OK, this came up in another thread and I managed to take it way off topic, so I started this.

How much do G owners spend a year on Maintenance?

I personally spend about $750 a year. This includes 4 $75 Mobil 1 oil changes and 1 15,000 mile service a year (about $450). This does not include things like brakes, alignment, etc. I have a shop do an alignment once a year, and Discount Tire does balancing and rotating of the tires for free. I calculated this out over the 1.5 years I had my 350Z and the 1.5 years I have had the G.

I do all my own mod work, brake and suspension work, etc. I really only have the dealer do routine maintenance because of the warranty.

Anyway what about everyone else?

 

when you say Mobil 1 changes, are those at the dealer or cost of doing yourself? and why do a 15k at the dealer a year will it hurt your warranty if you dont? Mine still is < 300miles but would like to be sure that I help keep it in tip-top shape, even if I need to do stuff myself.

 

I have the dealer do the changes, I could do it myself for about $35. Not worth the time to me. Same goes for the 15,000 mile service, you can buy all the items needed for about $100-$150 if you prefer.

I have no problem working on my car, I just prefer not to do regular maintenance. The dealer should not deny warranty on anything if you keep proper records, whether it is you, Infiniti, or Jiffy lube doing the work.

I just think it is easiest, and it also makes it easier for me to have Infiniti fix little things that are covered by warranty. www.everythingg35.com sells a kit to perform the 15,000 mile service (minus the oil). I work a lot (I am currently in Ireland), so when I have free time the only work I like to do is modifications, oil changes and the such are a little boring.

I can say after driving a VQ powered car for the past 7 years, if you plan to keep it for a while, proper maintenance will pay off in the long run. Regular oil starts to break down after 3000 miles. I also have my differential fluid changed at 15,000 miles. I beat on my Maxima for 150,000 miles, it now has 250,000 miles (I sold it to my cousin), and has had no problems, but I took care of it the same way.

I play it safe, but like I said in my other thread, I drive the **** out of my car, so I try to reward it (the car) by taking good care of it. I err on the side of caution though.

 

My costs are very minimal. In the course of the 7 years of Maxima ownership, she only saw the dealer once for service - I did the rest myself.

I have no intentions of paying the dealer any more $ than is absolutely necessary to keep the warranty intact. Oil changes and scheduled maintenance are done by me or a third party. Everything I do is well dosumented through service agreements and receipts.

For example - as soon as I bought the car I paid $12 per wheel/tire for a lifetime rotation, balance, and tire repair/replacement service. I had the same thing on the Maxima and it was great. I also have it on my truck, and I have it on my RV.

I like to change my own oil etc because I get the car up on a lift and crawl around underneath and look at material condition items while I'm at it. I don't really trust people to work on my car.

Like the saying goes - 'what do you expect for minimum wage?" I know the guy who would be changing my oil in my absence wouldn't care about my car 1/1000th as much as I do.

 

How many miles on the Maxima? I added some thoughts about my Maxima above.

I know I am a lazy ****, I just work and travel a lot. I love to work on my car, I just don't love doing regular maintenance (I have done suspension install on a Z 3 times, my G, brakes on the G and Z, etc.).....

As we both pointed out, the dealer should not deny warranty if you have good documentation, I think that is key.

 

I change the oil every 3000 or once a quarter, whichever comes first. I have it easy because I can get on a lift anytime I want - only costs me $3 an hour. For that, I can't make excuses. If I had to use ramps or roll around in the driveway it would be a different story.

You'll laugh your *** off about the Maxima. 52K. Only. Probably 45K of the 52K was WOT though. LOL.. Age was getting to the car, nothing else. Little things were starting to go wrong (oxy sensors, brakes/rotors) and the 05 G hit the dealers and I lost control.

+1 on documentation. I keep a three-ring binder to document everything - right down to how often it's waxed and with what. The top flap of filters get stored with the receipts, UPCs from the oil cases are retained - everything.

It's paid off more than once. I took the truck in for service and broke out my history log and the guy stopped asking questions. He told me after the fact "that book is unreal - I've never seen anything like that before..."

Talk about ****.

 

Man I would kill for a lift, I have spent many of long nights hunched over doing brakes and suspension work. Although, I did just invest in some nice air tools and compessor, that helps, all I need is that lift now. Then maybe I'll do some of my own oil changes.

I had the Maxima for about 4 years and 150,000 miles, the only non-routine items I replaced were an oil sending unit, 02 sensor, and pads and rotors (I did all that myself). I think the G was a good step up on the Maxima though (RWD )....

