I have always been a huge fan of the "Z". I owned a '72 240Z, a 1980 280Z, a 2003 350Z, and the last one, a 2006 350Z. Even though I loved my 2003 350Z, I was so excited when Nissan released the 350Z convertible that I traded in my 2003 350Z racing model for a new 350Z touring convertible model (at the same dealership). From day one, the car burned over a quart of oil every 1,000 miles, escalating to almost two quarts of oil every 1,000 miles. The dealership's only solution was for me to keep bringing the car in every 1,000 miles so they could add more oil to it. After doing this five or six times, I finally let them know that this was not an acceptable solution. They told me they had done all they could and for me to contact Nissan directly. I did this and got nowhere. Nissan sent a rep out to the dealership to evaluate my car and then told me they could put a "counter measure" motor in it that might solve the issue. However, no one would explain to me what a "counter measure" motor was and I was not comfortable with paying $40,000 for a new car with a possibly rebuilt engine. I informed Nissan that I either wanted them to purchase the car back from me for the entire price I paid for it or replace it with a new 350Z, as that is what I had paid for.
After continually getting no response from Nissan regarding this issue and the car finally becoming completely undriveable, I retained the services of an attorney. This went on for over a year during which time I had to continue to make my car payments every month and pay for the full insurance on a car that was parked in my garage and not able to drive. After almost a year and a half, Nissan finally agreed to purchased the car back from me for what I paid for it, which they did two months ago. This was done only after finding out that there were quite a few other 2006 350Zs out there with the same problem. Also, I was only refunded the price I paid for the car. All of the insurance and car registration fees I paid over two years of not being able to drive this car were not refunded to me and neither were the attorney fees I incurred to get this problem resolved. I cannot even begin to tell you how absolutely horrible this entire experience was. I have always bought new cars because I never wanted the possibly aggravation that can come with buying used cars. I have always loved cars and looked forward to getting in a fun car every day and driving.
This experience has turned my off completely, not only to NIssan because of the way they handled this situation, but also to the joy of car ownership. I realize with the number of new cars that are manufactured every day that there will be some that did not get assembled quite correctly before being sold; however, it is the responsibility of the car manufacturer to stand behind their product and quickly resolve these issues without the customer having to hire an attorney to force the issue. Shame on Nissan for taking a loyal Nissan Z customer and car enthusiast and turning me into someone who just doesn't care about what kind of car I drive anymore.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
I have always been a huge fan of the "Z". I owned a '72 240Z, a 1980 280Z, a 2003 350Z, and the last one, a 2006 350Z. Even though I loved my 2003 350Z, I was so excited when Nissan released the 350Z convertible that I traded in my 2003 350Z racing model for a new 350Z touring convertible model (at the same dealership). From day one, the car burned over a quart of oil every 1,000 miles, escalating to almost two quarts of oil every 1,000 miles. The dealership's only solution was for me to keep bringing the car in every 1,000 miles so they could add more oil to it. After doing this five or six times, I finally let them know that this was not an acceptable solution. They told me they had done all they could and for me to contact Nissan directly. I did this and got nowhere. Nissan sent a rep out to the dealership to evaluate my car and then told me they could put a "counter measure" motor in it that might solve the issue. However, no one would explain to me what a "counter measure" motor was and I was not comfortable with paying $40,000 for a new car with a possibly rebuilt engine. I informed Nissan that I either wanted them to purchase the car back from me for the entire price I paid for it or replace it with a new 350Z, as that is what I had paid for.
After continually getting no response from Nissan regarding this issue and the car finally becoming completely undriveable, I retained the services of an attorney. This went on for over a year during which time I had to continue to make my car payments every month and pay for the full insurance on a car that was parked in my garage and not able to drive. After almost a year and a half, Nissan finally agreed to purchased the car back from me for what I paid for it, which they did two months ago. This was done only after finding out that there were quite a few other 2006 350Zs out there with the same problem. Also, I was only refunded the price I paid for the car. All of the insurance and car registration fees I paid over two years of not being able to drive this car were not refunded to me and neither were the attorney fees I incurred to get this problem resolved. I cannot even begin to tell you how absolutely horrible this entire experience was. I have always bought new cars because I never wanted the possibly aggravation that can come with buying used cars. I have always loved cars and looked forward to getting in a fun car every day and driving.
This experience has turned my off completely, not only to NIssan because of the way they handled this situation, but also to the joy of car ownership. I realize with the number of new cars that are manufactured every day that there will be some that did not get assembled quite correctly before being sold; however, it is the responsibility of the car manufacturer to stand behind their product and quickly resolve these issues without the customer having to hire an attorney to force the issue. Shame on Nissan for taking a loyal Nissan Z customer and car enthusiast and turning me into someone who just doesn't care about what kind of car I drive anymore.
- M S., San Jose, CA, US