Hi, there, Nissan folk,
This is an introduction/rant. I know it's lengthy, but bear with me, I am finally venting. Not about Nissan products, more about used car dealerships.
I'm not only new to Nissans, I'm also fairly new to driving. This week, 5 years ago, at the tender age of 48, I sat with a room full of highschool students on March break learning Drivers Ed. It's been very freeing, living in a small community, to finally have a drivers license.
I now run a dog boarding/walking/play date/cat minding business from my home. My car is vital. I had my boyfriend and his father looking for a car for me last spring as my second hand jeep was no longer in it's happy place. I (keep in mind I'm new to this and don't know anything about vehicles) told them I wanted a 4 wheel drive car with a sunroof, fully automatic, remote start, good stereo system and lots of room for dogs. Sometimes I need to have room for 8. They found me one on a used car lot in East Ottawa. It looked beautiful and clean. It was a 2003 Nissan Murano with only 140,000 km on it, one owner. My bf and his father know cars, they work on their own all the time and his father has 5 vehicles, 3 are show vehicles, they have a heated car bay where they do their own repairs, etc.. I assumed that they'd know what to look for mechanically, as I was only asking them to look for 'cosmetic' things.... the extras, so to speak.
Well, Smooth worked well for a month and a half, just past my 'warranty'. Then I lost steering and when the first garage fixed it, they couldn't have tied off the steering wheel because worse things ensued. I found another garage that I really trust. They have been busily fixing everything the previous owner had to have had a non licensed mechanic repair since last August.
I have learned SOOO much about cars in the last 5 months. I actually have figured out what was wrong or at least knew SOMEthing was wrong each time I've had it back in, sometimes only 2 weeks apart! The day after the first place replaced the part in the steering column which had been damaged by someone using an air chisel to remove the rack from the column to replace the power steering cable my steering seized as I was navigating a corner and I had to force it, I had no choice, I was in fast traffic at an intersection, it popped and lights lit up all over my display. Most notably the flashing airbag symbol. My $750 repair would cost me much more as now sensors and things were also damaged. A few thousand all told with regards to the steering column. Next was getting 'minor' things repaired, such as missing engine mount bolts, bad oil pan, bad alignbment, etc., etc.. Then my power window on my drivers side. Then my windshield wiper motor IN A SNOWSTORM ON BACK ROADS... Then my alternator on my way to a job. Then I smelled a burnt smell a few times last week, so I went in and they discovered my oil was really low after having an oil change 2 months ago so I made an appointment for an oil change and to have them look for an oil leak.
Took it in after delivering last dog this afternoon, expecting to have it back a TAD later than it usually takes for an oil change due to the added search for the oil leak and oh... the other things I had noticed in the last few days that I asked them to look into... I won't have my car back until tomorrow because...... Oil leak, loose exhaust (my very loud Boze stereo system was making the right rear exhaust shaft rattle), wheel bearing (I noted, despite very loud Boze stereo system (and if it goes to 31, why shouldn't I listen to it at that level???), rear door locks behaving like they're controlled by poltergeists and not my key fobs and maniacal car alarm playing games with me and my neighbours. Not So Smooth seems to like to let the whole neighbourhood/parking lot/where ever I park, that she's armed and dangerous (horn honking gently, sometimes many beeps successively, sometimes spread out over half an hour, lights following suit).
I am sooo upset that my dream car turned into such a piece of work, when she's working and not longing for another visit to Advance Auto I love her. Then she gets bored with my company and misbehaves again. As I walked away from the auto shop after dropping Smooth off last time, I walked through a deserted family park area. I walked down one road and only one car passed me... a new, beautiful, white Nissan Murano. Turned to the road to exit the area and there came a brilliant black new Nissan Murano. Glad it wasn't family time in the park. No one heard my comments.
I'm very jealous of all the people who own the lovely Nissans I see driving around town and as I'm poor and have put $7,000 into my $5,000 car I bought the beginning of June, 2017, I'm hoping, perhaps, after THIS garage visit (which I haven't paid for yet and how much do wheel bearings cost??) that my car is rebuilt to the point of her happiness and she won't drag me back to the lovely people at Advance Auto anytime soon.
There... rant done, thanks for listening.
