New Micra - booth door defective - any comeback?

jbmcbcy

My step daughter availed of Nissan's Double Take 2 offer last year. She got her 09 Micra Tuesday last week and we found out that booth door is not aligned. On the left side, there is a little gap between the door and the booth.

My step daughter is very disappointed, you don't expect these kinds of things from a brand new car.

What should she do? Is there any comeback for this? She is very disappointed and is afraid that the garage gave her a used/demo car.

We checked under the hood and some parts have tags that it passed QC test Dec 2007 - is this normal? And the engine and some bolts are too rusty.

We don't know too much about cars, any advice would be much appreciated.

Zonda999

jbmcbcy wrote: »

We checked under the hood and some parts have tags that it passed QC test Dec 2007 - is this normal?

In the current market, it would be pretty normal. At a guess, that car was just sitting in a depo for the last year or so. At a guess, your step-daughters 08 micra was built at exactly the same time as her 09 one. The only difference is the registration, most likely.

jbmcbcy

Zonda999 wrote: »

In the current market, it would be pretty normal. At a guess, that car was just sitting in a depo for the last year or so. At a guess, your step-daughters 08 micra was built at exactly the same time as her 09 one. The only difference is the registration, most likely.

Thanks Zonda.

Okay, QC would be fine then. What about the booth door not being aligned? What does this mean?

-Chris-

Bring it back and ask, or show it to someone knowledgable.

It may be misaligned and it just needs a tweak from a mechanic, or it may have suffered some damage in storage/use (tolerances are very tight on new cars, the "robots" are very accurate. I'd consider it unlightly that a brand new Nissan left the factory with misaligned panel gaps).

With regards to the demo/used car query - just look at her VLC. She should be the registered owner and it should show 0 previous owners.

stratos

I think a brand new car should be checked for panel damage/repairs like a secondhand car I know of garage near me that repairs damage to its brand new cars damaged in transit. I saw a transporter arrive with brand new cars with yellow circles on the damaged panels. Now maybe it's not common but still...........Surprised me.

-Chris-

Checking a new car (in detail) is part of any pre-delivery inspection. The lads I know who do it check each car with a fine-tooth comb. They'd often point out things to me that only the most anal of people would spot.
Any defects are repaired in full before delivery - nothing will put a damper on delivery of a new car than the new owner spotting a mark or scratch.

jbmcbcy

Thanks guys.

What should she do, could she ask the Nissan dealership where she got it to give her a different car?

She very disppointed with this.

-Chris-

Start off by asking them what they think caused it and can they fix it.

jbmcbcy

-Chris- wrote: »

Start off by asking them what they think caused it and can they fix it.

Thanks, I'll tell her to do this.

-Chris-

Do, but make sure she's completely happy with any explanation they give or actions they take. Let us know what they say too!

They deserve the chance to fix the car rather than just rejecting it outright, but it's a brand new car and should be mint. Accept no substitutes!

jbmcbcy

-Chris- wrote: »

Do, but make sure she's completely happy with any explanation they give or actions they take. Let us know what they say too!

They deserve the chance to fix the car rather than just rejecting it outright, but it's a brand new car and should be mint. Accept no substitutes!

I believe she is determined to get a different car as she was already asking friends if having AA check the car and getting a report would help... she is not happy that her car is already defective and it's supposed to be brand new...

-Chris-

It'll be very difficult for her to reject this car and get a different car unless there's something substantially wrong with it.
Believe it or not, allowing them to attempt to repair the car helps her case rather than hindering it - if they fix it and it's perfect, happy days. If they try to fix it and can't, then she's got strong grounds for rejecting it.

How many miles are on it now?

ninty9er

jbmcbcy wrote: »

I believe she is determined to get a different car as she was already asking friends if having AA check the car and getting a report would help... she is not happy that her car is already defective and it's supposed to be brand new...

They're only going to tell her what she wants to hear. Get an explanation from the garage. Leave, mull it over and if still unsatisfied take it further.

However, they have every right to repair the car and give it back to her.

jbmcbcy

-Chris- wrote: »

How many miles are on it now?

I think is a little over 300 KMs.

jbmcbcy

ninty9er wrote: »

They're only going to tell her what she wants to hear. Get an explanation from the garage. Leave, mull it over and if still unsatisfied take it further.

However, they have every right to repair the car and give it back to her.

That is what I told her and it'll cost her EUR399 to have AA check it.

-Chris-

Definitely don't pay that. Keep bringing the car back until she's happy with it.
If it gets to the stage where they're completely happy with it and she's not, they should pay for the AA check or independent assesors report, and she should abide by the report's conclusions.

jbmcbcy

-Chris- wrote: »

Definitely don't pay that. Keep bringing the car back until she's happy with it.
If it gets to the stage where they're completely happy with it and she's not, they should pay for the AA check or independent assesors report, and she should abide by the report's conclusions.

I would definitely show this thread to her... might help her calm down... :P

martinr5232

This is a regular enough thing with new cars believe it or not more than likely just needs adjustment on the hinges.

An AA check is no good in this situation if she has to go down that route it is an independant asseser that she needs to go to.

Tell her to go back to the dealer she bought it from and get it sorted out she has every right to be 100% happy with her new car if the dealer does not sort it out to her satisfaction ring nissan ireland and get onto customer service.

Just dont go to the dealer with all guns blazeing and they should sort it for her.

jbmcbcy

Thanks guys for all the advice.

We went to the garage yesterday, They said that the gap on her Micra is common on Micras. According to them that was the way they got it from Nissan. They showed us a 07 Micra and it looked a bit like hers but not as bad... :eek:

Well, if this is what Nissan cars are like, she is definitely not having anything to do with Nissan the next time she'll change her car.

Drummerboy08

It looks normal on the right side, but it seems to get bigger towards the left. Must go out and see if I can see another new Micra, seen as i'm in Nissan Ireland.

-Chris-

That looks terrible to be honest, I'd still be looking to get it fixed.

But at least she knows there's no damage history and that's "just the way it is".

If I were her, I'd get that in writing from the garage - that it's perfectly normal. Some day she's going to have to sell that second-hand, and if I came to buy that car from her and spotted that I'd have some questions/doubts.

EPM

Take it to a different dealer. That looks way off to me.

This one looks fine



As does this

Drummerboy08

Had a quick look in the warehouse - there were 5 unreg Micra's that i could get access to the rear off - all with perfectly aligned bootlids, like the pics above from EPM.

Is the hinge at the top of the bootlid loose, or aligned properly? Regardless, its not right. Try bringing it to a different Nissan dealer. Failing that, contact Nissan Ireland and show them the pics from here.

jbmcbcy

Thanks EPM for the photos and Drummerboy for taking a look at Micras in Nissan Ireland.

She is really planning to send those photos to Nissan as she is not satisfied with the car's quality.

The rest of the family looks like we've gone Micra mad because everytime we see Micras, we go and check the back. Some Micras are perfect like the ones on EPMs photos and some are a bit like hers but not really as bad. Her old Micra didn't have this kind of gap.

jbmcbcy

Drummerboy08 wrote: »

Is the hinge at the top of the bootlid loose, or aligned properly? Regardless, its not right. Try bringing it to a different Nissan dealer. Failing that, contact Nissan Ireland and show them the pics from here.

The hinge at the top of the bootlid is not loose and is aligned properly... that is why the garage won't do anything with it.