You can buy the dipstick for about $9 at Nissan or Infiniti. It's beyond me why they didn't include dipsticks in the earlier cars. I just got my dipstick last week because I was curious about the condition and level of fluid in my tranny since I'm a DIYer.

 

From the time I last posted on here, I've spoken to a ton of people. For the record, the Georgia Office of Consumer Affairs did nothing to help. Furthermore, there are no laws in Georgia to protect consumers from shady mechanics, except for your standard contract law. My former contracts professor (and a specialist on consumer law) thinks that even had the Aamco dealership taken apart the transmission, that shouldn't void the warranty as "tampering" because the transmission was broken before they got a hold of it and they didn't attempt to fix anything. Another attorney I spoke to says that even if I knew everything that Infiniti accuses me of knowing, that doesn't change the fact that they disassembled my transmission without my authorization. Lastly, I spoke to an attorney that advised against paying for the repairs and trying to get my money back, suggesting that I'd never get my money if I did that. Rather, he suggests that I write up a complaint and bring it to them with a threat to file it if they do not release my car. And if they still will not compromise, then I file the lawsuit. He was very helpful, but explained that it would be $500 for him to just write a threatening letter to the dealership. For a $3000 dispute, I'm going to have to handle it myself and ask around for advice where I can get it.

Meanwhile, I've been without a car for weeks. If I paid them and got it to someone else to fix, they estimate that it'd be ready to go on Wednesday (they've got a rebuilt transmission, but need to check it out to make sure it would work for my car; if it does, they say it'll take little time to go ahead and make the repair).

EDIT: They oh so generously dropped the total down to $1552, removing the cost of the body valve from the total. Then the guy tried to give me a sob story about how it's an $800 part, that in 33 years he's only replaced one or two of them, so they're going to have to eat that loss because it's just going to sit in storage. And also claimed that it's foolish of me to take it somewhere else to get it fixed because they know Infinitis inside and out, whereas Aamco guys deal with various kinds of transmissions.

Also, they will no longer accept my credit card. They don't trust me enough and are demanding cashier's check or cash to pay for the repairs. Which means that I'm paying them a month and a half sooner than I would have, not even getting my 1% back, and means that I have to go through the trouble of transferring money around, going to the bank, and getting a check before going up there.

 

Now this part is really curious. Your credit card's "credit" is fully backed by the issuing card company. If they approve the transaction, the merchant is covered and will be paid, assuming they provide the services rendered. (I am assuming your card's credit is still in good standing, and no previous transaction was denied.) In which case, the dealer is avoiding use of your credit card for one reason - you have the right to dispute certain issues, transactions, etc. per the terms of your card - and the dealer doesn't want to avail you of this option should you establish any grounds to do so. Credit card companies are often interested in knowing when one of their merchants refuses to honor a card that otherwise has no mark or fraud alert against it. Such behavior may even violate the terms of their merchant agreement.

 

yeap, they clearly are not accepting your card for fear of charge dispute. i say sitck to your guns.

 

If you know the federal judge you worked for well enough, my bet is a note on his office letterhead to Infiniti Customer Affairs (or whatever their name) would expedite your case. Maybe even signed by a law clerk or some other underling (Got any letterhead stationary...?) Good luck. The service manager needs lessons in customer relations. Another tactic, which might help, would be a personal plea to the ownership, requesting their assistance, since the SM and you are at loggerheads. No name calling or finger pointing, just a polite note requesting their assistance. Might not hurt to point out that you are an attorney, but you don`t want to let some of your attorney friends have their way, because everybody loses in litigation. That`s not a threat, is it? Good luck, and please keep us posted.

 

Credit Card:
It never occurred to me that the credit card company would be interested in hearing that they're refusing cards, but then again they're refusing all my cards and not one in particular. And I'm pretty sure it wouldn't accomplish anything but **** people off (in which case I'm all for it). But yes, I'm 100% sure that they're trying to avoid me disputing the charge. And, in fact, I had called my credit card company earlier in the day to find out what would happen if I did dispute the charge - they told me that because I was authorizing the charge, unless I was disputing the quality of the work and could get another mechanic to say so, there was nothing they could really do. And I'm not really challenging the quality of the work, since I didn't pay them to fix the car and they did in fact eventually realize that the transmission was busted.

