R35 Service Costs

[dazmo]

Hey guys was chatting with a mate on the weekend that is a mechanic for nissan and off to melb this week to finnish off his training coarses.

He was telling me that the labour rate for R35GTR services will be charged out at $250.00 an hour.

And there are a few little surprises for the dealer to milk more cash out of owners such as a 1.5 hour test drive (@ $250.00/hr) to bed in your brakes after a very expensive pad and rotor change. The cost of genuine oil and other consuables will not come cheap either.

Dont get me wrong the R35GTR is a brilliant car on paper and even better to drive but it seems that the R35GTR may not be quite as affordable as the purchase price alone would lead everyone to believe.

Regardless of the performance charging lambo/ferrarii service costs on a car that still carries a nissan badge wont go over to well with a lot of potential buyer's IMHO.

[N1GTR]

Hahaha, here we go...

[handbrake]

Although I am sure I will wince at the service costs, that is the price you pay to factory maintain a performance car of this level. The cost of the car compared with other 'supercars' has no real relationship to the cost of maintaining the complex engineering (which is no less complex or advanced than that of the lambos ferraris or porsche, some would say more advanced!).

That being said, yes I am ready to be stung hard.

Who cares anyway, this isn't a pulsar for crying out loud!

[JAS-25T]

What did you want? a P-plater on a a coles wage to afford it?

lulz

[Marlin]

Although I am sure I will wince at the service costs, that is the price you pay to factory maintain a performance car of this level. The cost of the car compared with other 'supercars' has no real relationship to the cost of maintaining the complex engineering (which is no less complex or advanced than that of the lambos ferraris or porsche, some would say more advanced!).

That being said, yes I am ready to be stung hard.

Who cares anyway, this isn't a pulsar for crying out loud!

Yeah but come on Mark, if Nissan wish to, (assuming these costs are correct), profiteer so blatantly on service costs, are you going to tell me you won't be annoyed?

The typical person purchasing these vehicles has been financially savvy enough to find themselves in a suitable financial position to be able to purchase an R35........ and being wasteful or frivolous with money in not normally condusive to creating wealth.

Just because certain prestige marques believe they can charge outrageous fees shouldn't mean Nissan automatically follows suit.

[Snowman]

It reminds me of the Lambo Super Leggera. The brake pads in them are EXACTLY the same as the brake pads found in the Audi RS4.

Lambo charge $2,500 for a set of pads. Audi charge $300 for the same pads.

I know of at least one Lambo that goes to Audi for it's brake changes and if Nissan isn't carefull they won't have people using them either.

I'm giving Nissan the one strike principle. I will use them to begin with but if I find they even once try and take me for a ride they won't see the car again. Not for basic servicing anyways.

[handbrake]

Yeah but come on Mark, if Nissan wish to, (assuming these costs are correct), profiteer so blatantly on service costs, are you going to tell me you won't be annoyed?

The typical person purchasing these vehicles has been financially savvy enough to find themselves in a suitable financial position to be able to purchase an R35........ and being wasteful or frivolous with money in not normally condusive to creating wealth.

Just because certain prestige marques believe they can charge outrageous fees shouldn't mean Nissan automatically follows suit.

Agree, a high premium will be charged, and perhaps inappropriately so. Lets wait and see. I too will consider giving Nissan the one strike and you're out policy.

I do however get sick of hearing the Nissan hysteria re transmission, launch control, servicing and so on. My point is that the same price premium applies to all makes of 'supercars' and luxury models. We shouldn't expect Nissan to be any different unfortunately.

This doesn't make it right of course and if I can work on alternatives through the power of knowledge shared in forums such as this then great. All the better if I am supporting independent guys whilst at it.

Edited March 17, 2009 by handbrake

[GTR R35]

I was at my dealers today chatting to the parts manager who had just had delivered all the service items for the GTR.

He said I was lucky to have cancelled my GTR and gotten a GT-E instead, because the service costs were huge.

