ComplaintsforNissan of North Olmsted, LLC

• Initial Complaint

  09/08/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On August 18th I called the service department at Nissan of North Olmsted, because that's where I bought the car. I spoke to Michael, who I believe is the manager, and asked him how much would it be to replace the on-board charger in my 2012 Nissan Leaf. Michael told me that he doesn't know for sure but he knows the cost is mostly for the part as the labor is minimal. He also explained to me that they only have one electric vehicle technician who is off for the weekend but that the EV tech can take a look at it on Monday. So I agreed to have my car towed there. The next week they called me back and told me the cost would be $3,500. $2,500 for the part, which can be purchased for $1,400 and $1,000 in labor. I could not afford that mostly because the labor so I just wanted my car returned. I was then told I owe $140.00 diagnostics fee, even though I knew what the problem was and told them what the problem was before I towed it there. They also charged me $100 for the tow when I know the tow is only $55. When I tried to dispute the charges they threatened to add a $35 a day storage fee on top, so I just paid it to get my car back. I did not need a diagnostics because we knew the problem before we towed it there. That was an unnecessary $140.00 charge. I could have paid for the tow myself and saved $45. All of this could have been avoided had he been able to answer my very simple question over the phone which was "how much to replace an onboard charger in 2012 Nissan Leaf. They managed to get $263.69 out of me and didn't do anything. They didn't even wash the car or pump up the tires, even though we bought the car there.

  Business response

  09/08/2023

  The Nissan Leaf is a full electric vehicle and needs specialized care. A factory trained and Leaf certified technician is required to do work to them. We have the only specialist in the area.. Unfortunately we can not proceed on any car let alone a specialized car like a Nissan Leaf on a customer diagnosis or guess. To determine what is actually wrong the vehicle must go through a diagnosis which comes at a cost. Once diagnosed, the estimate was given based on factory parts and expert installation. Customer turned down the work.  We charged the customer the cost of the diagnosis and the exact cost of the tow. I have attached the actual bill from the towing company. We do not make money on towing. The total bill is attached for the diagnosis plus tow plus tax. Customer was charged for only work down and exact cost of the tow. The customer is not owed a refund. Thanks.

  Customer response

  09/08/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  I would have never towed my car there if I knew there would be a diagnostic fee. At no point was I ever told there would be a diagnostic fee. I would not have paid for one because I knew what the problem was and told them exactly what part I needed.

  The fact that my car is a "specialty car" is not a reason to not disclose charges, or a reason to take advantage of a customer. 

  I also have a receipt from ******** towing showing that a tow from my address to the Nissan service station is only $55, not $100.

  
  Regards,
  
  ******* *******
  
  
  
  
   

  Business response

  09/09/2023

  All fees are discussed with all customer prior to any work done on any car. We charged customer a diagnostic fee for work done and exact cost of tow per the bill attached. Customer turned down additional work on his vehicle and no additional work was provided as a result. We consider this matter closed.

  Customer response

  09/09/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  Michael could have avoided this entire thing by just answering my question over the phone which was, "how much to change an on-board charger in a Nissan leaf?"

  Instead Michael chose to be elusive.

  Why could he not answer that question without a diagnostic?

  Why could he not just look up the cost of the part and tell me over the phone, and give me a rough estimate of labor costs over the phone?

  Is he not competent? Does he not know how to work his computer system? Any autoparts shop can give you a price for a part over the phone.

  Michael also went out of his way on the phone call to tell me that the cost is mostly parts, and labor was minimal. Then when he gives me the quote, the labor charge is $1,000. A thousand dollars is not minimal.

  Michael chose to be deceptive.

  Also, when he told me over the phone, "the ev tech will have to look at it," he could have been up front and told me that there will be a diagnostic fee of $140. 

  Michael chose to not be upfront and not to disclose charges.

  I understand that services at dealerships are more costly. I understand that electric vehicles need specialty techs and that electric vehicles are more costly to repair. But that doesn't give a business the right to be elusive and deceptive. A business should always be upfront and disclose costs. A business should always maintain integrity and take responsibility in their side of business communications. But apparently they lack integrity and find no fault in being deceptive and no fault in not being upfront with their diagnostic fee.