Legal Talk:
Right now I'm focusing on a couple of legal issues. First, that there was a misunderstanding as to what I was going to be charged for, since I thought all of what they were doing was considered a "diagnosis" covered under the "diagnostic" fee (i.e., there was no "meeting of the minds" as to what was being agreed to, so there was no contract). Second, besides the fact that they did so without my consent, they acted in bad faith by disassembling the transmission AFTER they already knew and told me that the transmission would not be covered under warranty. I'm hoping to see the General Manager (who was out of the office today, but surely has heard the stories and probably thinks I'm trying to rip him off), show him the complaint I should have finished by Monday, and see if we can't reach a compromise - no charges for the labor done in disassembling the tranny, since that's what I'm most upset about. If we did in fact go to court, I would definitely have a leg to stand on.

And if we went to court, it would be the real superior court, not small claims court. In small claims court, I can't actually ask for them to release my car. In regular court, I can hopefully get a preliminary injunction to have them release my car, so that I can go get it fixed and actually have a car again. Also, and I'm not sure about this, but I'm not actually suing for any damages, as would be the case in small claims court; rather, I'm suing for a declaratory judgment that I don't have to pay. So, in actuality, I'm not suing for any claim at all, with the possible exception of the towing fee.

Nobody but the judge gets to use the letterhead. And judges don't like to share. I might try a firm I used to work for. But I'm hoping that just signing my name with Esquire and my bar membership number will get the point across.

I haven't slept in three days - rolling around, sweating, my mind racing and stomach churning with this stuff. Let's see if tonight will be any different. But the more I talk about it, and the support I get, the better I feel, hence my regular updates.

 

pull a favor and have an attorney you know write you a letter. what theyre doing to you seems criminal to me but they'll get away with it as long as no one calls them on it.

the dealership does get paid for warranty work, but not at 1:1 rates. thats why they resist warranty work in general, unless there's a TSB on it (but they wont tell you about the TSB). Dealers suck. good luck.

 

Dang bro Im sorry to hear about all your troubles. I definitely think they are just bullying you around and you need to pull there punk card. (i know its a saying from a long time ago but it just seemed like the right time to use it) You might wanna try the local news stations to see if maybe they can get something done or threaten to go to them see if that will help. Nobody likes bad press. Im glad though that we can help settle you down a little to I know it sucks in situations where you feel like you have nowhere to go and you cant function properly. I hope everything turns out good for you and you DONT have to pay for anything at all. Oh and by the way have you tryed calling the other dealership about your problem even thought I doubt they would admit to any fault. Also if this was done back in April then wouldnt you have the problem not long after you left or is it something that takes time to build up and damage parts seals ect. ? Just asking becasue I dont really know and you guys know alot more about those things then I do.

 

So let me ask a simple question... Why does it matter if there are scratches on the tranny or the radiator "looks like it was tampered"?

The warranty does not say that the warranty is voided if the part was serviced. In fact it is explicitely clear that any and ALL Nissan parts and accessories will be covered under warranty EVEN IF THEY WEREN'T ON THE CAR AT THE TIME OF MANUFACTURE, as long as it was INSTALLED WITHIN THE WARRANTY PERIOD.

So that means, even if somebody serviced the radiator, or even replaced the radiator,etc... As long as it's a Nissan radiator, IT IS STILL COVERED UNDER WARRANTY.

As far as the overfilled tranny fluid.... I don't know what to say, except to get something in writing from a tranny shop that something like that will not cause catastrophic failure.

By the very least, you can nail the dealer for installnig the wrong tranny fluid, which is pure negligence on the dealer's part. Especially since the owners manual even states that not using Matic-J can result in transmission damage.

You dealer just sounds like it's operated by a bunch of morons.

 

My car manual is in my car, which they have, so I don't know what exactly it says. But the sample 2003 warranty on the Infiniti website says, under what is not covered:

"Alteration, tampering or improper repair."

I don't see anything like what you say, only this one line, which is what they would seem to basing their voiding of the warranty.

Even though they're obviously wrong about the overflow of fluid, I don't know that it makes a difference. It's not like they misdiagnosed and then made the wrong repair; they just misdiagnosed (over and over again). And I'm basing my argument primarily on the fact that the final diagnosis was unauthorized and that they knew I wouldn't have wanted it done had they asked.

And the dealer didn't install the wrong kind of fluid; in fact, they intend to give the car back with no transmission fluid at all. They originally said that the overflow of fluid was also the wrong kind, but then later said they actually had no idea if it was the wrong kind, and then dropped it altogether.

And yes, they're absolutely definitely morons.

