Gettel Nissan

My 2006 Nissan Pathfinder was running hotter than normal, I checked the antifreeze coolant and it was low. There was no sign of leakage. Otherwise it was running fine, no stalling. I checked out the codes and there were several codes but no check engine light; the computer was reporting that it should have been on. The codes reported random misfires (there was no sign of rough running) and 2 others reporting emissions errors and a communication error. I then had it towed to Gettel Nissan in Sarasota Fl. on 5/18/17 and spoke with Michael Coleman. I explained ALL of the above and that I was using it to move to Colorado so to please make sure the vehicle was completely checked out. I also mentioned I am a mechanic and I was worried it was a leaky head or intake gasket. He replied , his guy is good and he will find the problem. He called a short while after I dropped it off and said his guy said it had antifreeze leaking into the transmission and it was a common fix and would take a few days to get the parts. I explained that didn't make sense to me. I was aware of that problem (lawsuit ongoing with Nissan) with this vehicle and that I did not experience the loss of power and transmission slippage that you would experience with this problem. I also checked the transmission fluid and there was NO sign of water in the fluid (milky/foamy bubbles) I'm an experienced mechanic myself. It sounded more like a head gasket/head crack or intake leak that was burning the coolant through the motor. He said his guy knew what he was doing and I believed Nissan should know its cars so I agreed to have it fixed as I needed it to move the following week. I drove the truck round 100 miles and when I checked my fluids before hitting the road I noticed the coolant was a little low? I thought perhaps Nissan didn't top it off or there was a bubble in the engine that burped out. The next day I check the fluid again and it was about ½ gallon low on antifreeze/coolant. I checked the codes and the same ones were back and the the light on the dash was not working I called Michael and explained the situation and told him I was only getting about 14MPG. He said that mpg would be expected giving I was fully loaded and to bring it to a Nissan Dealer in Denver. I then brought it to Empire Nissan dealer in Denver. The mechanic there told me that what Gettel did didn't make sense after looking over the work order from Gettel. The radiator that had been replaced by Gettel's mechanic was a newer one w/o known problem. And if it did have the coolant fluid leak into the transmission the Empire Nissan guy said they would have replaced it instead of just flushing it as Gettel did. Flushing it would have been a band-aid fix expecting the transmission would fail down the road. Empire Nissan noticed that the mechanic from Gettel Nissan had not written down all the issues I had explained to him. Why would he replace the newer radiator? How can he deny that he did not address the issues correctly? If you look at the work he did rather than the “problem” written at check in, again it's obvious that there was more It is our belief that the initial problem of loss of coolant was never diagnosed correctly. No Due diligence. The radiator did not need to be replaced nor the transmission flushed. The Empire Nissan dealer has now quoted me $7000 to fix it correctly. The actual repair needed is blown head gaskets and warped heads. Which makes more sense from the beginning. What I originally suspected when I brought it in. If it was correctly diagnosed in the first place we would have never gone ahead with the $2764.45 in repairs and just paid the $100 diagnostic fee.

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They do the work well, however they are expensive. Really expensive. They took me in right away, and they were fast. For the recall and the oil change, I was in and out in an hour. 

There waiting room could be a little more comfortable.

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Paid $10 for an oil change. Was surprised by timely response, and not being cheated - honestly I try to stay away from the dealers - was ripped off in the past. Will use them time from time but always would call my mechanic to compare prices for the parts.

Told me to call AAA.

Sarasota is kind of far from me, but I'd drive back up there to get a car from them. From the time you walk in everyone is great. I was walked through everything. The sales rep, Chris Mettille, was so patient and sweet and took his time with me. I really liked that. I'd highly recommend them.