Milford Nissan

When we met with the sales associate, we spoke with him AT LENGTH regarding my need for a car that would be good in the snow. When he asked me what was the most important thing I was looking for, I said that it had to have AWD and drive well in the snow. I am an essential hospital employee and have to commute to work regardless of road conditions. I also live on an extremely steep hill and had trouble getting home during winter weather in my previous vehicle. We came to the dealership looking for a Juke SV AWD because we had read about its ability to drive in winter weather. There were no Juke SVs on the lot, so the sales associate showed me a Juke Nismo, which seemed to meet all of my needs. I liked the upgraded features of the Nismo, but asked for verification that it had AWD and would be good in the snow. I was assured that it was. Because of this, I purchased the Nismo and drove it home on November 1st. Upon reading the manual and specifications of my car at home, I realized that the Nismo comes equipped with summer tires. I was not familiar with summer tires, so I decided to do some research. I read online that summer tires were not suitable for winter driving. I promptly called and emailed the dealership to get more information. When I finally received a call back, the sales associate assured me that the summer tires would be perfectly safe in the snow. He said that they sold many Nismos last year and didn't receive a single complaint about winter driving. I asked him to verify this because I am currently 33 weeks pregnant and do not want to put me or my child in any danger. He reiterated that the car would be safe with the tires that are on it. I decided to do more research. First, I called the tire manufacturer, Continental. They told me that summer tires ARE NOT safe to drive in the winter, and that they shouldn't even be on the car when the temperature dips below 45 degrees due to the rubber compound. They said that I would have trouble even driving in a straight line in snow or ice. I then called three other area Nissan dealerships who confirmed this exact statement. Finally, I called the service department at Milford Nissan without revealing my identity. Even they agreed that the tires were unsafe in the winter. I called the sales associate and presented him with this information. At first, he profusely apologized and said he had "no idea" the tires were summer tires. He said he would have to call me back. When he did, he said that he spoke with his manager and because my car had AWD, the summer tires would be fine in the winter. This is simply untrue. He said that the other dealerships were misinforming me because they are Milford Nissan's competitors (even though I didn't tell the other dealerships why I was calling). He again assured me that the car and tires would be safe for me and my baby in the winter. We met with the general manager this weekend who 100% agreed with the sales associate. I had no other option but to spend almost $1000 on all-season tires (not from Nissan) in order to keep my family safe in spite of what I was being told. I am afraid for the other families who may have bought a Juke Nismo from this dealership not aware of the summer tires. This type of misinformation could lead to injury and death.