  
  Regards,
  
  ******* *******
  
  
  
  
   

• Initial Complaint

  10/10/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I had my vehicle towed to this dealership on 10/23 and told Brooke the service worker that the vehicle didn’t start and asked her to take a look at it. She called me later and mentioned the car wouldn’t start because the battery was dead along with a few other issues. I told her no problem the battery is new and still under warranty so I will go to the place where I got the battery and have them replace it, which I immediately did. 2 weeks later my car died again and had the same symptoms. So I had the vehicle towed to the same dealership. Rob need as the service worker helping me. He mentioned the alternator was bad and had an estimated repair cost of $1500. I advised him that the car was old and probably not worth that much so don’t fix it I will just get a new car. I also advised him that within the next 72 hours I would have the vehicle towed off the lot so it is not just sitting there which he agreed. The following day I went to the lot and spoke with Rob because I needed to grab some items out of my vehicle. Rob agreed, gave me the keys and asked me to put them in a small box in the repair area when I was done so he will know where they are when the tow guy came. Which I did. This was on a Saturday. The next Monday I scheduled a tow. When the tow driver arrived she mentioned the dealership would not release the vehicle due to an undo charge. So I called the dealership and spoke to Mike about why/what I was being charged for. He said it was for a diagnostic fee. I explained to him this was a revisit from 2 weeks ago and I shouldn’t be charged a diagnostic fee. He then told me Brooke’s diagnosis of my battery being the reason the vehicle would not start was not from an actual diagnosis. I then asked if there was a diagnosis fee why was it not charged the first time when Brooke looked at the vehicle and why did Rob not mention anything when he spoke with me or when he saw me and he refused answer.

  Business response

  10/21/2022

  The customer had his vehicle towed here that did not start. The battery failed the test once jumped. We recommended a battery and no other tests were performed due to a faulty battery that would give false results. The customer was not charged a diagnostic fee since no diagnostic was run on the vehicle. Customer declined a new battery because he said that he had a warranty from the place he purchased the battery from. The customer did purchase an oil change, tire rotation and bulb replacement for the license plate light. After his battery was replaced elsewhere he again towed the vehicle here since the car still did not start. We ran a diagnostic and discovered that he needed an alternator. A diagnostic fee was charged based on work done to the vehicle. He again declined the fix to his car. He was only charged a diagnostic fee once for work done to his car during the second visit. If he has any additional questions he can call our service manager and we would be happy to help in any way possible.

   

  Jarod ******

  Sales Manager

  Nissan of North Olmsted

  28500 Lorain Rd.

  North Olmsted, OH 44070

  ************

  ********************

  www.bignissannortholmsted.com

   

  Customer response

  10/21/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  The dealer is again being dishonest. My first service tech Brooke told me that the car would not start due to a faulty battery which in fact was NOT the root cause of the car not starting. The root cause of the car not starting was the alternator. Also I have information from other mechanics where when a battery is found to be dead they check the alternator to figure out y the battery died. Also at no time was i informed of any fee for a diagnostic. My first visit as the dealer mentioned was not charged a diagnostic nor was I told there was a fee that was waived. The second time the vehicle was towed I was not told of any diagnostic fee even though I spoke to the second service worker 3-4 times and this was never discussed. Nor have I ever signed anything agreeing to this charge. I found out about this charge from the tow driver who was picking up my car. The dealer was aware 2 days prior to me picking up my car if my intentions and yet I was still never informed of any charges. As I mentioned I even stopped up to the dealership in person and was given keys to grab items out of my car and confirmed my intentions. The service manager who tried to charge me the fee I have never met and from my knowledge had no involvement in my car getting fixed. Furthermore he clearly discriminated against me by denying my credit card payment over the phone and telling me I had to come to the dealership and pay in cash which the dealer clearly says that accept multiple forms of payment. I am also advising a civil rights attorney for this matter as the dealership is clearly in the wrong. The service manager tried to deny me from making a payment yet they would not release my keys. I was finally able to pay with my credit card only after threatening to call the police. I also clearly wrote on the receipt that I was only paying and signing under duress. I asked the service manager to sign as well and he reused. I have documentation of that as well. 
  
  Regards,
  
  ******* ******
  
  
  
  
   

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