I took my car to a local nissan dealer to get my oil changed.My car has 29k on it.Before I went I checked my maintenance manual and it showed two different kinds of 30k service.The premium that involves a lot on lubrication's and flushes ect.And the schedule 1 that says all you need is a new air filter tire rotation and alignment.So when I got there I asked for a oil change and a new air filter.He said I need a 30k so I asked him how much and he told me 650 bucks.I said I would have to pass on that for now.Im just curious to know what you guys that do not take your car to dealerships did when you got up to 30k miles.Somebody please correct me if Im wrong about the maintence items I mentioned.

 

Ok, so just change the coolant, tranny oil, and diff oil youself and save a lot of $$$. That's all that you can even lube in this car anyway.

A local garage could do that for under $200 if you can't do it yourself.

 

The tire rotation is a bi*ch though....

 

im only a few miles away from you, my car just broke 40K and im wondering the same thing. My friends G35 went 70K without any significant maintanance. Im going to fairfax nissan next week for a mobil 1 syn. oil change and will see what they think (not that im expecting anything different that what you were told) but they are the only ones i trust to touch my car

 

Its funny you made that comment because the nissan service advisor told me twice I needed my tires rotated,I just looked at him when he said it expecting him to catch his mistake but he never did.

 

Thats were I take my car,If your advisor is Scott hes going to show you a laundry list of about 1500 bucks worth of work you supposedly need.He tried to get me to get two new back tires installed for a mere 800 bucks.

 

they can have fun changing the in cabin air filter too. we have six of them in the Z.


really - if you are even slightly car inclined, you will know what kind of maintenance the car needs, what are good ideas, what are stupid and not even specific to our vehicle. change your fluids, inspect your belts, inspect your tires, an alignment is not a terrible idea but not always required.

 

build a relationship with a local car shop if you want honest feedback. don't get milked for **** you don't need.

 

There is a local place that I used to take my Acura TL too that was cheap and they do good work,I may start using them again I was just a little paranoid up to this point about who worked on my car.

 

i know Scott. he is the replacement for my "friend" who used to work there, Antonio. he would do little things like knock $20-$30 off my oil changes. (only $70 for a mobil 1 syn LOL) i will see if he can help me out because anything more than that for an oil change is rediculous, but i dont want anyone else touching my car, especially jiffy lube!!

 

There is no reason to drop that kind of money on BS. Get an oil change, replace air filter. Its pointless to rotate tires (or impossible) on the Z since wheels are staggard. Worry about replacing the belts when the car gets to 70-80k.

 

Believe there are several periodic maintenance schedules. The more frequent schedule (premium) is for extreme use. Extreme means towing a trailer. Weekend autocross. If I lived in, oh, Tucson, AZ where summer temperatures reach 110 plus, I would go with the premium schedule.

Decide which schedule best suits your needs.

 

haha love dealers.

oil/filter/lube
75.99 for synthetic
36.99 for regular

An automatic trans complete flush with the OEM Fluid
Auto J fluid (16 qts for a double dialysis style flush) 267.84
Auto D fluid which is normal Dexron III 99.99
Manuals 60.00
rear diff is 60.00

And a complete coolant flush w/thermostat replacement is around 149.99

complete tune up
plugs,air,pcv,belts, cleaning of throttle w/ fuel inj cleaning which basically covers a tune up is about 380



thats some prices charged at the local shop by me for the 03 Z all OEM parts. Should be pretty much the same for all.

 

Personally I think the 30K service is very expensive for what you get. The actual service calls for a lot of “check this and that,” and far less actual maintenance tasks. Much of the 30K “service” includes stuff done on 4WD vehicles and the Nissan sedans, and really has nothing to do with the Z (i.e., you cannot replace cabin filters that you don’t have, change the fluid in the transfer case that you don’t have, rotate tires that are sized differently front to rear, etc.)

With this said, I did do the 30K maintenance, but that was because I had a 2003 with the faulty transmission, and I did not want any argument about poor maintenance on my part when I asked for a transmission replacement. If I remember correctly, the cost was > $500 for the 30K maintenance, and the value was far less than that.

If you refuse this, just be sure that you have documentation that all the necessary maintenance was done on schedule (e.g., engine oil changes, filter changes, transmission maintenance, radiator and coolant maintenance, etc.).

The 30K maintenance is more for clueless owners who depend upon the dealership for everything. I guess that you cannot blame Nissan for protecting these people from themselves. But, Z owners are different since they love their car and take care of it.

--Spike

 

I do that maintenance in my garage with amsoil, redline (high quality ****) for under $120. I'm talking brake fluid, clutch, oil, filter, air filter. Buy the materials and take it to any neighborhood shop and have them do it. The dealer is insane but I understand they charge those price for a reason.

BTW this question is always asked every few days. We should sticky this.

 

 

^^ I agree. A sticky explaining what needs to be done vs. the maintenance in the Z’s and the dealership's manuals. You pay a high fee to cover the dealership’s cost of expensive technicians to do a bunch of “check this and thats.” Certainly the dealership cannot afford to "give it away."

And, I wonder if “customizing” these structured maintenance intervals can affect your warranty. I don’t know. Nissan places a high value on the maintenance schedule and the individual steps (including inspections).

But, who will write this Sticky? Are there any volunteers?

--Spike

 

If you own a low mileage under warranty 06, like me I would do it. I've heard stories of Nissan not doing repair work because of insufficient history of maintenance.

 

You are not required to take your car to the dealership for regular maintenance. You can do all of the maintenance yourself, and just keep good records, and you're fine. Just follow what is suggested in the maintenance manual, for whatever schedule you decide to use.

 

Aren't you out of the warranty now though?