This past Friday after after I popped the trunk/hatch to put my bag in there and when I closed it, it just bounced and didn't lock. I assumed that I didn't use enough force so I just pushed down but still didn't work. After inspecting it myself I assumed the Latch or Locking Mechanism was broken since a nut fell out after hitting the inside where the latch is. I dropped it off at a Nissan Dealership to see what could be the actual issue before I go out and buy the wrong part and hopefully they can fix it for me. Since this is my daily I need it good to drive. The diagnostics cost is about $260 but they said they can do it for half of that so $130. Kinda weird in my opinion but I'm not going to question it. They told me that the Actuator Assembly is broken and will need to be replaced. They proceeded to tell me that the overall cost with tax will be around $900-$950. $130 for Diagnostics, $390 for Labor, $369.98 for the Assembly and then tax. Has anyone had this same issue and what was your overall cost? I'm not spending nearly a grand to have this fixed when I feel like it can be done by myself. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Car: 2005 Nissan 350z Base Model

 

This is a common issue. In most cases the solution requires no money - just an hour or two of your labor. Don’t hesitate to use search button - it is also free by the way)))

 

I think I'd plan to spend an afternoon stripping trim, lubing moving parts and reinstall the nut. The Service Manager's job is to maximize every $$$$ job that comes in. Pretty sure you don't need to drop $900 on this. Don't rule out junkyard/salvage to save some money. Gl!