them everything that happened.

In the meantime it's tough to do anything without going to another dealership.

Sucks they're treating you that way.

[ArbitrageMan]

Im huge on customer service, and its really difficult when youre left with no options but to drive 200 miles. Its unacceptable for any dealer to treat you that way. They get paid to do the work. Without you they would have no dealership.

I guess if you need to solve some problems though, call up the next closest infiniti dealer, tell them the problems youre experiencing and ask them for help. Say I need your help in fixing these issues once and for all. Take the car there and leave it with them for a week. Rent a car for the week if you have to. Let them fix all the issues youre having.

In the future have a local mechanic do your oil changes and small maintenance. How often are you absolutely going to need to take your car to the dealer. Once a year? Once every 15 months? Statistically speaking its probably not going to break down on the road. Statistically speaking its not going to need any warranty work. So that means once a year when you do need to go to have a major service done, take a friday off, and take your wife to Cincinatti or Cleveland or Chicago for the weekend. Drop the car off Friday morning, let them work on it and pick it up that evening, and spend the weekend sightseeing...or drinking. Unpractical and inconvenient? Absolutely. But lifes too short to have to deal with stupid dealers, so you might as well make the best of a bad situation.

Your car should not be sluggish. Mine takes off like a rocket!

Definitely call consumer affairs. Ive seen dealers change ownership with excellent results. Ive seen them change for the worse too, but stay positive. Good luck.

[Q45tech]

Important to fully and totally understand that your warranty is with Nissan and not the dealer. The dealer is an independent business [fully protected by your states Franchise Laws]. Which they persuaded legislature to write in their favor in 1960's.

The Dealer has a contract with Nissan to sell cars, sell parts, sell repair services which either Nissan or customer pays for.When a dealer refuses to repair things it is because they have spoken with Nissan and Nissan has refused to pay. Nissan warranty is 90% of their revenue on newish cars.

Up to owner to force Nissan to pay or pay themselves.

Normally Dealers don't get pissed off at owners/customers but it happens.

When they told you to go away they were serious so I wouldn't count on ever visiting them again.Kind of like never sending food back in a resturant unless you like spit or worse.

Sell the car and move on if you don't like driving 200 miles for services.

[M4T5]

Important to fully and totally understand that your warranty is with Nissan and not the dealer. The dealer is an independent business [fully protected by your states Franchise Laws]. Which they persuaded legislature to write in their favor in 1960's.

The Dealer has a contract with Nissan to sell cars, sell parts, sell repair services which either Nissan or customer pays for.When a dealer refuses to repair things it is because they have spoken with Nissan and Nissan has refused to pay. Nissan warranty is 90% of their revenue on newish cars.

Up to owner to force Nissan to pay or pay themselves.

Normally Dealers don't get pissed off at owners/customers but it happens.

When they told you to go away they were serious so I wouldn't count on ever visiting them again.Kind of like never sending food back in a resturant unless you like spit or worse.

Sell the car and move on if you don't like driving 200 miles for services.

Your statement says nothing good or in favor about Nissan and their service.I assume a Nissan dealer could not repair the vehicle??Does it have to be an Infiniti dealer?

Telling someone to sell their car is a bit drastic and totally giving in to this uncalled for situation.Sorry, but I really don't think all Infiniti dealers are fully capable of repairing all the issues these cars have.

J

[InfinitiMe]

When a dealer refuses to repair things it is because they have spoken with Nissan and Nissan has refused to pay.

If that's the case the dealer should be able to provide proof. I would make them call Nissan in front of me, especially if I bought my car from them

[jbillion]

I love Fields Infiniti too. They have always treated me right. Annibal is the service writer I've had twice and Brian is the service manager. They go above and beyond to make the customer happy.

[Indy Golfer]

When a dealer refuses to repair things it is because they have spoken with Nissan and Nissan has refused to pay.

One of my issues is that the dealership, not Nissan, scratched the hell out of my navigation screen and they wouldn't own up to it. What does that have to do with Nissan refusing to pay? That is the dealership not being accountable for your actions. I understand that accidents happen, but own them when they do. They have tried to fix the seat twice (the other day was going to be the 3rd attempt), then said it was something I was doing to it. Is there a clause that Nissan will pay for an attempt twice then it is up to the owner to pay?

Maybe I need to take a trip to Chicago to get these things resolved before my warranty runs out next month, which is probably what Dreyer and Reinbold is waiting for.

[jmcclain01]

Important to fully and totally understand that your warranty is with Nissan and not the dealer. The dealer is an independent business [fully protected by your states Franchise Laws]. Which they persuaded legislature to write in their favor in 1960's.

