From distant Staten Island comes warning of the biggest lemon on the Bushwick market. The Staten Island Advance reports that in November, Jose Perez of Bushwick sold a 2004 Nissan Maxima on Craigslist to a Staten Islander. The buyer got a sweet deal at $6000, but it took him less than an hour to realize that the car was junk. Swayed by neither the award-winning VQ engine nor the expressive sports styling, the buyer demanded a refund.

Police say the car was actually a salvaged vehicle, with a forged title bearing a fake name. Perez wasn’t about to give the money back (not after shelling out for the toll on the Verrazano), but he did try for a recall. Three days after the sale, the buyer says he watched from the window of his Staten Island home while Perez stole the car back. It later turned up back in Brooklyn, being driven by a less discerning new owner. Perez was picked up in Bushwick on Sunday and faces seven charges including forgery, grand larceny, and false advertising.

According to Nissan’s 2004 press kit the Maxima “has an exceptionally loyal owner base, with many buyers on their fourth or fifth Maxima,” but is also, “in essence, a wolf in wolf’s clothing.”