On 7/26/24, my friend and I went on an exciting journey to purchase what we thought would be a reliable Nissan Frontier, but it didn't take long for our joy to turn to misery after we were lied to, cheated, and ghosted by the worst used car dealer either of us have ever dealt with.
When we walked into Surfside Auto Company, we spoke to Kevin, who with a big smile and cheerful demeanor made it seem like he had our best interests at heart. We traveled 6 hours to purchase a Nissan Frontier, and Kevin assured us that the vehicle was solid, but after our test drive, it was obvious that the brake pedal had inconsistent pressure. When we mentioned this to Kevin, he told us that he noticed this same issue when he drove the vehicle an hour before we arrived, and that, in his words, "because it is a safety issue, we HAVE to take care of it." He gave us the option to either wait until Monday and have Surfside Auto fix it, or drive back to PA and have a local shop take care of the repair, with Kevin ensuring that we would be compensated for the cost of the work after it was done. He seemed true to his word, but appearances can be deceiving, as you will soon learn.
After we arrived back to PA, we took the truck to Nissan for an inspection to determine what was necessary to repair the brakes, and they came back with a nightmare report, the least of which had to do with the brakes, as they found that the radiator was leaking fluid into the transmission, which leads to what is known online as the "strawberry milkshake of death," where the transmission fails prematurely due to radiator liquid diluting the transmission fluid. We were shocked to say the least, and it was obvious to us and Nissan that this should have been uncovered during Surfside Auto Company's inspection of the Frontier prior to it being sold to us, yet, it was not. Furthermore, other leaks and issues were found, yet the dire revelation was that the radiator needed to be replaced, and the transmission would possibly not survive a flush/fill, which, if so, would necessitate a new transmission.
We contacted Kevin with these findings on Monday 7/29/24 at 11:50am, and after much time went by without a reply, we called the dealership, and Kevin finally responded, saying that the owner would be in on Tuesday morning, after which Kevin will speak to him and let us know what they will do to help. Take note that the Nissan Frontier which we just purchased 3 days earlier from Surfside Auto Company has been incapacitated since Monday morning, and we won't be hearing from Kevin until Tuesday as to what the owner tells him.
On Tuesday 7/30/24, Kevin said that the owner would not do anything about the transmission and radiator, and that "it sounds very funny that it wouldn't have been picked up at our shop," which is exactly what me, my friend and Nissan were thinking, meaning that either Surfside Auto Company did not inspect the vehicle, or did not disclose the findings (which would be fraud). Kevin also said that the owner would not be on the hook "for an entirely new brake system, because he is certain that it doesn't need that." Please understand that Nissan, the company who made the vehicle, assured us that the problem with inconsistent brake pressure is due to the Hydraulic Control Assembly, which needed to be replaced for $769.16, and if it wasn't, the problem would remain. Remember that Kevin looked both me and my friend in the face and said regarding the inconsistent brake pressure "because it is a safety issue, we HAVE to take care of it," and that he would compensate us for the repair. Now, after the sale is done, Kevin says that the owner refuses to provide what his sales representative Kevin promised, which is, once again, fraud.
Please see the attached photo for the rest of my review. read more