[Ken D]

Hi all,
today I had the 48000 km service. I live in the okanagan, and I drive this car mostly around my city. I had a little discussion today with the service dept.

She implied to me that if I didn't change the transmission fluid, as per the "preferred maintenance" then I could be looking at a possible warranty issue. The scheduled maintenance requires a fluid check. (which was checked "good" on the sheet)

Do you think this is just a $ grab of unneccesary maintenance for normal driving conditions?
Thoughts?

Thanks.

 

[iluvmyVersa08]

I definitely think it is a ploy to get you to spend money there. If you do any maintenance on your own, or elsewhere (besides the dealership) keep your receipts and record it all down.

 

[JSanford86]

yeah you have to be careful with Nissan. When the new GTR came out, they tried to say if you only changed one tire instead of all 4 it voided your warranty because the nanometers of difference in thread depth from 1,000 miles on 3 tires and 0 miles on 1 tire could "cause transmission failure". Thats what you get when a standard car maker tries to make a supercar lol.

 

[Ken D]

Thanks for the quick replies.

Yes, it's been a little disapointing, I expected more from Nissan.

She was actually impolite, like she wasn't too happy all through this service.


The bill came to $ 284.51 , and that was for the regular maintenance, I can't imagine what the preferred maintenance would have been.
That was for an air filter , oil change, cabin filter and oil "treatment". Oh, and a wiper blade, which they said needed changing.

This is a quarterly maintenance.

At the bottom of the bill there is a $ 10.67 charge for what they call some sort of "repair order charge". I asked her what it was, but she didn't seem to really know. She said all customers get charged that!

 

[JSanford86]

don't go to the dealership. They are crooks. Go to Merchant's tire or somewhere like that. They do the same quality work for half the price and aren't going to jack you on unneeded work. My dealership told me I "needed a replacement belt asap". Went to Merchant's and they told me it had some minor dryrot cracks in the back of the belt and should be ok for quite a while longer. That was on my 350z, which cost a lot more to maintain than the Versa lol.

 

[iluvmyVersa08]

Wow that is very expensive.
I just changed the in-cabin filter at home (takes about 10 minutes). The air filter I changed last year but this year installed the CAI. And the oil changes are also changed at home. My dealership doesn't even bother asking me to bring in the car for maintenance. I was there not too long ago for a recall issue, and they never bothered me. They are very friendly, but they know I'm not interested in paying $50 for just a basic oil change. Or another $75 for the in-cabin filter to be changed. It's all things I can do at home, on my free time, and at a much cheaper cost. I just save all my receipts and document the mileage.

Also, if you look at the required maintenance in the log book, some of the things are absurd. Who needs the wipers replaced? When they need to be replaced I'll replace them. I'm not going to replace them at the mileage the book tells me just because it says I do.

 

[PCversa]

yeah, I think I did the preferred maintence @ the dealer for my 30,000 mi service and it was 500ish.

 

[iluvmyVersa08]

$500 ? OMG ...

I have not spent a dime at the dealership in maintenance since I bought the car (over 2 years ago).

 

[PCversa]

Haha yeah it was the only one I did there and they did a lot of diff things so it wasn't a total ripoff.

Also had a coupon.

I took the same list of things they did to my local mechanic and it was only like 75$ cheaper.

 

[iluvmyVersa08]

Wow ... I can only imagine how much more that would cost over here to get done! I don't even ask them for prices anymore.

My dad teaches me how to change and maintain everything on the car. So we do all the maintenance at home. I get to learn how everything works, and save some money

My brother recently had another nail appear in his tire on his Sentra. He took it in to the dealer and they fixed the tire for free (this is the second time he's had a flat happen because of a nail). So they do still honour your warranty even though you don't go there for servicing.

 

[JSanford86]

I agree with Ashley. They can not tell you your warranty isnt valid if you don't get dealership maintainence. As long as you keep very detailed records then they cannot deny you.

 

[Ken D]

Well, i'm one of these people who dont mind spending $50 at the dealer to get the oil changed. My years crawling around under a car are over I hope, i've done many oil changes in the past.
Besides, a quick lube is only going to be about $5 less, so why not take it to those that know the car?

The problem I have is when you book a service, and they automatically put you in for the "preffered service" without asking.
That, and being charged for things they dont even know what they are. They dont even have to be all that cheerful! :smilewinkgrin:

Next time I make an appointment, i'll have to make sure I specify "maintenance #1".

Thanks for the responses.

 

[iluvmyVersa08]

Ya sometimes the service people could be a bit nicer.

I just figure I'm young enough to do this at home for $20 rather than $50.

 

[JSanford86]

Yeah, I don't say do it yourself, but don't let the dealer do it either unless they are legit. Some of them just try to get anything they can out of you

 

[robj80]

I run schedule 2. There is a questionare in the manual I believe that tells you which one you should use. Hopefully you won't run into any warranty claim problem. I hope I don't either as I do all my own work but don't keep the receipts for my oil changes. It's really hard because my car takes so little oil and I buy the big jugs of oil. So not every oil change I really have a receipt for. I guess I can just buy the filters and keep that receipt.

 

[PIMking]

Our dealership is only 35 to change the oil. I think the wal mart is like 29 dollars so it's not that much of a difference.

I don't have the tools that I normally have up in Iowa so basically I don't do that stuff.

 

[robj80]

Our dealership is only 35 to change the oil. I think the wal mart is like 29 dollars so it's not that much of a difference.

I don't have the tools that I normally have up in Iowa so basically I don't do that stuff.

All you need is 14mm socket and a ratchet. You can buy those and the oil at walmart for cheaper then the $35 oil change at the dealer. Then next time you do it you don't have to buy the tool again.