To me, this all boils down to one thing, always check your oil, I don't mean every day or everytime you get gas, just occaisionally, don't wait for the check engine light to come on, you never know when something could happen to cause it to burn, leak or whatever, if you don't check your oil between changes, that's your problem, checking shows if you do have a problem, then you can have it checked out before the oil is gone!


Brilliant Silver/Graphite/Chrome Wheels '04 Sedan/5AT

 

Dealer intentions?
Service writers get paid by what and the amount they sell, even service managers get bonuses and overrides.

Why would employees not optimize gross revenue to help feed their families.

Service writers/managers have some of the highest substance abuse, alcohol rehab visits of any face to face customer service personnel.........or so my friends in the business and trade magazines allude to!

Most smart ones find another line of work.

 

Hmmmm.. Optimizing gross revenue at the expense of the customer. Don't get me wrong I have no problem with that. When it's legitimate.
What I do have a problem is when the optimization is gained through misrepresentation.
Is that the correct way to feed your family?

 

Misrepresentation or just seeing what the customer knowlege level is.
Since you chose not to video tape or audio record each interaction we are hearing only one side of the story.

And who do you optimize revenue from, besides the customer.

Why do you think I pointed out the stress problems the service writers are under.......correct way to feed your family. Bull what ever it takes, till you find another job.

The service manager has even more stress because their biggest customer is the Factory warranty department.

Think what a brand new dealers goes thru, it takes 2-3 years before any meaningful customer paid work comes in the door.

Many service managers have only a 6 month or 1 year job tenure.........revolving door till management finds one that meets the revenue targets!

 

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr>

if you don't check your oil between changes, that's your problem

<hr></blockquote>

Blah, blah, blah. I don't care what anyone says, this is NOT my fault. How often do you check your oil??? And be honest.

 

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr>

Misrepresentation or just seeing what the customer knowlege level is.

<hr></blockquote>
Wow, what a load of crap. Misrepresentation is dishonesty, plain and simple.

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr>

Since you chose not to video tape or audio record each interaction we are hearing only one side of the story.

<hr></blockquote>
Give me a break. Are you serious? That's just plain offensive and insulting. Don't ever call my integrity into question.

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr>

Why do you think I pointed out the stress problems the service writers are under

<hr></blockquote>
Cry me a river! What about the stress I'm under? They have had my car for two weeks. All this time I have been worried that I will have to pay out of pocket for a new engine. I haven't slept well, I have had one constant headache for two weeks straight. All while I listen to their the Service Manager's techno babble nonsense about claims he can't even prove. And of course Consumer Affairs takes everything he says as gospel. It's B.S. and everybody here knows it.

 

"Misrepresentation or just seeing what the customer knowlege level is. "

Reminds me of when I blew a motor in a turbo RX7. I was young and dumb....assumed the warranty was 3/36K like every other car manufacturer at the time. Mazda had 3yrs./50K miles and the service manager got me..popped for a new motor myself to the tune of $2700. My car was just under 50K and within the time frame. About a year later when I discovered my error and his "misrepresentation" I went back to have a few words with him. He was fired shortly after my engine swap, so I quess Q45tech is right about testing the customer's knowledge level and service manager's tenure being short lived. I was so ashamed at my stupidity that I just let it go.

 

I feel for you bro....I lost many hours of sleep over a damaged O2 sensor and a bad idle due to plenum warpage I can't even begin to imagine how you're feeling.

All I can say is that you've got reason on your side and when you can't sleep just remember it's only money, no one has died, and you're not in prison or the gutters. Keep your cool and try to pick up some extra good Karma somewhere, it all helps.

2004.5 Coupe/5AT/Ivory/Everything but front spoiler/Nismo CAI/Crawford V5/Crawford Cats

 

I think it's a bunch of crap of the dealer to say your mods were the cause of engine failure. The mods you have can't cause oil to disappear from the crank case. Especially in such a short period of time. You need to document the history of some of these engines drinking oil like it was gasoline. Their oil consumption related failure rate ect, ect.

To say that you are responsible for fluid levels in such a short time interval is totally unreasonable. By their same logic, if the dealer changed your oil but forgot to fill it back up and you drove off the lot without checking the oil level before driving off, would you be responsible for engine failure? No... Would any judge or jury would buy this? Hell no...

You are dealing with an unscrupulous dealer. You need immediate legal advice. The cost of an atty will be approximately equal to the cost of the engine replacement. So, in either case you are out that much money no matter what you do.

What are your options:

1) Pay the cost of a new engine.
Consequence - there is no chance of recovering the cost of an engine if you passively give in to the dealer and buy a new engine.

2) Pay the cost of an atty and go to court.
Consequence - There is a modest to good chance you can get a new engine and be reimbursed for all legal costs.