Erica
This is an introduction/rant. I know it's lengthy, but bear with me, I am finally venting. Not about Nissan products, more about used car dealerships.
I'm not only new to Nissans, I'm also fairly new to driving. This week, 5 years ago, at the tender age of 48, I sat with a room full of highschool students on March break learning Drivers Ed. It's been very freeing, living in a small community, to finally have a drivers license.
I now run a dog boarding/walking/play date/cat minding business from my home. My car is vital. I had my boyfriend and his father looking for a car for me last spring as my second hand jeep was no longer in it's happy place. I (keep in mind I'm new to this and don't know anything about vehicles) told them I wanted a 4 wheel drive car with a sunroof, fully automatic, remote start, good stereo system and lots of room for dogs. Sometimes I need to have room for 8. They found me one on a used car lot in East Ottawa. It looked beautiful and clean. It was a 2003 Nissan Murano with only 140,000 km on it, one owner. My bf and his father know cars, they work on their own all the time and his father has 5 vehicles, 3 are show vehicles, they have a heated car bay where they do their own repairs, etc.. I assumed that they'd know what to look for mechanically, as I was only asking them to look for 'cosmetic' things.... the extras, so to speak.
Well, Smooth worked well for a month and a half, just past my 'warranty'. Then I lost steering and when the first garage fixed it, they couldn't have tied off the steering wheel because worse things ensued. I found another garage that I really trust. They have been busily fixing everything the previous owner had to have had a non licensed mechanic repair since last August.
I have learned SOOO much about cars in the last 5 months. I actually have figured out what was wrong or at least knew SOMEthing was wrong each time I've had it back in, sometimes only 2 weeks apart! The day after the first place replaced the part in the steering column which had been damaged by someone using an air chisel to remove the rack from the column to replace the power steering cable my steering seized as I was navigating a corner and I had to force it, I had no choice, I was in fast traffic at an intersection, it popped and lights lit up all over my display. Most notably the flashing airbag symbol. My $750 repair would cost me much more as now sensors and things were also damaged. A few thousand all told with regards to the steering column. Next was getting 'minor' things repaired, such as missing engine mount bolts, bad oil pan, bad alignbment, etc., etc.. Then my power window on my drivers side. Then my windshield wiper motor IN A SNOWSTORM ON BACK ROADS... Then my alternator on my way to a job. Then I smelled a burnt smell a few times last week, so I went in and they discovered my oil was really low after having an oil change 2 months ago so I made an appointment for an oil change and to have them look for an oil leak.
Took it in after delivering last dog this afternoon, expecting to have it back a TAD later than it usually takes for an oil change due to the added search for the oil leak and oh... the other things I had noticed in the last few days that I asked them to look into... I won't have my car back until tomorrow because...... Oil leak, loose exhaust (my very loud Boze stereo system was making the right rear exhaust shaft rattle), wheel bearing (I noted, despite very loud Boze stereo system (and if it goes to 31, why shouldn't I listen to it at that level???), rear door locks behaving like they're controlled by poltergeists and not my key fobs and maniacal car alarm playing games with me and my neighbours. Not So Smooth seems to like to let the whole neighbourhood/parking lot/where ever I park, that she's armed and dangerous (horn honking gently, sometimes many beeps successively, sometimes spread out over half an hour, lights following suit).
I am sooo upset that my dream car turned into such a piece of work, when she's working and not longing for another visit to Advance Auto I love her. Then she gets bored with my company and misbehaves again. As I walked away from the auto shop after dropping Smooth off last time, I walked through a deserted family park area. I walked down one road and only one car passed me... a new, beautiful, white Nissan Murano. Turned to the road to exit the area and there came a brilliant black new Nissan Murano. Glad it wasn't family time in the park. No one heard my comments.
I'm very jealous of all the people who own the lovely Nissans I see driving around town and as I'm poor and have put $7,000 into my $5,000 car I bought the beginning of June, 2017, I'm hoping, perhaps, after THIS garage visit (which I haven't paid for yet and how much do wheel bearings cost??) that my car is rebuilt to the point of her happiness and she won't drag me back to the lovely people at Advance Auto anytime soon.
There... rant done, thanks for listening.
Erica
