A self-employed driving instructor has faced a threat to his livelihood after Nissan failed to repair his leased dual-control car for three months. The vehicle has been off the road awaiting a spare part, with further delays pushing the repair date to at least four months.
To continue working, he hired a dual-control vehicle at a cost exceeding £2,500, while still paying nearly £1,500 in PCP finance on the unusable car. He borrowed over £1,000 from relatives to extend the hire, after which he had no funds left and risked losing customers and income.
Repair delays and financial strain
The instructor contacted a consumer champion in mid-March when the estimated repair date was postponed for the third time to the end of April. His hire contract was due for renewal on 15 April, leaving no time for further delays. However, Nissan showed no urgency, keeping him uninformed about timelines and reimbursements, and requiring repeated chasing for updates.
Meanwhile, he was paying £490 monthly in PCP payments and a £952 monthly hire fee. The consumer champion persuaded Nissan to reimburse hire car costs up to the unspecified repair date, but the payment did not materialise quickly. Two weeks later, Nissan sourced the part and scheduled the repair for 15 April, the same day the hire contract ended. The promised reimbursement within 10 days would not arrive in time if the repair was delayed again. Nissan then agreed to fund further hire directly but refused to put this in writing. Ultimately, the car was repaired just in time.
Compensation and outcome
The instructor calculated nearly £900 in lost earnings and other expenses beyond hire charges. Nissan initially offered two years of free servicing, but the instructor had already paid for a service plan and planned to replace the car in 12 months. After further intervention from the consumer champion, Nissan apologised and agreed to pay compensation, the value of which was not disclosed.
Nissan stated: “We are sympathetic to the customer’s experience, which fell below the high standards Nissan and its dealer partners strive to deliver.”