He said a front brake change would be $6000 as the rotors had to be changed with the pads, due to being matched.

Apparently they will need a fair amount of money put aside for their routine servicing.

[LSX-438]

$300 for AUDI RS4 pads? err, maybe the labour to fit them...

As for the R35 service costs, there is no way i am paying $250/hr for a Nissan mechanic to swap fluids and pads. I'll be doing all that crap myself, and i don't give a flying fark what they have to say about it. Front rotor/pad swap = $6000 hey?? That's about $3000 margin surely. I'll just put that extra $3000 into my own warranty fund and they can shove the warranty up their clacker. Assuming those prices are accurate.

[Garage_Kaizen]

My opinion is if you can afford a GTR, you can afford the services..

[PhilKenSebben]

Of course it'll be expensive. It's a pretty hi-tech bit of kit. I'm told the gearbox takes 10 litres of oil at $100 a litre. $1000 without labour. But if I had the money, I'd still want the car. Tell EVERYONE upfront about the servicing costs and be stunned as they sell like hotcakes regardless. The more profit Nissan makes from the wealthy, the quicker the technology trickles down into all of their cars, and then the servicing costs will fall too. Come to think of it the sooner people are horrified by the costs the sooner R35's begin dropping in price second hand. And I want one. Eventually.....

[targa]

Of course it'll be expensive. It's a pretty hi-tech bit of kit. I'm told the gearbox takes 10 litres of oil at $100 a litre. $1000 without labour. But if I had the money, I'd still want the car. Tell EVERYONE upfront about the servicing costs and be stunned as they sell like hotcakes regardless. The more profit Nissan makes from the wealthy, the quicker the technology trickles down into all of their cars, and then the servicing costs will fall too. Come to think of it the sooner people are horrified by the costs the sooner R35's begin dropping in price second hand. And I want one. Eventually.....

You people must love to throw money away

I have had my R35 for more than 6 months

Car cost me less than $80,000 to buy in Japan

My first filter and oil change cost well under $100 (filters are same as 350Z and maxima) Mobil oil for engine from Super Cheap

Transmission oil if you want the really want the good stuff to suit this transmission you should use the German oil, better than Nissans, about $16 dollars a litre

I have 40 litres of trans oil on order, should arrive any day now

Guys it's just a car just like any other car just a bit faster

So please don't let the dealers rip you off as they always try to do.

Just crawl under it and do your own servicing, it's not that hard

[PhilKenSebben]

Sorry mate my comments are 'I've been told' so really I know jack as do most of us who only dream of owning an R35. I do service my 33 myself but you have to understand that an awful lot of wealthy people will buy these cars and not have a clue how to change their oil, or simply be too wealthy to bother. I guarantee there are also people who work on their porsches as well but statistically I think you'll find it's rare. Disagree all you want though, forums are the best way to tell the rest of the world that they're idiots

[LSX-438]

You people must love to throw money away

I have had my R35 for more than 6 months

Car cost me less than $80,000 to buy in Japan

My first filter and oil change cost well under $100 (filters are same as 350Z and maxima) Mobil oil for engine from Super Cheap

Transmission oil if you want the really want the good stuff to suit this transmission you should use the German oil, better than Nissans, about $16 dollars a litre

I have 40 litres of trans oil on order, should arrive any day now

Guys it's just a car just like any other car just a bit faster

So please don't let the dealers rip you off as they always try to do.

Just crawl under it and do your own servicing, it's not that hard

Exactly. There is a lot of this stuff you can do yourself. If you do regular track days you simply must know how to change all fluids, pads, rotors yourself (at a minimum). Much of the aftermarket stuff is significantly cheaper and (more) durable than OEM. It's just common sense. Of course, if you're just buying the car as a "daily" - servicing say once a year - then yeah, probably not worth bothering with it all. So it's not black and white... but there is a real case to do some of this stuff yourself, despite the warranty implications. I am not paying $6000 for two front rotors and pads, that's just f**king insane. I'll probably be swapping out a set of slotted rotors and pads in the first week anyway, at about half that cost! and they will be sure as hell much more suited to track work i can assure you.

