I have a 2005 and took it in for its 90K maintenance check up at approx 93K. I bought the car a few years ago used. Not sure if the spark plugs have been replaced, but I'm going to assume they haven't. I had them replaced at the word of the mechanic, but this dude is suspect. He said he rotated my tires and it was on my bill, but I marked them and I know he didn't. I called him out on it and he had a BS reason why he didn't. Now I'm starting to wonder if he did anything I was billed for. Does it seem reasonable that the sparks plugs need to replaced at this mile mark and would there be an easy way to check to see if new plugs were in fact put in. Thanks.

 

You could take the plugs out and look at them to see if there is any buildup on them or if they look new

 

First off, stop going to him. You've already proved he's a liar, and you don't need to be billed for anything else he didn't do. The economy isn't strong enough to support mechanics like this guy, so take your business else where and let him lose another customer.

Second, remove one of the spark plugs like said above and check to see its condition. If its worn and looks old, then he didn't change them. If they're pretty clean with good electrodes, then he most did the work he billed you for. You might also want to check for the quality of plugs he put in, as he sounds like the person to bill you for good parts but really use poor quality products.

 

spark plug interval is 105k miles and the plugs are normally $10-13 per. labor should be around 2.5-3 hrs.

 

me, I am done with that shop and I'm telling everyone not to go there.

 

Don't take your car to a small local garage, instead take it to either Nissan or Infiniti for services. I found out that big dealerships don't cheat you too often like small garages.

 

there is nothing wrong with small repair/service garages. They dont have the overhead like the dealerships that drive up the price on everything. The important thing is to build a relationship with the facility and you shouldnt have to worry too much. OP, If you are already doubting this guy then maybe you should be looking for a new shop.

 

I dont think i would pay anymore then say $200-250 for a shop to do my spark plugs. parts are a given $50-80 and about 1-1.5 hours of labor based off the average of $110-180 per hour.

Its a very simple and easy DIY for someone to start out with. Very little can go wrong it you just take the time and apply common sense. Its not backbreaking work nor do you crawl under the car. You dont get dirty much. DIY this and learn, we have a couple of picture guided DIY somewhere.

 

yeah the spark plugs are supposed to be replaces at 105k as has been stated already. I like going to a small shop that only services nissan and infiniti and i trust them. you just need to find a shop where you can build up some trust with the mechanics and owner. My 90k checkup was like $350 where infiniti wanted like $1200 and most of it was "check this" or "check that". Its a much better deal to find a good local shop. Good Luck OP!

 

It's hard to find a good shop that you can trust to do good work. The owner of the shop I use was the manager when I met him at the track when my son raced motorcycles. He was going through his second childhood. I helped him with set up of his bike and he had our body work painted/repaired at cost.

 

^Good advice.

Here's a pic of a brand new spark plug next to one with 120,000 mi... difference is easy to spot:

http://www.nfspmotorsports.com/forum...em.php?id=1737
http://www.nfspmotorsports.com/forum...em.php?id=1738


^Bad advice.

Some small local garages are going to cheat you.
Almost ALL dealerships are. Dealerships charge ridiculous prices for service, they just do. People that argue this are fooling themselves.
What's worse, Infiniti dealerships are particularly bad about this. I guess they figure if you've dropped enough money to buy an Infiniti, you won't blink at a bloated repair bill.
If you absolutely MUST go to a dealer, you're probably better off at a Nissan place.

Granted, there are some things on the car that are best left to the dealer, things like funny ECU issues, or something like that.
Spark plugs? No.
Any shop with a degree of experience can do spark-plugs.
For that matter, I did my own with nothing more than a passing glance at a G35Driver DIY, a screw-driver, socket set, and a tall Henny&Coke.
























Ok, I lied, it was actually two tall Henny&Cokes