Better Business Bureau

I have bought eight cars from Nissan Saint Augustine over about the last seven years. The first was a used VW Routan,I traded this in for a Nissan Quest that will be paid off in a few months, I was pleasantly surprised and it certainly sealed the deal with a powertrain warranty that was somewhat limited but with the understanding that if I had oil changes and the routine maintenance done every 30k miles the engine and transmission would be covered. This was the selling point for the next 3 cars I bought. I think this dealership is under new ownership and or management and will not honor what I believed was our agreement. Of course, no one likes being taken advantage of nor misled.

Everyone involved knew I was a taxi. But seems I was tricked. The reason I kept buying new cars was because of this bonus and now I feel that this was either just a ploy or really was a legitimate sales pitch that is being ignored now as just too costly. The second car I bought was a 2015 Altima that now needs a transmission and the dealership has refused to cover, Cynthia and Mark were aware of my situation and have honored my agreement before. In fact, each of my vehicles have had at least one transmission replaced, no charge. Cynthia has since been promoted, after Pat the service manager I had had most of my dealings with, was let go, and I don’t believe Mark works there anymore. Ace and Bob were the finance managers and knew that I was using cars for taxis and continued to sell me 2 Sentra’s that both had this warranty. The last Nissan Versa I bought did not have any guarantees and I just had the dealership replace the transmission knowing that I would have to pay. Which I did.

Over the years I have bought over 120k in vehicles the last being a used Tahoe that I paid 8k cash for. I have no clue how many tens of thousands I have spent in cabin filters, transmission and brake flushes, oil changes and air filters, cabin filters etc. These maintenance procedures are incredibly costly, and we were religious in our devotion to the mileage specifications, with the understanding that if we missed a scheduled maintenance our warranty might be voided.

To continue to sell us cars under these conditions seems at best shady if not criminal. And I wonder if a worthwhile FDUPTA case might be ripe? I do not think old management would have denied this claim so I would like for the owner and legal advisors to be made aware of what the new management is doing. If it with your blessing, then so be it and we can move in a different direction.

One example is several months ago I brought in the 2014 Quest. I told them I needed a wiper motor. The front-line service department employees said I needed an 850.00 module of course that was not the issue it needed the motor. I did pay thinking to myself well they have honored the powertrain warranties, so I paid: said little. This usually is not the case in the service department. Most times they do get the diagnosis correct.

The Altima sits at service area for almost two weeks with the initial estimate at two days. The diagnosis is the transmission, but warranty will not be honored, we have the parts be done in a day or 2, of course they are having issues with some bolts. I still must pay for commercial insurance, and not only do I lose the income that this vehicle generates but I lose customers and an employee or two.

Good news after five weeks the Altima is finally ready. Huge loses to me and the company. I could have almost bought a new Versa.

Many of my decisions regarding fixing my cars when involved in accidents have been based on these warranties. The Sentra was totaled yet I took the small amount offered and had the body work done, if I knew that my warranties would be negated I would have used my gap coverage and just used the 4500.00 I paid to buy a lower mileage used car.

My business model has been seriously pierced and I believe that the company has been bamboozled. No one likes a welcher, whether on a friendly bet and especially on a business deal. To fact check my name is Steven Ciccantelli and/or Abraxi taxi and all purchases and transmission work has been done at Saint Augustin Nissan. I believe all my contracts should also be scanned and in your data base.

Please show me anything I signed waving my rights to these warranties. I now own three cars straight out and owe maybe 9,000 on the Sentra and the Quest.

So, let’s start chapter 2 Altima……Seems that when they replaced my free transmission there seems to have been a problem with that installation and so the car has been towed to Evans to see if the bolts can be welded out. After another week the car will be towed back to the dealership. Your technician has found a way to drill out the damaged bolts that were improperly installed last time.

I bought many cars here at Nissan Saint Augustine because of the understanding that I would have powertrain warranties if we had all scheduled and suggested maintenance done. We followed this with the fervor of a zealot. Three of our vehicles have had transmissions repaired/replaced at no charge. Thank you for that. Now the Altima that had a transmission replaced in the past was denied the warranty. As it appears to me now the last person that did the work somehow did not screw the bolts properly into place. The store then had car towed to another shop to see if they could somehow remove the bolts that were installed incorrectly.

So, after five weeks and many excuses I finally have Altima back with a freon hose destroyed. So almost 3200.00 lost in revenue 3600.00 for the transmission you reneged on and another 500.00 for fixing the hose.

Instead of treating me like a red headed stepchild you could be promoting the fact that I have been using Nissans for a taxi service and reach out to those rideshare drivers promoting a new Nissan versa. Good car very reliable cheap to maintain and takes a lickin keeps on tickin. To say I am incredibly disappointed might be the understatement of the year. If I have been a bit repetitive it’s because I have been writing this letter for five weeks. You should realize that after seven years I feel betrayed, defrauded and fleeced.

Please feel free to investigate this matter if you so choose. If you want to respond back that would be awesome. I await your responses eagerly. I will be sending this letter to the corporate headquarters, the owner and any officers within the company based in Coral Gables and the General Manager at Nissan Saint Augustine. This is not just a bad Yelp review; it is a serious matter that needs to be addressed.