The Dealer has a contract with Nissan to sell cars, sell parts, sell repair services which either Nissan or customer pays for.When a dealer refuses to repair things it is because they have spoken with Nissan and Nissan has refused to pay. Nissan warranty is 90% of their revenue on newish cars.

Up to owner to force Nissan to pay or pay themselves.

Normally Dealers don't get pissed off at owners/customers but it happens.

When they told you to go away they were serious so I wouldn't count on ever visiting them again.Kind of like never sending food back in a resturant unless you like spit or worse.

Sell the car and move on if you don't like driving 200 miles for services.

Your screen name indicates you might be an Infiniti tech? if so, you should be fired. If not, no problem, you're just stating your opinion and I respect that.

It's a raw deal you don't have any options, companies of any type that don't have any competition can tend to become arogant and complacent. Have you tried talking to the owner of the dealership or someone high up that may not even be in the service department. I can gurantee you that they do not approve of this guys attitude if it is in fact the way he's handling the situation. I would try that and see where that gets you.

[LLJes1]

jbillion and timecurve, Anibal is a personal friend and the reason I purchased my Infiniti in the first place. I met him working for Toyota right up the road and to this day, he STILL gets my Toys serviced! They service my Altima too, since they are a lot of the same maintenance parts.

Fields is great for customer service and Anibal is the best.

IndyGOlfer, I recommend you call Infiniti. I had the same problem in '03 when my ex got one of the first Sentra SE-Rs and the ECU took a c-rap. The ECUs were on backorder for 3 MONTHS and they said because she didn't purchase the extended warranty, they would not provide a loaner while the car didn't move, and it literally didn't move. You turned the car on and put it in gear and all it did was move at idle speed, no matter how much you pressed the gas.

They called the dealer then and there while I was on the phone and told them to give me a loaner then and there. That's what they did for a Nissan, keep calling and you will get results.

I am definitely sorry to hear you are dealing with inconsiderate service follks like that, but come up to Chicago, maybe we can all get together...SIlver lining to everything!

[timecurve]

Perhaps the fact that there isn't another dealership in 200 mile radius allows to them to be arrogant. After all there is nowhere else to go, they dont need to fight for your business and they have you by the balls basically. There are 6 Infiniti dealerships around Chicago, probably another 3 or 4 if you drive 50-60 miles outside of greater Chicago. These guys have to perform top notch to keep customers. In your case they don't. I agree I think you need to request an appointment with the owner if you can get one. If not write him a letter, you never know, it may work.

[ArbitrageMan]

Have you tried talking to the owner of the dealership or someone high up that may not even be in the service department. I can gurantee you that they do not approve of this guys attitude if it is in fact the way he's handling the situation. I would try that and see where that gets you.

Thats a thought.

@Indy, have you thought about going and talking to the salesman who sold you the car. Tell him whats going on, and how youre going to be talking to all your rich friends about the lack of service there.

[ArbitrageMan]

I'd also like to say that its nice to see all the encouragment for the OP. These situations suck, and Im glad to see that this group is supportive.

[Indy Golfer]

I bought the car from a private owner in California.

I really do appreciate all of the support and advice I have received in this thread. I have contacted Infiniti Consumer Affairs as well as tried to contact (phone calls and emails) the General Manager of the dealership. I still haven't heard anything, at this point I am not too confident that it will make any difference. I plan on contacting the BBB this weekend to file a complaint, not sure what good it will do but I feel it is something I must do.

I really should have done a better job of researching the dealership before I bought this car, I have heard a lot of similar stories from other local Infiniti owners.

Thanks again for everyone's help and support

[M4T5]

I bought the car from a private owner in California.

I really do appreciate all of the support and advice I have received in this thread. I have contacted Infiniti Consumer Affairs as well as tried to contact (phone calls and emails) the General Manager of the dealership. I still haven't heard anything, at this point I am not too confident that it will make any difference. I plan on contacting the BBB this weekend to file a complaint, not sure what good it will do but I feel it is something I must do.

I really should have done a better job of researching the dealership before I bought this car, I have heard a lot of similar stories from other local Infiniti owners.

Thanks again for everyone's help and support

How are you contacting Infiniti Consumer Affairs? I would demand to speak to someone in person over this matter instead of leaving a message. Explain to the operator that your warranty is running out and you are being avoided. Do you know of a lawyer to write a formal letter to the dealership and Infiniti Consumer Affairs???I would do it ASAP!! I'm sure there are people with connections on this site that could help you, but they don't seem to want to man up and do the right thing......

J