Daylight robbery (D40 40,000km service)

[Eug]

Just dropped my car in for it's 40,000km service and they quoted me $1066 to pay when I pick up this afternoon, that is stupidly expensive!!

In true stealership form they didn't even have my booking on file, nor my correct name, address and contact details (all from the previous owner).

They mentioned that it was a major service. Are they having me on or are others getting similar quotes?

Needless to say I'll be seeking alternatives to maintain my log book servicing elsewhere.

/Rant over
Cheers
Eug

 

[KraftyPg]

I think someone the other day suggested their dealership wanted $1200+ for the 40K. They are right it is a major service (well maybe not the biggest but there is a few things that get replaced and checked). I don't for a minute believe the cost is justified however time frame and parts (at stupid Nissan) prices have to be factored into their high prices.

Most decent mechanics can do a 40K service more than adequately, with the added bonus they probably have more chance of remembering you and getting your details right so it is worth shopping around if you aren't into dealer rip offs.

 

[Eug]

Thanks for the reply KraftyPg, $1200 is even worse! I don't believe the cost is justified either, I am awaiting the receipt to read $100 parts and $900 for labour or something similarly ridiculous.

I've just had a look through some of my documents and it appears that my 'extended warranty' is dealer based. Looks like I'm stuck with Westpoint

 

[KraftyPg]

Don't forget they charge you some stupid fee for waste removal (or some such wording) My mechanic gets his wasted oil sucked away by the truck load for nothing yet all dealerships and many mechanics charge you a fee based on the theory that they have to pay to get rid of it.

Does your extended warranty specifically say which dealer you have to go to or just a Nissan dealer because prices will vary dealer to dealer. It's not always practical to play one dealer against another, especially if they are a fair distance apart but if you can you'll quite often reep the benefits.

 

[Eug]

I hate that damn environmental fee disposal crap also.

I think my warranty is specific to a particular family of dealers (Westpoint) they handle Honda, Holden, Suzuki and Nissan. The problem is that Nissan make good cars, the dealer is local and has quite a presence in the area. My family has had good history with one of the sales managers who's now moved from Nissan to Honda and it's difficult to get some leverage as their servicing, used and new, etc. departments are very large and operate as separate entities.

However my girlfriend and brother have both bought Subaru's and their service and feedback is top notch. They call you back when they say they will and are all on a first name basis after a handful of visits. I'd hate to say it but after driving Nissans for close to 10 years I might make the jump after the Nav.

 

[KraftyPg]

I have to agree with that, I haven't had too much good service from Nissan in regards to sales and service and when staff move to a different department it's ridiculous how little they can do in their original areas despite only being three steps away from their first desk. But that segregation goes even further than just different car makes in the same building, take a guy from spare parts to sales and it's like they brainwash him between buildings and he has to forget what he knew in spare parts.

It just adds further kudos to the theory that if someone out there finds a good dealer stick to them because they are so few and far between.

My last car as a Subaru and while the service from the dealership I brought it from was quite good the local bloke was an absolute idiot, from suggesting things like the tyres were worn at 20K to wanting to re-wire my driving lights at the 30k service because they weren't wired to his satisfaction the guy just seemed to want money for unconvincing stories. That put me off Subaru for a while atleast, however as I say it was a local dealer the city dealer i brought the car off was quite good.

 

[Eug]

Hard to find good people nowadays it seems, I've not been driving long but I can still remember when people took pride in what they did and that their service/craftsmanship was a reflection of the quality of their product. Now it seems like: in, cash, out, bye.

Not looking forward to this afternoon, I will be poorer and not much happier than I am now.

Cheers
Eug

 

[KraftyPg]

I think the biggest problems with dealerships is that they treat everyone like a number. The guy taking the booking might be all happy and cheerful that you keep coming back but the guy doing the work doesn't give a rats arse he's just looking at the clock for knock off time, or the next job which might not be as hard.

Make sure you check all that you can on the car before you pay for it. Go through the service book and do whatever you can, my Subaru dealer tried to convince me he greased the door hinges at 30k yet he didn't bank on me opening the doors and checking before I left the place. He of course made excuses as to why I couldn't see any grease on the hinges, although he did stop short of telling me it was a new 'invisible' grease which I kind of expected. Something so obviously easy to check and they either forgot or just ticked off because it's not a common issue yet it made them look incompetent.

 

[merchant]

EUG

My 40k service is fast approaching and the dealer in Karratha has quoted me (a quote is a very loose term up here) approx $900 and that's Pilbara prices. I'm unsure where you are located but if you have options i would definitely access them.

