Frederick Nissan / Nissan North America

I wanted to caution everyone about using Frederick Nissan in Frederick, MD and dealing with Nissan North America (NNA) for warranty repairs.

My 2002 Maxima was at Frederick Nissan for a transmission slip while under warranty. The service department did not repair the vehicle, but patched it along until it was out of warranty. Tim Hardee, the service manager, refused to assist me in the repair, and he claimed that the vehicle was not "properly maintained."

When I went to NNA's customer service department and opened a claim, Philip Henry, Jeffrey Booker, and Jonathan Renick all worked on the case with the final result being that it would not be covered due to a lack of maintenance. I also filed a claim with the Better Business Bureau Autoline Program, the Maryland Better Business Bureau, the Fair Trade Commission, and The Maryland Office of the State Attorney General.

Frederick Nissan and NNA never had any documentation about any prior routine maintenance (oil changes, trans fluid changes, etc.) from two other Nissan dealers and Jiffy Lube. I have all service records that correspond 100% to the requirements stated in the Nissan Warranty. NNA made their decision on incomplete information and they have been totally unwilling to receive my information but based their decision entirely on what Frederick Nissan told them.

NNA has violated the Magnusson-Moss Warranty Act, a federal act stating that any vehicle issue brought to the attention of the dealer prior to the expiration of the warranty, is covered under that warranty. Again, I have records stating that I complied with the warranty in full, but Frederick Nissan and NNA have never taken that into consideration.

“No warrantor of a consumer product may condition his written or implied warranty of such product on the consumers using, in connection with such product, any article or service (other than article or service provided without charge under the terms of the warranty) which is identified by brand, trade or corporate name...” (15 U.S.C. 2302(C)).

My warning is simple, keep records of EVERYTHING! Even then, Nissan will string you along. I have attempted to contact Jeffrey Booker from NNA 27 times without a return phone call. I have attempted to contact Jonathan Renick 7 times via email without a return email. This has been on-going since April 27, 2007.

I hope nobody else has to go through what I have had to deal with for the past three months and I would certainly be cautious about using Frederick Nissan for any purchases or service since they do not stand behind their customers.

The final result? I traded the Maxima for a Subaru. Nissan has lost a customer and there is nothing they will ever be able to do to regain my trust/business.

If anyone wants more information, please feel free to contact me: boxtwo@earthlink.net