Rethinking my Juke purchase

[bookdeity]

So I got my Juke on Labor Day weekend and was really excited about it. It's sporty & fun but it's been in the shop 4 times in the 2 1/2 months I've had it! I bought it as a certified used car from a Nisssan dealership. It's a 2011 SL and purchased it with just under 42,000 miles. Luckily I bought the extended warranty (by accident...long story) so all of the repairs are covered but the hassle of taking it in and having to get a loaner car is a huge pain in my a**.
First, the wheel bearing had to be replaced within a week of purchasing the car. About 3 weeks later I took it in because the DSC light wouldn't go off. During that trip they noticed it wasn't sounding right and ended up replacing the timing chain and some other parts. Less than 2 weeks later I took it in becasue it was surging while it was in idle. When I took it in they couldn't replicate it, but at least it hasn't happened since. I just took it in again yesterday because it had been making a creaking/clunking sound from the wheel areas when turning. Another thing happened when I started to take the tech on a drive so he could hear the creaking. The car didn't want to recognize the key fob was in the car. It happened a week or so ago but it finally worked so I didn't think anything about it.
The whole reason I bought a "new to me" newer car was to not have to worry about things going wrong since my husband is about to deploy again and didn't want to worry about me. I know it's covered by the warranty, which essentially is still out of pocket since it was another $1800 on top of my purchase price. My husband is ready to walk into the dealership and demand my money back, but I don't think that is an option. I did my research on the Juke and read how reliable it is, etc. But I'm thinking my 2002 Camry I traded in was a more reliable car than this one. Now I feel stuck with a lemon!

[Rogue One]

Used-Car Lemon Laws

Currently, though, only six states — Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico and New York — have used-car lemon laws on the books. The laws provide a statutory used-car warranty, often based upon the age or mileage of the vehicle. If the vehicle exhibits problems during the warranty period, the dealer gets a chance to repair them. If those fixes don't work after several tries, the dealer usually must either replace the car or refund the buyer's money.
http://www.edmunds.com/auto-warranty/my ... th-it.html

[bookdeity]

Rogue One: I live in Georgia, so I'm out of luck there. The other thing is that each time I go in, they fix the current problem but then something else breaks down a couple of weeks later. It's as if this car is just slowly falling apart at only 45,000 miles! I started talks last week to see what the dealership will do as far as taking it back or replacing it, so we'll see.

[Rogue One]

Sorry to hear that. I did a little more research and found some contacts that might prove helpful.

Georgia Commission on Dispute Resolution http://www.godr.org/

Judy Wheeler, Nissan Regional Vice President, Southeast Region. Email: [email protected] (unverified)
Takehiro Terai, Vice President, Total Customer Satisfaction (TCS), Nissan Americas. Email: [email protected] (unverified)

Nissan Consumer Affairs
P.O. Box 685003
Franklin, TN 37068-5003
Phone: (800) NISSAN-1 (or 800-647-7261)
Monday through Friday:
7:00 AM to 7:00 PM CST

[bookdeity]

That is great! Thank you for the contacts. My limited research hadn't turned up The SE region VP or the TCS VP.

I've called Consumer Affairs and spoken to a regional specialist once, but since then I can't get a return call when I leave her a voicemail.

I will definitely try the others now. Thank you!

[Rogue One]

You're welcome! I hope you've kept records of everything that's transpired. Take a moment and start a journal, this will help keep you focused and organized.

Even though Georgia has no specific laws covering used car lemons, I would still speak to a lawyer. For a starting point, go to the National Association of Consumer Advocates website http://naca.net/ and locate someone near you. They may not be able to help you themselves, but might be able to point you in the right direction.

BTW, have you been in touch with Office of the Attorney General?
http://law.ga.gov/
1 Main St, Marietta, GA 30062
(770) 565-6855

[bookdeity]

Update: I finally heard back from Consumer Affairs and Nissan has offered me $250 in service credit which was kinda pointless since my repairs have all been under warranty.

What I ended up doing was trading it in at another dealership for a used 2013 Juke SL with 2,200 miles for only $2,500 more than I paid for the other one. Hopefully this one will work out better for me.

[dkmuramoto]

How's the 2013 Juke SL been as far as reliability?

[bookdeity]

It's been great! I haven't had any problems with it at all. With the cold weather recently, the tire pressure decreased enough for the light to come on, but that was fully expected, though it took a little longer than I'd anticipated for it to re-equilibrate after it warmed up (2-3 days after temps above freezing). I have noticed that I don't seem to get any better gas mileage with Eco than I do with Normal. (about 20-23 mpg)