So I just bought my '07 G35s Sedan with 58k miles on it. There is no dealer history that any of the major services (15k, 30k, etc) were done on it at a dealer.

So when I went in to the dealer to get an oil change they recommended that I do the major 30k service because 1. I'm nearing 60k miles and 2. they have no record that it's ever been done on my car. So here is what they do and here are the prices:

Full 30k Maintenance: $799
Trans fluid (replace fluid): $149
Radiator: $110
Diff: $159
A/F: $45/$75 (I have two, so it would be $75 for me)
Cabin: $110
PCV Valve: $79
Batter Svc: $36.95
Rotate & Balance Tires: $49.95
Power Steering and Brake Fluids: $230

I am not willing to pay $800 for all of that servicing considering that a lot of it I can do myself. I need new tires anyways so scratch the rotate and balance option, that will be taken care of with new tires, I can buy the air filters myself and replace (I think -- Someone tell me otherwise if I should not be doing it). I do not know what I am paying $110 in the cabin for. I do not know what PCV Valves are and what I would be paying $80 for there. I am guessing that for the radiator, trans, diff, p/s and brakes that all of those fluids will be changed. I think that THAT is probably the only thing I would want the dealer to do. Any suggestions? recommendations?

I've never owned a fairly "new" vehicle before so I am not familiar with what the dos/donts with dealer maintenance are. I am very suspicious of all of the BS that gets bundled with maintenance and I don't want to get sucked into anything I shouldn't be doing. I want to take good care of my G but I don't want to get shafted on price nor do I want to do something I don't need.

I apologize for the long post and I really appreciate any feedback.

 

IIRC, the 30k INCLUDES most of the fluid changes you mentioned (at least in the premium maintenance schedule), so it seems a bit shady that they'd itemize those separately in addition to the 30K. The cabin charge is for the in-cabin ventilation air filter which has a DIY on this board. Engine air filters are as simple as they come so no worries there. PVC valve is no biggy either, as is their battery service. Basically, there isn't a single thing on that list that anyone with basic tools and mechanical knowledge couldn't do on their own. I'd say save the money and DIY; just save the receipts and make a log of the work that you did. If you need to, you can even afford to buy tools to make the job simpler with all the extra money you're saving.

 

In all honesty all of these fluid changes can be done by you or by a personal mechanic without much fuss, these are easy drain and fill things that any DIY or a semi-pro mechanic can do for MUCH cheaper than infiniti.

I suggest that you buy all the fluids from NISSAN(not infiniti, they are they exact same fluids but for cheaper) and not the aftermarket ones as some folks have complained about the AT acting funny with other fluids and also for warranty reasons you want to stay with OEM fluids.

I would get the following done by yourself or a personal mechanic:
Trans fluid (drain and fill), Diff, Rad, Brake Fluids, A/F

 

mine's coming up at the end of this yr...;-/

 

You can't rotate the tires! So you just saved 50 bux there.. =)

 

The cabin and air filters are under $20 each (need 1 cabin & 2 air filters) so $60 bucks total. Airfilters are a 2 minute job and the cabin filter is about 15 minutes if you don't lose any screws, lol. I doubt the trans service is a complete flush, if it's just a drain & fill it takes about 3-4 quarts of ATF, and should be a straightforward DIY, the other efluid changes should also be pretty simple DIYs if you have ramps to give you undercar clearance. Shopuld be able to DIY the whole thing for about $150. Just keep all your receipts. IF it requires a trans flush then that would probably run about $120.

 

Thanks blnewt -- are there any youtube links or article links on this forum for the DIY process steps? Typically when I do things myself I tend to break something so I want to make sure before i mess with my G that I at least have a checklist or some sort of instructions to ensure I don't break my car.

 

If you're not comfortable doing the work.. then perhaps you should just let the professionals handle it...

I can do all the things myself.. But Im going to take mine into the dealer.. I rather pay than go through the troubles of doing it myself.... Recycling all the oil after the job is a big task in itself...