 

Do you live near a military base? Bet you a dollar to a do-nut that they have a lift available if you do. All you'd have to do is figure out how to get on-station to use it - not hard to do at all. I have taken many folks on-station to use the facilities. They're for active-duty guys and blah-blah, but they were bought with tax dollars out of everyone's pocket so I don't have a problem with it.

Our Auto Hobby Shop is fantastic. I should post pictures. You name it, they have it, including guys who can help you out if you get stuck. Torches, tools, tire mounting/balancing equippment, steam cleaners, pressure washers, I mean they have everything.

Our base is open-gate, meaning you can drive to the gate, go through tag and pass, and come on-station. If your hair will pass muster, I bet you could use the facilities solo with no 'sponsor.' I can't recall ever having to produce my ID. Worst case, they'd ask you for your ID and then tell you it's for active-duty only. It's not like they'll call base police on you for trying to use a lift.

 

Dude, I just looked. You're not too far from JRB Dallas. There you go. Take this to Google Maps and you'll see the base.

1510 Chennault Ave, Fort Worth, TX

 

Let's see... this last year...

about to be three services, including a 30k. So that's...

~$300 (service @ ~150x2 @ 22,500 and 35,000 (I got the 30k done early) I think I had the diff and tranny fluid changed too on one of these so it may have been more)
~$600 (30k service @ 28,000)
~$940 for F1s in November
~$650 for Wide Ovals in August

So so far the things I can think of, I'm right at about $2500.

WHAT THE ****! I need a new car.


I drive around 24,000 miles per year, so 2000 miles a month.

 

Interesting, GeeWillikers thanks for the info. I have a few freinds around that are active and also in the reserves, I may try it out sometime. I think my hair will past muster (unfortunately in my older age I am loosing it, so there's not much there, and I am only 30) .

Doogie, thanks for the info., I just noticed you are in Denton, my wife goes to school at UNT.

 

Lets see... for me I have 18000 miles in 10 months...

4 syn oil change myself = $20(4 filter) + $125 (20 qt M1oil) = $145
2 new rear tires = $500
Misc = 200

TOTAL = $845... I do all work myself....

 

I paid up front for lifetime oil changes, but minus the oil I'd say about $500 a year. With oil I guess it'd be around $750ish.

 

I assume you are talking about the Goodyear eagle F1’s? How did you like those tires? I wanted to put Eagle GS D3’s on my G35 but I realized that they don’t offer them in that size. Are the GY F1’s a good substitute? Are there any other tires you would recommend?

 

I've only had this car for about 7 months. It currently has 29K miles. Honestly, I don't plan on spending a lot maintaining this car and I sure as won't be following any dealership recommendations when it comes to periodic maintenance. They are there to make money and more often than not their recommedations are way out of agreement with what Infiniti/Nissan actually recommends. $600 for a 30K service is flat out crazy. According to Infiniti, the only things that need replacing are the cabin filter, oil/filter, and air filter.

I've been working on VQs for over 7 years now and I can tell you they need very little servicing to run in tip-top shape. My schedule includes:

- $50/yr for Mobil 1 and filters. 2 changes done by me.
- Rotate tires, done by me.
- Pull PCV valve, inspect, clean as necessary, reinstall. Done by me.
- Clean throttle body. Done by me.
- Inspect engine, suspension, brake lines, drivetrain, lube door hinges. Done by me.
- Install brake pads as needed (~30K miles). ~$50 for an OEM set. Done by me in 10 minutes.
- Cabin filter every 24K miles. $20 done by me.


Rare maintenance:

- Change diff fluid every 30K or so (once every two years). Done by me for about $20. The manual doesn't say to replace it, but I feel 30K is the max you should go on diff fluid.
- Replace spark plugs every 60K. The manual says to replace at 105K miles, but I really have a hard time believing any spark plug can last that long and still remain efficent. $50 done by me.
- Replace accessory belts when they start showing signs of fatigue (ie small pieces of the rib falling off). This usually occurs anywhere from 60-100K on VQs. $40 done by me.
- Flush auto tranny fluid every 60K. Done by dealer. Probably around $200. The manual doesn't say to replace it, but I feel 60K is the max you should go on synthetic tranny fluid (OEM spec).
- Replace coolant every 60K miles. Done by dealer. It's just too messy to do at home and the block drain plugs are a pain. Probably $120.


I figure my yearly maintenance costs over the next three years should average about $200/yr or so.