The following dates and quotes will come directly from the customer copies, that we have of work invoices, from Rosen Nissan dealership. We purchased a 99 Geo Prism from Rosen, on Oct 12,03. It had approx 56,800 miles on it. The car was purchased for $9,885, 42. When we purchased it, it had the following list of problems:
Check Engine Light ON Driver door inside door handle broken 5 star crack in windshield, which later spidered across entire windshield Half of the dash board lights were burned out We were told to bring the car in on the 17th of Oct, for repairs. The repairs on the 17th, took place under service adviser, Tom Mills.
The invoice from that afternoon says the following:
Check Engine Light/Tune Up, Purge Valve
1 plug wires
4 spark plugs
1 purge solenoid valve
Install door handle No work performed on windshield - gave us a # for a private contracter who could fix it at no cost Replace dash light bulbs This was all done for no cost. I need to say, that when we purchased the car, we also purchased the 24 mo/24,000 mile extended warranty, through Wynn's Extended Car, Inc. I picked up the car, on the afternoon of Oct 17th. I was told everything was fixed, with the exception of the windshield. Upon leaving the dealership, and driving approx 2 miles, the check engine light went back on.
My roommate, who purchased the car, called immediately after I let her know about the light. She spoke with Tom Mills, as she specifically asked for him. She reported the light was back on, and he told her that it had been fixed, it was not a problem. He told her it probably needed to be reset, but not to worry about it. We were not aware that anything was actually wrong with the car at this time, so we took Rosen's word that the check engine light was just a nuisance, not a reason for alarm.
The light remained on for months and months. We next brought the car in on July 23,03. At this point, the car had 70,249 miles on it. Roughly 13,449 miles had been put on the car, but it was well within the 24 mo / 24,000 extended warranty. The customer copy of the work invoice for the 23rd of July, states that they resecured an oil drain plug. It also states that the customer reports the MIL on, but no work was performed at that time. We had also asked them to replace the dash bulb lights yet again, because half of them were burned out. We were going to be charged $87 tax, so we declined to have them replaced.
At this point, when we made it known that the check engine light was still on, as is reported on this invoice, we were told that we would be charged a $90 diagnostic testing fee, if we wanted to find out what was wrong with the check engine light. We refused, because this had been an ongoing problem since the day we bought the car, and we didn't feel as if we should have to pay for any testing, if the mechanics hadn't fixed the problem the first time around. Service advisor Bob Bargender would not budge, and we declined to have diagnostic testing run, due to lack of funds.
On Dec 18,03, we brought the car back in, because the car would not start. A new starter was ordered, and we paid for the deductible, which was $84.48. We again discussed the check engine light, this time with service advisor Felipe Navarrette Jr. We told him that they light had never stayed off, after the mechanics had fixed it. We told him that Tom Mills had advised us that it just needed to be re set, but was not a mechanical problem. Mr. Navarrette Jr agreed that if we were told the car had been fixed, then it was fixed. We were given the option once again, to pay the $90 diagnostic testing fee, but once again, we declined due to lack of funding and principle.
We took the car in two more times after that, for general oil changes. We also needed to take the car in on 2 seperate occasions, because the doors would not shut, when it got cold outside. They would slam and then fall open, but not click and close. The mechanics sprayed something on the inside, and the doors worked properly, for another few weeks or so.
We would like to note, that on the last time we took the car in to have an oil change, we picked it up, and upon pulling onto 27th st, the car hood popped ajar. We drove home and tried to resecure the hood, however the inside latch had been stuck open, and we could not manually get the hood the close. We took the car in and dealt directly with Tom Milz. He had a mechanic look at it, and he was able to resecure the latch inside, after 15 minutes of fiddling with it. I asked Mr Milz, why our car would be sent out to us, with the hood latch stuck down, and the hood stuck ajar. He told us that his mechanics would never let a car leave the lot in that condition, and we must have done it ourselves. To this day, if we need to open the hood for anything, it remains stuck ajar for days on end, until we either take the car back in, or grow tired of it, and just ignore it.
Last winter, after having reached a dead end with the mechanics deparment, we had a meeting with Rosen's owner, Jeff Rosen. We told him about the condition of the car when we bought it, we explained that the check engine light had gone back on, immediately after leaving the dealership, on Oct 17,02.
During the meeting, Mr Rosen laughed at us, and stated that he couldn't beleive we were coming to him with that problem, after we'd put so many miles on the car. He asked us how we knew, that something wasn't wrong with the car, but that it went wrong on our watch, after the warranty expired? We told him that we didn't think it was fair, that he wanted to charge us for diagnostic testing, when we felt it was the fault of dealership in the first place. He called the service dept, to get our records. He also talked to Tom Mills, who told him that he never told us that the light just needed to be reset. Mr Mills claims that he told us to bring the car right back in. I had the car that day, because I had dropped my roommate off at work. I live less than 7 minutes away. My roommate called immediately after I'd called her, to tell her the light was on. Why would we have refused to bring the car back in? I would've had all afternoon to do so. Why would we refuse to bring the car back in, as Mr Mills supposedly claims he requested, and then ask the mechanics about the check engine light, every single time we went back into the garage? Why would we refuse to bring the car back in that afternoon, if we were going to end up sitting infront of the dealerships owner, demanding that it finally get fixed? Mr Rosen laughed, and said he had obviously sold us a car that gave us good miles, and if something was really wrong with the car, it wouldn't have lasted that long. I asked him honestly, if he'd feel comfortable driving around this car, with that check engine light on. He said honestly, yes, because the car hasn't been giving you problems, has it? Then he told us, the worst case scenerio is that it won't pass emissions in a year, when we have to get it tested. We asked him to cover diagnostic testing at least, so we could know for sure, and he said no, that was unneccesary. He relented and said he'd pay for half of the diagnostic testing fee, but we still refused, because by then, he'd mocked us and insulted us.
As he predicted, we failed emmissions, and the check engine light was a precursor to something being wrong. We now are faced with having to purchase an evap cannister and a purge control valve. This will run us with labor, upwards of $700.00
This problem could have been alleviated, had Rosen fixed the problem 5 days after we purchased the car. It could have been remedied, had Tom Mills and countless others, not assured us that the car was fixed, and the light was a nuisance, but nothing more.
What makes this situation unconsciousable, is that both the service dept and Jeff Rosen, have lied in the face of what the actual facts are. They see how many times we've had the car in to be looked at. The invoices state whether or not the customer mentioned the check engine light being on. Some of these instances fell well within the warranty guidelines. And they still refused to do their job, and fix the problem that they left the first time.
Mr Rosen stated that if we get our car repaired at Rosen, that he will cut us a 15% deal on the price. I cringe, and then I laugh. We don't owe him anything. He sold us a car that has been nothing but problems. And his dealership failed to live up to their basic duties, in fixing the original problems. And they've all just lied the rest of the way, even though their lies don't make one shred of sense. We want this cars problem fixed for free, like it should have been.
On one final note, I have a family member who is a mechanic for Ford. I called him recently, to tell him this situation, and ask him if he could call around and find these parts for us. He was appauled at how Rosen treated the situation, and said his dealership would never let a customer walk off the lot, that unsatisfied with their service. And he said his dealership would never mock or laugh at a customer, and tell them the cars problem was their fault.
I don't know if this is how Rosen treats all it's customers, but we are both livid. I threatened Mr Rosen, with taking this situation to the local investigative news team. I never did so, because I thought he would sit down and listen to us. Now that we are faced with a potential $700 mess, their mess that they never figured out how to fix, I am going to take this wherever I need to, until we get some answers.
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