Taking the "Service" Out of the Service Department

In June 1992 I purchased a Nissan Sentra. The car was a joy to drive and, without question, one of the best cars (if not the best) I've ever owned. With over 130,000 miles on the car and hardly a problem (in spite of four company recalls), I was a dedicated fan. When I decided to buy a new car in 2003, I never gave another make a thought. I was a Nissan Sentra owner. I went to Louisville, Kentucky's Collins Nissan and purchased a new 2003 Sentra.

Today, I am a Honda fan. Or a Toyota fan. I'd even consider a Kia. The past five years' worth of ownership have been miserable, and the "service" department of Collins Nissan has compounded the problem.

The problem began about seven months after I purchased the car. The "service engine soon" light came on. The dealership said there was a defective O2 sensor. When they fixed it (after nearly a two-week delay in getting the part), a Keystone Cops skit of sorts ensued. When the O2 sensor was fixed, the "service engine" light came back on for another problem. They fix that problem, the O2 sensor begins showing bad again. Eventually the service department had to call a Nissan technician to find out just what was going on.

The light has gone on repeatedly since then. Given the fact that, as I was told, there are well over 50 different things that could cause the "service engine soon" light to come on, each time it illuminated meant another $95 for Collins Nissan's service department. I had to go there, after all, in the event that the check engine problem was still under warranty. Of course, it never was.

Considering what happened with the most recent excursion into disappointment, I am seriously wondering if those "different" things were so "different." You see, Collins Nissan's service department LIED TO ME regarding the repair of my car. This isn't an opinion, they have been caught in a lie.

In December 2007 my lemon with four wheels stalled on the interstate while I was driving about 60 mph. It was raining, there was a semi on my bumper, and there was no emergency lane. In short, it was a dangerous situation. Thankfully, I made it to the emergency lane, turned the car off, re-started it, and it worked fine, as if nothing had ever happened. The only residue of the incident was the ubiquitous "service engine soon" light. Another trip to the Collins Nissan dealership, another $95 for a check, then an additional $400 for a part.

On March 29, just over three months after the first stall incident, it happened again. This was less than two weeks after that check engine light came on for the umpteenth time ("power steering" I was told was the cause this time). While in the shop I had the cashier print out a service record. Of the seventeen trips I have made to Collins Nissan since November 2003, fourteen of them had been for the repair of the service engine light. Now I was on my way for trip #15, and stalling-in-the-middle-of-a-60-miles-per-hour-drive incident #2.

Collins Nissan's service manager has been less than receptive to my plight. When I spoke to him by phone, making my appointment, I told him how frustrated I was with their lack of ability to fix a simple light switch and keep it turned off, and perhaps I should consider taking my business elsewhere. Those words are anathema to most businesses; however, Collins' service manager told me, "That's your choice if you want."

I called to check on my car and was told that a service technician was out test driving the car to see if he could duplicate whatever scenario had caused the stall. I have NO problem with that. In fact, since their computers showed no problem, that is a logical thing to do, and I would expect no less out of a service department. Two hours later, when I called, I was told the car was still being test driven. An hour later, I was told there was still a test drive in process. Given their fee ($95 an hour) and the price of gas ($3.35), I began to see a taxi meter running my diagnostic bill up to the neighborhood of $500 (not counting the gas being run out after three hours of driving!). As they said nothing showed anywhere, I said I would come pick the car up.

Now for the lie. When I dropped my car off, Collins Nissan's service department registered the mileage on the odometer at 70,546. When I picked the car up the next day, after an alleged three-hour test drive and a note on the service invoice that clearly states, "Car test drove to attempt to duplicate stalling," my odometer read 70,547, or a "test drive" of less than one mile.

Catching your mechanic in a lie this way (this is irrefutable -- their only other option is to say they rolled my odometer back, and that is a federal crime, so I seriously doubt they'll be taking THAT route!) is disheartening, to say the least. The first thing going through your mind, of course, is how many other times have they lied? All of those $95 fees for running a "diagnostic" test on a light that has 50 different causes begins to smell very fishy -- even if it's true. Once a person has been lied to, and at this magnitude and with a fact that is so easily refutable, everything becomes suspicious.

Today I wait for Nissan's corporate office to reply to my complaint. I have asked for them to give me a voucher for free repairs at another Nissan dealership -- which is not, given what I've been put through and especially considering the blatant lie, an unreasonable request. If I do not get satisfaction from them, I will turn to the local consumer advocate, and perhaps even contact the state Attorney General.

It is sad to say, but the fact is that it only takes ONE bad experience to cast a bad shadow over every dealership's service department. I have had good experiences at Byerly Nissan's service (it's their sales department that drove me to purchase the second Nissan from Collins), so I will not give a blanket "thumbs down" to all dealership service departments. But, from my experiences, "service" is nowhere to be found at Collins Nissan.