In the very least I think this is worth a letter to Nissan Canada and to the dealership.

Something that nobody else has touched on here is that the salesman was acting on behalf of the dealership, and the Nissan brand. In their capacity as employee they mislead you, intentional or not, and as a result you should have a leg to stand on.

Some big issues I see right off the fly from your post;
1) Lack of disclosure from the dealership
2) Employee/Salesman acting on behalf of the dealership and the Nissan brand and trying to pass the buck. There are laws dealing with this, when a company representative makes statements like the one above (no damage) there may be a leg here to stand on. By stating to you that the vehicle had no prior damage he was speaking on behalf of the dealership with that statement. You might be able to successfully argue the case that the saleman sold you a vehicle he stated was damage/history free, and you did not receive the goods as described. Now please note I'm trying to make the distinction between disclosure and the fact that you were mislead (intentionally or not) by the dealership upon discovery of the issue.


Include your photos in your letter and if you do send it, make sure you send the exact same letter to Nissan Canada, the Dealership and perhaps to the appropriate ombudsman body or BBB type organization. I like to include a little paragraph at the end about who else I've shared the story with as that seems to light some fires under people.


What about lemon laws? Anything under there that covers mis-representation of sold goods?

Catherine, I will be sending three letters: the dealership, Nissan Canada and the VSA (Motor Vehicle Sales Authority of British Columbia), who apparently really frowns on this kind of thing. Pictures along with statements from my body man and a 25 year head car salesman.
I like your idea of the threat of sharing my story; IE Facebook, Twitter, Local Newspaper Letters to the Editor, etc. I am waiting on the written and signed statements from the above and will then send off my letters and pics. Will keep you informed.

IME, you should also include a letter to global and make damn sure that Nissan Canada and the dealership know about it.

right better buisness bureau! I'd go that route for sure.

Right now there is an influx of US cars coming into Canada (mostly eastern Canada) that were damaged/written off when Hurricane Sandy hit New Jersey & NY.

Just make sure that all your correspondence is polite, but firm, and try to refrain from emoting or making threats. I typically just include either a CC list or address the letter to all parties right at the top and then within the body ask that collectively all those involved work to solve the issue to your satisfaction.

Now should they respond favourably and be inclined to help you solve your issue it could play out in two ways. Depending on what type of negotiator you are, your style, may impact the outcome. E.g. If you say you specifically want X in your letter they may not be willing to do so, however since you're really clear on only being willing to accept X they may not offer you options Y, Z or A. In short, be conscious on any negotiating or requests you make in your letter.

Good luck!

Good points. I agree. I think I will be better off by making my case and sticking to the facts: Hear what they have to say before I go all ape-$hit on them. I would be more than happy if they met me half way and split the cost of replacing the parts and new paint. Thanks for the advice.

Yup, in the past, when a company attempted to "screw" me, I explained how I would be contacting the local news outlets (i.e. Steele on Your Side) to present them with the facts of my case and request them do an expose on their company and business practices. That got their attention and they agreed very quickly to cancel the charges which I never should have been dinged with in the first place since I only asked for a quote and never agreed verbally or in writing to sign with their company.

When I had an issue with a defective product with The Shopping Channel, after bouncing back and forth with various customer "service" reps, I sent a letter via email to one other their executives (found the name online), mentioning how I had spent X number of dollars with TSC over the years, had not spent a dime since the dispute began several months earlier, am completely OCD and more than happy to share my unhappy experiences with EVERYONE I came into contact with, including posting negative feedback online and starting threads on every website I belonged to or planned to join, stating just the facts of the case and how badly TSC was handling it. (I mentioned the truism about how a happy customer will tell 5 friends, but an unhappy customer will tell EVERYONE). Within hours, I received a personal phone call from that executive (VP) who assured me that he had set into motion a complete refund of my purchase and that they would review my case to prevent future occurrences. Even gave me credit towards my next purchase.

So sometimes, when polite inquiries and negotiations fail, these kinds of tactics can work to make corporations realize that you're not just going to quietly go away and that the negative PR is not worth risking.

Hope you can resolve your situation to your satisfaction.

Anthony

Been there, 02 ford f350 blew the head gasket 2 weeks after I bought it... 80 000k on it.. And I babied it for those 2 weeks

My suggestion:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sscHAUZwO_E