The service is classes as 'major' and requires a new fuel filter ($200 dealer, $60 Ebay), air cleaner filter, diff and gearbox oils, brake fluid drain and replace, cabin filters plus other parts i'm sure.

They basically should be giving the car an intensive going over.

 

[Eug]

I'm located in Brisbane. I've had a quick search on google and the next closest Nissan is around 30km away, hardly feasible once you work out the costs of getting home via public transport or taxi. Their loan car is never available either, have to book 4 weeks in advance!

Invisible grease! HA that's a new one...

Thanks for the reply merchant, it sounds like the costs can vary quite substantially. Mine seems to be smack bang in the middle, I'll drop my own oil and filter changes every 5,000km myself from now on it seems.

 

[Bosshog]

I have bought the consumables from Nizzbits and handed them over the counter to the service guy and they only charge for the labour then.

 

[merchant]

The only time you have to go to a dealer these days is for warranty work (and then after the work is done discover Nissan won't cover it. Bastards - I'm a bitter man).

Try a local reputable mechanics shop. The labour costs should be a little cheaper but parts will be roughly the same. But the biggest advantage is the personalised service you'll receive. Smaller mechanics shops live and die by their reputations no matter where they are in the country, where as a dealers couldn't give a toss and often get snotty nosed 1st year apprentices who are more interested in where there next shag or amphet hit is going to come from rather than your car. Worth a go i think.

I, unfortunately, don't have any options up here because it's the Pilbara and everyone, dealer or not, have the same pricing. Go figure.

 

[KraftyPg]

I have bought the consumables from Nizzbits and handed them over the counter to the service guy and they only charge for the labour then.

I was going to say exactly the same thing. Some dealerships don't like this and it's got more to do with them being out of pocket than anything but they can't refuse you items, especially not OEM items just because they didn't sell them too you.

There is genuine bits available in many places for less than Nissan charge and at the very least you can tell them to put your 'spares' on and give you the new ones to put back in your spare parts kit. Not that I use Nissan servicing but I do this with my air cleaner, each service one comes out and a cleaned one goes in and until the cleaner tells me they need to be replaced they just keep swapping. If I did take it to Nissan they would be told of the same method, dirty one swapped for the one on the backseat and dirty one will be cleaned and put back into the spare parts kitty.

 

[Eug]

Good idea about the 'spares'. I just had a quick google on nizzbits but they don't stock anything for the D40. How do you go about purchasing?

 

[KraftyPg]

Nah you'll need to pm him on here, his website is very coy about what they do and don't sell.

Otherwise there is a few nissan dealers popping up on ebay from time to time, wont help you with todays service but it might help you next time.

 

[JustNav]

Just had my 40K service last Friday.. $731.50 at Yarra Valley Nissan. Have a serious word to your dealer. Mine is a T/D 08 ST-X Auto

 

[the_bluester]

I serviced my D22 myself from 10,000km as $300 for an oil and filter change then an arms length inspection of the car got up my nose badly. I recorded evrything I did in the lockbook and was ready for a fight if it came to anything under warranty. I essentially was taking a punt that nothing warrantable would come up before it expired, which it did not. Mine time expired, I sold it at 39,000km and three and a half years old having done oil and filter as a bare minimum (Followed the book basically) at intervals which pushed the intermediat servicing time wise but well and truly shorted it for KM. It was around four to five months between oil changes and about 4000 km.

I also have an R51 Pathfinder and can say from experience that I was paying under a novated lease around half of what private owners were paying for the same services at the same dealer.

 

[Dave]

The service prices are rediculous.

Find a decent mechanic and get them to do the work and probably at half the price.

Dave.

 

[merchant]

Just had my 40K service last Friday.. $731.50 at Yarra Valley Nissan. Have a serious word to your dealer. Mine is a T/D 08 ST-X Auto

I hate you

 

[KraftyPg]

That is the cheapest I have seen anyone on here quote for 40K which is strange because went I priced a new car with YV Nissan they were the tightest pricks around, trade in price was $4K lower and the new car price was $2K higher, so maybe they can afford to drop their servicing price.

Doesn't change the fact that each dealer has their own prices and where competition is the greatest they can and will drop their prices accordingly.

The other thing you need to be sure of when getting quotes off Nissan is that they are talking the right car, just because you tell them the model doesn't always mean they are pricing the right thing. I asked the dealer where I got the car how much for the 10K service while I was there about something else and even with the model, the transmission and me telling him it had a DPF the guy still gave me the price for a manual without the DPF. At 10K the price isn't that different but it changes quite a bit when you get up around 40K with the DPF added (it probably shouldn't but it does), not that I needed convincing but that was enough to convince me Nissan don't need my servicing dollars.