Harte Nissan

I recently had a deeply disappointing experience with Harte Nissan regarding an insurance claim repair for my 2018 Nissan Pathfinder SL after extensive rodent damage to the vehicle’s wiring harnesses. Despite my expectations of expertise and transparency, I encountered misdiagnoses, delays, excessive charges, and a lack of communication. Harte Nissan’s mismanagement left me without a vehicle for over two months. Eventually, my insurance declared it a total loss, and I’m left to cover a financial gap to replace the vehicle. Initially, Harte Nissan billed me nearly $10,000 for the first round of repairs, which my insurance covered. However, they later submitted an additional $7,000 supplemental claim without notifying me—I only discovered this by chance through my insurance app. When I called Corey, my contact at the dealership, he admitted they had missed additional damage, requiring further diagnostics and labor to take the car apart and reassemble it. Throughout the process, communication was inconsistent and unreliable. Corey, often unavailable due to injury or days off, left me without updates, and no system was in place to provide a backup point of contact. Reaching out to the manager, Sylvester, was equally unhelpful, as I was only told the work was "ongoing." Only after speaking with another representative did I learn of their staffing shortages. I was told they only had one specialist to handle complex wiring repairs. Due to technicians being out, this wiring specialist was pulled from my vehicle to work on other jobs, which delayed my repair further. Despite Harte Nissan’s claim of expertise, they appeared to lack the resources or thoroughness needed to complete such a complex job, resulting in misdiagnoses, inflated costs, and excessive delays. Adding to my frustration, Corey initially mentioned they were out approximately $8,500 for parts and labor on my repair. Yet when it came time for the final payout, they demanded the full amount originally estimated by the adjuster—nearly $10,000—without any willingness to negotiate or adjust the charges. This inconsistency raised serious questions about their honesty in handling costs. Furthermore, when I came to retrieve belongings from the vehicle, I found the interior fully assembled, with no visible signs of recent disassembly. The bumper, however, was left off, leaving me to wonder if they had, in fact, fully reassembled the vehicle or even performed the second round of diagnostics. Ultimately, when the repair costs escalated to more than the vehicle’s value, my insurance declared the vehicle a total loss. Had Harte Nissan accurately diagnosed the vehicle from the start, it’s likely the car would have been deemed a total loss initially, without all the wasted work, time, and cost. Instead, I’m left with a $30,000 insurance claim, factoring in repair costs, rental vehicle, and vehicle value. The dealer, however, received a $10,000 payout for incomplete work, reinforcing my sense of their greed and profit-first approach. Their exorbitant labor rate exceeded $200 per hour, reinforcing that profit was prioritized. They also collected $100 per day for vehicle “storage,” which felt like yet another greedy charge. It’s difficult not to question their integrity and feel that they benefited from the situation at my expense. Harte Nissan accepted no responsibility for their negligence and insisted on getting every penny of the initial insurance appraisal. Despite all I was put through, Sylvester had an underling deal with me and only emerged from his office when I requested a tax exemption (which our religious nonprofit was legally entitled to), making it clear he wanted every dollar of the insurance payout, including the $500 deductible, with no room for negotiation. His unwillingness to engage except to insist on full payment showed a complete lack of empathy or remorse for the situation. As a loyal customer since 2019, I am deeply disappointed. I cannot recommend Harte Nissan and strongly advise caution.