Hello,

I need some advice and help. I just bought a 2000 Maxima. When I got home, I was trying to put the child car seat in the back when I noticed that the seat belts in the back are broken. The base in which the metal buckle slides in, is broken for all three back seat belts. When I inspected the car at the time of purchase, the dealer had the back seat belts laid out real nice on over the seats making it look like they are perfect.

I had to drive about 170 miles to another city in our state to go get that car; now I feel so worried about how to fix this problem. I have two kids and I can't have a car without seat belts. Can someone please advise me what my options are? Do I have any right to claim I was cheated and get the dealer to either fix the seat belts or take the car back and return my money? or is it totally out of my hands?

The car still has manufacturer's 60 month/ 60,000 powertrain warranty and the dealer also gave a 3,000 miles/3 month warranty on powertain but I fear none of these warranties will cover this problem. I wanted to know that if the seller fraudulenty sells a defective item, does it give the buyer any right to get their money back or get them to correct the problem?

Lastly, can anyone tell me if its possible to replace the seat belts in the back seat of the 2000 Maxima and how much roughly it may cost? I am very concerned and worried as I have two little kids and I don't know how I will transport them. I would greatly appreciate any help. God bless,

James M

 

James, the warranty should cover this for you. I had a problem with
my seat belt retractor after 40K miles. I took it back to the dealer
expecting to pay for it but they fixed it for free and said the
restraint devices are covered for the life of the car. You should
try that first.

On the other issue; yes, if the seller of the car knew the belts were
defective/broken and sold the car as if they were good, they are at
fault. I guess I can only speak for AZ since that's where I took my
class but in it they gave a similar analogy:
You're selling a car and the floorboard is rusted through at one
point. You do not tell the seller, in fact, you put a floormat over
the damaged area to conceal it. The seller drives off, has to make
an emergency stop and their foot goes through the floor. Blah blah
blah...you're liable as the seller. The rules are pretty strict
when it comes to the structural integrity of safety components, at
least here.

 

Thanks joaquink so much for your advice. You don't know how much it has given me a ray of hope. I will follow your advice. I hope I can get this resolved. Thanks once again. So very kind of you. May God bless you.

JM

 

Dont quote me on this but I believe safety belts should have a lifetime warranty on them.

 

ummm. i thought we had lifetime warranty on seatbelts.

 

I think eric is right about the lifetime warranty. Check the owners manual too, it will list if seatbelts are covered under powertrain.

 

Ok, first of all, I would like to thank everyone of you who replied to my message. I am very thankful and grateful to you. It shows that there are good people out there who still care for one another and do what they can in their capacity to help.

Fortunately, and I thank God for that; I had my back seat checked. They pulled the whole seat out. And there, we found that the right and left side seat belts were intact; the base end of those belts had been pushed underneath the seat deep inside and so it was just a matter of pulling it out of there.

Only the center seat belt is broken which I will get fixed from the dealer. I am so relieved I can't begin to tell you. The support and advice I have received from people here, is just amazing. I will continue to be active in posting messages here and learn from you guys.

Thanks once again. No good deed, no matter how little it is, is ever wasted. God bless

 

good to hear that it was taken care of