 

It's on pg 16 of the Warranty Booklet. It's even on the same page as the above sentence you mentioned. However, the exact wording of that exclusion is:

"Damage or failure of parts as a result of: Modification or improper repair of the part or
of the vehicle in which the part is installed."

A scratch on the transmission case does not equal modification or improper repair. In order to determine that, you need to ACTUALLY OPEN THE TRANSMISSION.

They also need to prove that "overfilling" the transmission caused your failure. A clutchpack could've gone bad, but just because soembody goes and overfills the tranny by half a quart, does not excuse the clutchpack which could've been damaged prior, etc.

I don't know about Nissan's trannies, but most other trannies I've seen have vent holes. If you overfill the tranny, the excess fluid just leaks out the vent holes. I don't see how overfilling the tranny will affect fluid pressure, which your dealer seams to insinuate is what blew the seals.

 

You are 100% correct as to the vent holes and fluid pressure and all that. This is exactly what an Aamco transmission specialist told me. And it's illogical as to the resulting damage since a) I got my 45K checkup, b) I drove 2000 miles over 4+ months, c) my transmission broke, d) I went to the Aamco who did nothing but try to scan the fault code, and e) I went to the dealership. So if the overfilling broke the tranny, it had to have happened before I went to Aamco, but it also wouldn't have taken 2000 miles and 4 months to break, and you'd think that if it were leaking, there wouldn't still be too much tranny fluid.

But I think you missed one of my updates. It's not even about that so much anymore. They took apart the transmission and said it's missing parts and that's what caused the problem. The Aamco I'm taking my car to if I ever get it away from these guys say they think the fluid probably wasn't getting pumped through the transmission and that the whole thing overheated. When I offered this theory to the service and parts director, he asked "Uh, and you think this heat could melt metal?" I think it can melt the rubber and plastic parts they told me about, for absolute sure, and maybe metal as well (I'm no physicist or mechanic, but I do know that it gets really really hot in a transmission without fluid).

So they did actually open the transmission. And that's when they told me I was trying to defraud them and gave me my bill. I spent all weekend researching the law on this (with a short break for the Falcons game via public transportation - Go Falcons!), and I'm heading to the dealership tomorrow, so wish me luck. The only problem with going the legal route - it could be over a month before I see my car again. That is unless they agree that going to court over $1500 (especially when even the cheapest lawyers I know bill $125/hour) is going to cost them more than settling. The hope is to walk in and agree to pay closer to $500 and be on my way, but that would take a reasonable general manager, and I have no reason to be optimistic about about that. In actuality, I'm expecting another raised-voice lecture and a nonchalant attitude towards my threat of litigation. Sigh...

 

This is sad.... funny that you are an attorney.... if I were you perhaps i will represent myself. I successfully did it once against a lawyer... and im no attorney. I feel sorry for you .... i am sure its quite a learning experience for some of us as you dont expect this kinda attitude/service from any dealer. I will also contact BBB.... and file a complaint with them. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

Something of a waste of my time - I wanted to speak to the GM, they knew I was coming to speak to the GM, but they didn't return my calls/messages to tell me that he wasn't going to be there. I did get a copy of the bill, which conveniently doesn't itemize the labor, only the parts. Where "customer signature" goes, it says "Tow In", under a clause that says:

"If automobile is returned to customer before authorized service is performed, a diagnostic and handling charge will be made. If I choose not to authorize the services recommended, YOU WILL BE ALLOWED TO COMPLETE ANY FACTORY AUTHORIZED WARRANTY REPAIRS OR SERVICES THAT ARE AT NO COST TO ME. I also authorize any sublet repairs that you deem necessary." (caps in the original)

So even if I HAD signed the original work order / estimate, I still don't see how they could get away with the work that they performed. It's not as if they're "sublet repairs" since nothing was ever repaired! And the estimate printed for all the work is "No Charge Customer". Though obviously an estimate isn't binding.

Meanwhile, they charged me for 12 hours of work at $105 per, equalling $1260. And then they tried to make it sound like they'd done me a favor, since it was more than one mechanic and they'd probably worked closer to 20-something hours. As if I'm supposed to care that they worked way more hours on something I didn't ask them to do.

They also charged me $84 for transmission fluid. That's right - they told me I had too much fluid, they drained it all out, they put more in and charged me for it, and then they drained it all out. And $75 for 20 bolts at $3.75 a piece. These people are ridiculous.

I left a letter saying that I was disputing the bill and requested a call from the GM tomorrow. I am now 90% sure I will be in a courtroom two or three weeks from now.

 

Go get them I hope you really take them to the cleaners.