Now that's a fire!

No biggie ... BYH got photos of the crabcake sandwich you didn't dominate. Evens out.

 

Well if you were there it wouldn't have happened.

Or maybe it would have. I can't remember if we were BFFs by then.

"Charlie's sitting over there with third-degree burns eating a brontosaurus burger over your car, OOP."

 

Have you ever been to Detroit?

 

Fair point. I forget when it was that we stopped being assholes to one another and just stuck with being assholes in general.

 

Now I'm pissed off all over again.

We did some research after the car fire last week and found out that the 2007 Altimas were recalled after a number of them caught fire while being driven. I don't know exactly how many, but there had to be something to it because they recalled 140,000 cars to address the problem.

I also found out that the 2006 models were recalled due to an issue that "could lead to a fire."

So, for the heck of it, we called Nissan to complain. They actually listened and said they would call. Yesterday, a representative called and questioned me about the incident and my car. She wasted a good 40 minutes of my time and asked for some paperwork and pictures of what was left of our car.

Today, before we got a chance to send any of that, I get a call from another woman at Nissan telling me that they have decided to do nothing for us. Obviously, I expected this, but she was so dismissive and arrogant about it. I let her have it, promised that we are done with Nissan forever and that I would tell everybody I know what I think of Nissan.

Maybe I'm paranoid. Maybe I'm just pissed off. But I'm never getting behind the wheel of any Nissan again and this is coming from somebody who swore by the Altima until last week.

Ok...rant over. Feeling a little better.

 

Yikes, OOP. Drove two Nissans, including one so old it still had the Datsun nameplates on it. Swear by them. But if I had experienced what you just did, I'm not certain I'd still feel that way.

Did they not make any gesture or apology to indicate that they knew they weren't including your data with the Altima stats? Ugh ... Nissan needs to be nice not only in the name of top-notch customer service, but also because that's a dog-eat-dog automotive category and the LAST thing they need is to give a customer another reason to opt for a Honda Accord or Toyota Camry.

 

Nope. No apology at all. Just a rude attitude when I dared not accept their final ruling today.

Obviously, it's just one customer, but we're gone for good.

 

Imagine what it would do to Nissan's bottom line if they were to admit they've had a "car bursting into flames" problem going back to model year 2000. Maybe that's why they were so short with you.

 

Oh, I'm sure that was definitely a factor. Actually, we were counting on it. We hoped they might just do something for us to make it go away.

 

Audi's sales circled the toilet for years on information less damning than this.

OOP, they could have at least apologized and said it was only for a certain generation - i.e., a model-year range - of Altima. Thing is, would it have killed them to offer you some sort of rebate to consider buying another Altima? Didn't have to comp one, but a couple thousand dollars or something that would have the Nissan a clear edge over Honda, Toyota or the Big Three? Especially if they're acknowledging that this has become a widespread issue?

 

Oh, they aren't acknowledging it, at least not with me. This woman even tried to tell me I was wrong about the 2007 models, which I know for a fact that they recalled due to fires. I told her not to try to BS me, that I know she has access to more information than me and I found out about these issues with a five-minute search on Google.

Her response? A sarcastic comment about the unreliability of Google. I proceeded to explain to her that I found multiple reputable sources of information with that search and that after my years in journalism, I know what is reliable better than she ever would. She didn't really have a response to that, but I knew she was done being reasonable after trying to deny the 2007 recall.

And yes, they should have apologized. But obviously, they don't think it is worth bothering with us.

 

Tell them this makes a hell of a story for the papers and that you might just know a reporter interested in hearing your story.