See ya later Infiniti service dept. I understand the analogy "you get what you pay for," but enough is enough. $179 for an oil change, tire rotation, and some inspections? Come on now.

I have nothing against Infiniti for charging what they do. It's their business decision to make. At the same time, I learned a long time ago that dealerships don't have a monopoly on quality service inspections. I won't pay that amount, and if the car gives me trouble down the line, Infiniti will STILL honor the warranty.

 

if you do your own maintenance, make sure you document it.

 

u dont have to document anything....if anything messes up within the warranty time...they have to cover it..i do my oil changes myself..

 

If something goes wrong and you don't have any maintenance documented, I guarantee you, they will take issue with that.

Best to document everything, trust me.

 

Yeah I just spent $500 for my 30K. Pretty ridiculous...

On the other hand, they also fixed my rear axle clicking and replace the SEAT MECHANISM!! YAY!!! No more seat clicking!

I'm f'ing ecstatic. I can truly enjoy driving my car again. That thing has been popping since about day 10.

 

As the miles add up I've been thinking about service and which items to do myself and which to leave to the dealer.

I prefer to do it ALL myself but then wonder how I will get the little 'dealer authorized stamp' dealie-o in the maintenance guide.

I thought about signing it off myself but don't know if there is some super-secret Infiniti code that you have to know in order to make it believable.

What do you guys do in this case?

 

There is no book they sign, your maintenance records are all held in their computers. The cost of the service seems high for what they actually do. Realize that they have a lot of overhead and they want to make a profit so it's your choice as to whether or not you want to pay for the services or do them yourself.

While my Car is on warranty, I plan to take it to the dealer to get the major services done. If a problem occurs, they know when it was in for service and there is no questions or ways for them to squirm out. In addition, building a repore with the service manager comes in handy.

 

My dealer says to just document what I do. It's obvious if something is done or not when they take it apart.
If they feel that the proper maintenance is not done, they can and will deny warranty. It's part of the purchase agreement.
C.

 

If you're servicing it yourself and want to CYA, keep a receipt for the oil and oil/air filters you purchase (makes sense to buy things for your service seperately so they're all on a simple receipt) and store them in a folder somewhere.

It seems to me that regular Blackstone Lab analyses would be a great and cost-effective insurance measure against rumors of ill-maintenance from the dealership (as well as a good thing to do anyway) as well and you could keep these in the same folder. No dealership / manufacturer, when approached with that kind of record keeping could possibly tell you you weren't maintaining the vehicle.

I just use the dealer because I don't have the time to do the service myself, and take the oil to be recylcled, and change pollen filters etc. I just want to drop off the car, get a loaner, and continue on to work. It's an expensive way to experience satellite radio but I do consider that a nice bonus too

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not "mad" at the dealer. I'm 38 years old and have owned two previous Nissan Maxima's before my G35. For each Nissan, I either did my own oil changes or took it to my neighborhood mechanic who would let me watch him change the oil.

The reason I'm choosing not to utilize the dealer is because I know for a fact that they will NOT deny my warranty work because I WILL have documented proof that I take care of my car. Like other posters have pointed out, you should always keep receipts of any purchases you make or if you take it in for an oil change.

I am 100% confident in the mechanical quality of the Nissan VQ engines. I'm banking that by changing the oil and babying my G35, that she'll live a long life. It's worked on two previous Nissan's dating back to 1995. The engines are pretty damn good.