3) Negotiate a reasonable compromise.
This may be the best option. (If he won't negotiate a reasonable compromise, reconsider options 1 & 2.)

I would never carelessly recommend anyone to run off to court. Lets be clear... Litigation really sucks. It will be a long, tough, miserable fight with no guaranteed outcome, but you should fight this if negotiations fail. If I were you I wouldn't wait and I wouldn't bend over for a grinning car dealer.

Negotiate a compromise. Or take him to court and F him right back. No Vaseline.

2004 G35 6MT Blk/Blk Sedan Stillen Air, Stillen Exhaust

 

You are ridiculous here, you really should check occaisionally, and always after an oil change! I mean, sure something must have happened to make the oil consumption go up, but if you had checked it, there may have been some pattern, and that could have been dealt with much easier than all this! I check my oil at least every other week! Always have!


Brilliant Silver/Graphite/Chrome Wheels '04 Sedan/5AT<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small"><EM>Edited by ABQ_G35 on 09/18/04 01:34 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

ABQ_G35 must work for Infiniti. hehe

We all agree that you should check your oil occasionally, but your messages sound like your saying he's a fault or partial fault because he didnt check his oil between the time he had Infiniti service it and the time the engine fried (which I belive was less then two weeks between the two). Get real, its not his fault....

2003.5 G35 Sedan White/6MT
Nismo Type S Suspension / Nismo Sway Bars
19" OZ Rims / Stillen Front/Rear Camber Kit / Z Tube
Stillen Big-Airflow Intake / Stillen Catback Exhaust

 

You all keep confusing the dealer [which is just an independent service facility attached to a Sales Show Room] and has nothing [no say] about the warranty compliance, with Infiniti/Nissan which is providing the warranty, and uses any Dealer to provide the labor for the warranty repair.


You find the easiest dealer who takes it upon themselves to do the most warranty on your vehicle.
Any resistance to warranty repairs should get immediately escalated to an employee of Nissan/Infiniti who have the actual say on what gets done and paid for by them.

Just like doctors you try a second opinion first, unless you have a special relationship with a particular dealer or service manager [but he may not be able to help you that month] you never know the dealership status [brownie points] with Infiniti at any moment in time.

Learning how all this works will save you cash and get the most repair/replacements.

Consider a month after the warranty expires, who is then responsible for checking the oil. Daily, weekly, or monthly to minimize failures and cost.

I cannot fathom the "I have a warranty and am therefore not responsible for checking fluid levels" when you specifically are responsible for this minor operation.

 

I dont care if my warrenty is up. If i take my car to the dealership and they screw up and dont put enough oil in my car (which is what there being paid for), and few days later the engine blows up, then yes i blame the dealership for screwing up. And would go as far as taking them to court to replace my engine.

Now if the engine blew up because I waited to long to change my oil, then yes its my fault.

2003.5 G35 Sedan White/6MT
Nismo Type S Suspension / Nismo Sway Bars
19" OZ Rims / Stillen Front/Rear Camber Kit / Z Tube
Stillen Big-Airflow Intake / Stillen Catback Exhaust

 

Okay, that I will agree with Built2Shred! That has happened before, yet another reason to double check the oil after a change!


Brilliant Silver/Graphite/Chrome Wheels '04 Sedan/5AT

 

Q45Tech has been nothing but truthful, helpful, and honest with all of us - which is what pisses us off, sometimes, because he's generally right (and he's pissed me off with it, too!), and it's human nature to want someone or something else to be the cause of our problems. You may not always agree with Q45Tech, but dammit, his answers are well thought out, well researched and factual, and often times draws from "inside the industry" viewpoints (which sometimes **** us off, but are the reality of the auto business, nonetheless). Thank you for your continued input and knowledge, Q45Tech.

All of that said, in this particular case, I do not believe that any reasonable person would expect the average consumer to check the oil level in their car (or even have it checked by someone else!) immediately after an oil change by factory-certified dealer technicians, especially on a fairly new car still well within it's warranty. I know the issue of Skeleton's engine mods will be a hurdle here, but absent that issue, I'm looking at 12 people in a jury box hearing that it's my fault that an engine blew because I didn't check the oil level after DEALER service, and I don't think they are going for it - no, I KNOW they are not going for it !! AND, if even a few members of the jury are motorheads, they won't make the (seemingly impossible) connection that intake and exhaust mods caused the crankcase to dry up, either!

My $0.02

Sport Sedan Fan - 2004 6MT Sedan
Sport/Navigation/Premium/Aero; "Invisiguard" Bra, Madico Onyx Tint
Obsidian Black/Graphite & "Titanium"
SHE'S SILVER & BLACK - GO RAIDERS!