This Nissan Sentra was neither a quality pre-owned vehicle nor a best buy. Notice there is no "Buyers Guide" displayed in any of the windows. This is not in compliance with Federal regulation.

On May 8, 2007 I purchased this '98 Nissan Sentra from Best Buy Auto & Finance located at 2032 Lexington Road in Nicholasville, Kentucky. This dealer advertises "Quality Pre-Owned Vehicles," but the car they sold me is not a quality vehicle at all. This car has been thoroughly used — and abused — and shouldn't have been classified as "pre-owned." A better description would've been "mechanic's special."

Nobody came out to assist me, to answer my questions, so I went inside to inquire about the car. I tried to bargain with a bearded man standing in an office doorway. He wasn't friendly and quickly snapped, "Sir, I'm not a salesman. The price is on the windshield and it's a fair price." He didn't have much to say about the Nissan other than it was a trade-in from their Morehead location. Well, I should have left the building right then. Instead I bought the car and paid them $2,890.

After taking possession of the car and driving it the next day many problems were uncovered. Horrible noises — bumping, crunching, clunking, thumping — could be heard underneath the car so I took it to a mechanic. I was told the car needed an exhaust system, both front axles, repair of an oil leak possibly caused from a bad cam seal or main seal. And to add to all that another mechanic diagnosed a warped brake drum and told me I would need front and rear brakes as well as struts and shocks. Furthermore, the car is hesitant to start after it gets hot and tries to stall at highway speeds indicating a fuel injector or timing problem. The automatic transmission shifts roughly. The fuel tank is stopped up and it takes about 10 minutes to fill it up by pulling the trigger very slowly otherwise gas will spew on my body. Refueling is very annoying and embarassing. I discovered rust inside a door jamb that had been covered up with paint. I poked my finger through the paint and dug out the flaky, decaying metal leaving a sizeable hole. I've been duped, I thought.

I called Best Buy Auto & Finance on May 11th (nobody would take my call on the 10th) and talked to their auto specialist. The specialist denied anything was wrong with the car and reminded me that I bought it as-is. He argued with me about whether the car needed axles saying "those mechanics cannot be trusted." However, he went on to say that if the car did need axles that I could just buy a kit to replace the boots for a fraction of the cost of new ones. "You're just emotional right now," he said. "You got it cheap enough, and with the prices of gas it was a good buy. Just drive it and don't worry about the repairs." I asked him if Best Buy Auto & Finance would buy back the car. "No!," he said. "We wouldn't be in business long if we bought back all the cars we sold."

I told him that I would use the Internet to publish my experience with Best Buy Auto & Finance. The specialist said nothing more and abruptly ended our phone conversation.

Reputable auto dealers will not provoke customer ill-will.

Kentucky has no law protecting consumers against being ripped off by shady auto dealers. As a result dealers like Best Buy Auto & Finance hide behind the as-is law while laughing all the way to the bank. It's so easy for them to do. Because of a few bad apples legislation must be passed to protect used-car buyers. A bill to allow consumers to return vehicles after a three-day cooling-off period never made it through the House because some state lawmakers are also licensed used-car dealers. Go figure. But the day will come when it won't be so easy for shady dealers to dupe unsavvy consumers. For example, in West Virginia, a dealer cannot sell a used car "as is" — the buyer must be able to drive it for a "reasonable" period of time before the deal is final. And, in Arizona, there is a presumed warranty, for 15 days or 500 miles after a sale, that a vehicle will operate as intended.

I live on a small social security disability payment. I cannot afford to have all these repairs done. But, so far I've paid $442.74 for the axle replacements and $286.53 for the warped brake drum and rear brakes. All four struts and the front brake rotors still need to be replaced. The oil leak, losing one quart every 3 to 4 weeks, needs to be repaired. The fuel injectors need servicing. The gas tank filler tube needs to be repaired or replaced. And now ball joints are indicating the need for replacement. And I still need to take the car to a transmission shop to have the rough shifting checked out. I estimate these repairs are going to cost me at least $3,000. I was duped! This Nissan Sentra, purchased from Best Buy Auto & Finance, was not a best buy at all — unless you're a mechanic.

In summation I feel as though I purchased a pile of junk, and, Mr. Auto Specialist, that's not emotions, but the truth. And it sucks.

Special thanks to WebGripeSites.com for help establishing this site and the "Village Saab of Acton and Concord Sucks!" site for inspiring me to tell my story.