Red Flags or Nothing to Worry About? - Altima Forums.net - The Nissan Altima Enthusiast Talk and Discussion Forums

vangto02 · 07-13-2011

So....I just bought my Altima. It had 16k miles and I bought it for $17,900 (after taxes and fees, it came to about $19,300).

A couple problems came up:

1) Two days ago I full blasted the A/C in my car and noticed that water or some fluid was leaking on the passenger side interior, near the foot section (...for lack of not knowing the technical term).

2) From having the car for only 3 days, I see the brake lights come on and off periodically (the light would shine for a good 30 seconds to a minute and then go away completely for a while then repeat).

I called the dealership on these two issues, turns out a pipe on the A/C is broken which disposes water produced by using the A/C to the exterior of the car (that's what the mechanic explained to me). This pipe was cracked so it was leaking water into the interior. Estimated cost of getting a replacement pipe and having it installed is $1350 they told me. Of course in my mind, I'm not paying for anything broken for a $20k car I just bought...but anyway, they emailed me earlier today saying they will cover all the expenses, parts & installation.

On the brake lights, turns out that the brake fluid was low. So they refilled it and that solved the problem.

My main concern, this car only has 16k miles and it already has low brake fluid levels and a broken A/C part....makes me wonder if this car was abused by the previous driver or if the car's been in an accident that has yet to show up on the CarFax report (car has clean title and no accidents on record).

Anyway...should I be worried? What other things should I look for? The dealership has a 60 day or 2500 miles warranty for covering certain items so I want to make sure this car has everything perfectly running before the dealership can just write me off due to having the car too long.

Also, the car didn't come with any floor mats!!! I found that to be kind of weird! Who would sell a car and take the floor mats out? They left the trunk mat though.

Am I worried over nothing or should I be cautious?

altimusprime · 07-13-2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by vangto02

So....I just bought my Altima. It had 16k miles and I bought it for $17,900 (after taxes and fees, it came to about $19,300).

A couple problems came up:

1) Two days ago I full blasted the A/C in my car and noticed that water or some fluid was leaking on the passenger side interior, near the foot section (...for lack of not knowing the technical term).

2) From having the car for only 3 days, I see the brake lights come on and off periodically (the light would shine for a good 30 seconds to a minute and then go away completely for a while then repeat).

I called the dealership on these two issues, turns out a pipe on the A/C is broken which disposes water produced by using the A/C to the exterior of the car (that's what the mechanic explained to me). This pipe was cracked so it was leaking water into the interior. Estimated cost of getting a replacement pipe and having it installed is $1350 they told me. Of course in my mind, I'm not paying for anything broken for a $20k car I just bought...but anyway, they emailed me earlier today saying they will cover all the expenses, parts & installation.

On the brake lights, turns out that the brake fluid was low. So they refilled it and that solved the problem.

My main concern, this car only has 16k miles and it already has low brake fluid levels and a broken A/C part....makes me wonder if this car was abused by the previous driver or if the car's been in an accident that has yet to show up on the CarFax report (car has clean title and no accidents on record).

Anyway...should I be worried? What other things should I look for? The dealership has a 60 day or 2500 miles warranty for covering certain items so I want to make sure this car has everything perfectly running before the dealership can just write me off due to having the car too long.

Also, the car didn't come with any floor mats!!! I found that to be kind of weird! Who would sell a car and take the floor mats out? They left the trunk mat though.

Am I worried over nothing or should I be cautious?

the ac thing could go either way, lot boys drive those things like rentals with ac on full blast, maybe they put too much load on the ac system with downshifting or something? or it could just be a freak thing that just happened and now you wont have to worry about it, the fluid issue however im surprised that dealer didn't top alll your fluids off, brake fluid isnt something that runs out that quickly so i wouldnt make sure i dont have any leaks anywhere. but you can always bring these concerns up to ur floor manager at the dealership and he will explain everything to you. nissans are well built cars though so dont lose faith

Penguinchit · 07-14-2011

You should swing over to BC and we'll run a fine tooth comb through your car. I have a rack, so we can put it in the air and check everything underneath as well...And then install your lowering springs and exhaust as well.

Jeanette645 · 07-14-2011

That's too funny. You have the same car I have and I noticed the same problem with water leaking in the same place. Took it to Nissan and they are fixing it. I am actually dropping my car off there today after work.

Forgot what the part was .... the evaporator something. They are replacing it at no charge. I was pretty mad because I don't even have plates yet. I'll get a rental for a day.

I'm already having withdrawals :-)

manhtu · 11-15-2011

This is a great thread! i'm having the same issue with my brake light coming on and off at times and couldn't understand why. I'm going to try filling up my brake fluid and see if that solves it.

Thanks!