I am writing this review to provide a fully documented, factual record of my recent purchase of a…read moreNissan 370Z Roadster from this dealership to forewarn other buyers.
1. The Pre-Sale Disclosures & Negotiation
During the test drive, the vehicle's visual condition was fully transparent: it had cosmetic wear, bent body panels, old/no-name/mismatched tires, aftermarket wheels, shaky brakes, and a convertible top that would not open. The salesperson explicitly stated they "checked the convertible top fuse and it was good," framing the roof issue as a minor, innocent electrical mystery. I negotiated a purchase price that fairly reflected the vehicle's cosmetic state and the assumption of a standard electrical repair for the roof. I willingly signed an "As-Is" agreement based entirely on those specific disclosures.
2. The Discovery of Mechanical Sabotage
Upon taking the vehicle home and performing a professional, multi-hour manual teardown to diagnose the top, I discovered severe, undisclosed structural damage. The entire underlying roof assembly, linkages, bows, and hinges are physically bent and snapped beyond repair-requiring a $10,000 retail replacement. Furthermore, I discovered that the top's interior switch and hydraulic system had been deliberately disconnected. This was not normal wear-and-tear; the system was physically bypassed to prevent the roof from moving, which actively concealed the twisted and broken structural metal frame from being discovered during a standard pre-purchase inspection.
3. Unjust Enrichment and the Arbitration
When I confronted the dealership with the diagnostic photos of the bent and broken frame, hinges and linkages, they admitted they already had an active wholesale arbitration case open with the selling agent regarding this vehicle's defects -a critical piece of legal and mechanical history they actively withheld from me during the sales process.
The dealership then requested my personal diagnostic photos to submit to the auction. They successfully used my labor to secure a $1,500 payout from the auction to make themselves whole. However, when it came to resolving the issue with me, they attempted to pocket the auction money, hide behind Montana's "As-Is" laws to protect their profit, and refused to provide a fair retail remedy to fix the $5,000 structural deficit they delivered.
When I requested a fair retail remedy to fix the $5,000 structural deficit (using my own labor and a used salvaged roof), the dealer retaliated by rescinding all offers entirely. They are now pocketing the auction's $1,500 payout-money they only received because of my diagnostic labor-and leaving me completely empty-handed with a broken car.
Conclusion
An "As-Is" clause is designed to protect a dealership from unknown mechanical wear; it is not a legal license to misrepresent a vehicle's history, hide active legal disputes, or sell a vehicle with a bypassed, structurally compromised frame.
Because the dealership has refused to provide a fair settlement to make this vehicle whole, formal complaints for material misrepresentation and deceptive business practices have been filed with the Montana Department of Justice Office of Consumer Protection and the Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) Dealer Licensing Bureau. Buyer beware.