[targa]

Sorry mate my comments are 'I've been told' so really I know jack as do most of us who only dream of owning an R35. I do service my 33 myself but you have to understand that an awful lot of wealthy people will buy these cars and not have a clue how to change their oil, or simply be too wealthy to bother. I guarantee there are also people who work on their porsches as well but statistically I think you'll find it's rare. Disagree all you want though, forums are the best way to tell the rest of the world that they're idiots

You missed the point, I'm sure people are not idiots.

Half the fun of having a car is working on it

I find that's it's the only way I can understand what it's about

A lot of the kids today just want to pay someone to do the work for them and will never really understand the car they drive

[SS8_Gohan]

^ hear, hear... (to Jeff's first post)

if this is not all urban myth, don't let the stealerships take you for a ride like that. It's good to see most won't let it happen, and i don't see why it should be any different with ANY new car. All the family BMW's go to Southern BM over any stealership they might have come from. The stealerships do shit work, charge like nothing else and actually miss a fair whack of stuff that should be fixed.

Oh, and for all new owners PLEASE don't get any "5 year paint protection" crap. It's like a $1k option or something ridiculous, it does nothing but let the in house "detailer" f*ck up your paint and claim it's protected. NOTHING lasts 5 years in terms of protection, it's all marketing crap with kits they get for practically nothing but charge unbelievable amounts to "protect" your paint. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!

For Melbourne owners, just take it to Final Inspection to rectify all the marks the car is delivered with and Damian can put a sealant on that will last about 6 months (with proper maintenance). Jeff got his ride all spruced up

[SHANE666]

Mercedes Dealerships do the same thing. Took my dad for a ride...for 95 dollars...."We change the whole windscreen wiper assembly, plus the blades as part of our Minor B service. Its a promotion we're doing at the moment" My dad refused to pay for it because there was absolutely nothing wrong with the ones he had on the car prior to servicing.

They also wanted to charge my dad $350.00 for a fuel filter change and $450.00ish to change spark plugs.

[PhilKenSebben]

Yes I agree! Working on my car is something I love doing, and most people on this forum are here because they are also enthusiasts who love to do the same. But when you are talking Porsche, Mercedes, Audi etc you are talking about people with money. Case in point, I would not buy a t-shirt made by kids in China for 2 cents, then sold for $50 because it had a brand name on it, but the industry thrives! Surf brands bought by people who've never surfed, motocross brands by people who've never owned a dirtbike. Performance cars bought by people who put fuel in it and do nothing more, who get a flat tyre and call RACQ. If they've got dollars but no sense, there will always be someone to exploit that.

[SS8_Gohan]

yep, $440 oil change for my dad's 335i coupe... fark off - and then 25K km is the first service??? on a brand new twin turbo engine they want him to come in at 25K km? i already had to top the damn thing up with over a litre of Royal Purple to get it to the first service. Plus the "long-life" castrol oil is shite as well, apparently will be changed soon.

So yeah, good luck to the R35 owners, you all seem like switched on people anyway. Plus, i'm sure taking it to a place like Race Pace will be able to look after anything you need done.

[handbrake]

Ok so let me get this straight.

If you don't service the car yourself and then pay for the dealer to do it, you are an idiot?

Reality check here boys.

Next time you feel a heart attack coming on, try going into your bathroom cabinet and solving the problem yourself with a band aid and some Detol. Oh wait, you would go to hospital and get it sorted out wouldn't you?

Try to realise that we are not all budding mechanics. Personally I would love the time to play with the car in my garage more but other things in life get in the way. Doesn't mean I can't get as much enjoyment form the car as anyone else.

Being positive about this then, anyone able to suggest a sensible place in Brisbane to service the vehicle reliably to avoid the seemingly inevitable rip off?

Edited March 17, 2009 by handbrake