About 3 months ago I went to Grote Automotive to buy a car. I found one that I was interested in, so I took it to a mechanic and had it looked over. The mechanic said that it checked out fine. I then took the car back to the dealership and set up to pay for and pick up the car the next day, putting a $500 deposit down then.
I went back the next day, paid for and picked up the car as discussed. I immediately took it to a friends house to have her husband look it over. When we opened the hood we noticed that the antifreeze was almost empty, and it looked like the overflow tank had been blowing all over under the hood. The car came with a 30 day 1,000 mile warranty, so I decided to take it back to them right away and have them look at it.
When I went to leave to go to the dealership, the car wouldn't start the first time. So, when I got back to Grote, I told me about the problems I was having. They looked it over and told me that someone had probably overfilled the anitfreeze. They refilled it, ignored the starting issue, and told me to call the next day if I had anymore problems. I then drove the car back to my friends house, and on home. I went to leave for work that night and not only was the antifreeze almost empty again, I once again had trouble with the car starting.
I talked to many people that night and was told that there was a consumer law that would allow me to take the car back within 3 days, and that I should, because it sounded like it had some major issues. So, that's what I decided to do. I got off work that next morning and went over to the dealership. When I got there I told them that I wanted to return the car because it was having too many problems already.
The sales manager then came out to talk to me and told me that it was not possible to return cars. I mentioned the lemon law and the consumer law and he told me that neither of which applied when you buy a used car. I then told him that I was just going to leave the car there and cancel my payment. At this time he told me he would sue me if I did. So, I told him that in order for me to keep the car he needed to fix both issues.
He told me to leave the car with him and he would take it to his mechanic to have it looked at. The mechanic flushed the antifreeze, saying that there was air in it and the problem should be taken care of. Never was the starting issue addressed. So, I asked what they were going to do about that. The sales manager said that this was just an issue sometimes with older cars and sent me on my way.
So, I continued to drive the car for a couple of weeks, until the service engine soon light came on. I then called the dealership and talked to said sales manager again. I told him that I was still having issues with the car starting and now the service engine soon light was on. He told me to take it to his mechanic and have it looked at. So, I did. The mechanic then said that the throttle body was causing the problem and needed to be replaced. So, they replaced it, Grote paid for it, and once again I was on my way.
I drove the car home that night and had the exact same starting issue. The service engine soon light then came on the next day. So, once again, I called Grote and talked to the sales manager. Once again, he told me to call his mechanic. So, I did. I took the car back to said mechanic, and was then informed that now the fuel pump needed to be replaced.
I called and talked to the sales manager at Grote once again, and this time he told me that they had already put $400 into trying to fix this car, and they would spend no more. When I asked him about the warranty he said that it only covered the engine, and the fuel pump was not part of it. So, any further work that needed to be done I would have to cover myself.
After having their mechanic work on it the previous time, and them replacing something that had absolutely nothing to do with the problem, I decided that it was time to take it to someone else. So, I called a mechanic that I trust and had them look at it. This mechanic told me that there was a misfire code, being cause by a bad head gasket/cylinder. This is a very high dollar fix, which made me very unhappy.
So, once again, I called the Grote, talked to the sales manager, and told him that I had taken the car to someone else. I told him that the problem was the head gasket, which is part of the engine, therefore I felt they should cover the cost, considering I was dealing with this issue since day 1. He told me that he would have to call and talk to his boss and then he would get ahold of me.
Well, of course, I never heard back from him, and he was conveniently unavailable every time I tried to call thereafter. I continued to drive the car, trying to find justice to my issue, until just a couple of days ago, the car would not start at all. So, I decided then to take the car to the Nissan dealership and have them fix it.
They too told me that it was the head gasket and a cylinder that needed to be replaced. So, now here I am, with a car that has these major problems that I've had since the day I bought it, that I am stuck paying for. I do not feel that this is fair at all. I tried to take the car back. I tried to get the dealership to fix it. I tried to contact an attorney, but they said they couldn't legally take action until the dealership attempted to fix the car for a third time. Unfortunately, I cannot get the dealership to do that, so they win. They get to sell me a hunk of junk car, get all their money, and not have to pay another dime to fix it, even though it was under warranty from the day I was having problems with it.
I really hope that everyone that is considering buying a car from Grote Automotive sees this report. I would love to get justice for this situation, but most of all I don't want it to happen to someone else! This has been a very stressful situation, dealing with an unethical and very rude dealership, so please, don't buy Grote!
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