I really don't get how people pay them so much money.

I have a 2003 Coupe with 125K miles on it. It has some things wrong with it. The drivers side window failed. This happened under warranty also. But now I am long out of warranty. Miller quoted over $600. I bought a motor on ebay for $25 shipped and did it myself using postings on this site as a guide.

Miller charges $75 for the in cabin air filter...when they have a special. I found one on ebay for $12 shipped. The job took me 10 minutes using a video on youtube(and I think it used to be posted here).

Now my headlight on my passenger side burned out. Miller says its not the light, its the ballast. They want a grand to fix it. I checked on ebay. There are several auctions for the bulb and ballast(used) for $75 to $200 shipped. WTF at $1,000 from Infiniti?

And finally my passenger seat. Miller says the motor inside is broken. According to them it is $1000+ to fix. I have no idea what a new OEM seat costs, and I don't necessarily think its the motor in the seat. But even if it is there are a lot of driver seats available used at $200-300.

A big giant meh to Miller Infiniti.

 

umm.. soo did you want used parts installed on your car or new from the dealer -_- you're compairing a window motor (disreguarding weather its OEM or not, used or new) from an ebay auction for $25 when the OEM one whole sales at around $190 and employee for around $160.. retail for +$200..

Now lets say this was your job (to install parts) and you're a tech that makes $20 an hour per job.. how many hours would you charge a customer to install a window motor? I'm going to assume since its your first time it took you around 1 hour.. wouldnt you ask for 2 hours? or 1.5? okey now multiply that by $120 (about right for infiniti hourly rate)..


Also keep in mind that parts bought over the counter have a 12 month 12,000 mile warranty on them

- Eric

 

I know for a fact OEM parts cost far more than what you're paying for them on Ebay...

 

Dang! I dont know what am I gonna do when my warranty expires.

 

I can't find the prices of the OEM parts. Thats why I used the ebay cheapo prices.

But my point still stands. Because even by your prices Eric, the cost is $180 for labor plus 200 for the part so $380 total. That is more than fair and there is no way in hell it takes an experienced Infiniti mechanic anywhere near an hour and a half to do that window. So $600+ vs a fair cost of $380.

Then I don't even want to start with the ballast. The part costs somewhere around $140 including the bulb. $1K? Really? Whatever. That one floored me and I'm shocked the service rep could even say it.

 

The hours charged are standardized by multiple organizations, and you are charged for that amount, regardless of wether it takes less or more.

The ballast is 600+ just for the ballast itself, and the last time I checked was a few years ago.

 

The ballast(OEM) is readily available on ebay at under $200.

 

^ thats ebay you dont get guarentee that it'll work with no warranty.. lol

you're not understanding me sternroolz the EMPLOYEE PRICE is $160.. your RETAIL is around $250 for the part +7.75%min CA tax $20.. thats $270 in parts alone.. without labor..

you get what you paid for in the end..

 

That's like buying a 200 dollar HID kit for a Civic...

Or Rota Replica's of the Volks...

 

In the case of the ballast, I could buy like 5-10 of those at the price the stealership is charging.

In the case of the window motor, I could by a bazillion and then some at the price the dealer is charging.

From what I can see of seats, I can buy about 4 used driver seats for what Miller Infiniti wants to charge.

So the fact that they have a 1 year warranty from the dealer is irrelevent. Beyond irrelevent really. Anyway two window motors that were installed by the dealer already failed on me so why in the world would I trust their materials?

FWIW, on the window thing...a Nissan dealer quoted me a price about $80 above the retail part price....It was like somewhere around $250 less than Miller was. So there are SOME dealers that will charge a fair price....they make profit from the part and from the labor. No need to profit on the part and then double or triple dip on ridiculously priced labor.

 

Start doing the work on your own. Believe me, I knew nothing about cars before this. My dad grew up poor and had to learn how to fix cars. I grew up like a marshmellow and never paid attention when my dad tried to show me how to repair cars. But when I got this car, I found even the simplest things were pricey.

Fortunately so many of the good people on this board made excellent postings on how to DIY. The first one I did was soooooo easy. It was the z-tube and pop charger. Took about 30 minutes and no problem at all following the pics people put up. Saved me paying someone $60 or so. Then the in cabin air filter. You can get one on ebay for $10-20 shipped. Literally takes 10 minutes and is no trouble at all. On special, Miller wants like $70-80 to do it and supposedly OEM price is like $40-50 for a piece of paper and cardboard. What a bunch of crap. I moved on from there and started doing my own brakes. Then the window motor. Guess I gotta learn how to do the headlight and my drivers seat. I'll go to an independent mechanic when I need to replace the rotors and struts. I found good prices from reliable mechanics when I needed my belts changed, transmission service, spark plugs, etc. In each instance the service was more than $100 less than what Miller Stealership was charging.

Only thing I take it to the dealer for nowdays is the oil changes. It would only save me about $15 to do it myself and they tell me the things wrong with my car so I can go fix them myself. Besides its such a pain to unscrew all those screws in the plate under the car. And they throw in a crap car wash too I guess.

 

I can guarentee that that independant mechanic is not a qualified as a tech at my dealership, let alone the master techs to work on your vehicle.

Infiniti corporate pays the same rate on labor as customers do for warranty work, but they will only honor dealer claims for warranty work. I wonder why that is... (they want it done RIGHT).

Again, if non-OEM parts float your boat, feel free to use them. DIY is always cheaper in the short run, but look at it from the point of view from your typical Infiniti client.

Your average G35 driver has an annual income of 157k as of last year. This would mean that the individual makes about 80 dollars an hour. To this person, spending a few hours shopping around to save 40 dollars, and then doing the work themselves to save another 50, is not worth it. They just spent 4 hours to save 90, when their time is worth 320. They actually LOST 230 by spending the 4 hours, instead of being productive at work, or investing the time in an interest/hobby of theirs.

Everyone has a different perspective. If you think Infiniti service is expensive, I suggest you look into Lexus/BMW/Mercedes... cost of servicing an Infiniti is usually about 1/4 to 1/3 of the other 3.

All I know is when I'm makin the big bucks, I sure as hell am not gonna spend any time servicing my own cars.

just my $.02

This post reflects my personal opinion and my personal opinion ONLY. It does not represent the point of view of Riverside Infiniti.

FWIW, I serviced my G at the dealership exclusively, but I service my Honda exclusively by myself. Not enough tech's have experience with a s2k, and most dealers don't even stock s2k maintenance items.

 

now i do agree with a lot of points with you on this, the s2k part for sure, but how and under what circumstances do you get "Your average G35 driver has an annual income of 157k as of last year", now given that cost if living is higher in cali then most places. i dont even make 25% of that.

but yes the other number stand point is completely correct, but lets put this into a real life perspective, say the man makes $30 an hour, he looks up ebay parts while he is at work so he isn't loosing anything. but it comes down to doing it he spends $20 for tools, 2 hours of his time ($60 pre-tax) and cost of part $25 i think it was. he still spent $100 roughly, risk the chance of damaging interior parts, cracking and etc. things happen all the time. You still dont end up saving too much money and you miss out on a chance to drive a new model car, no warranty on part or labor. its still your call.

I do work on my own car, but not simply because i want to save money, i rather enjoy it, i tried to be a tech at VW for a year and i couldn't do it for a career because i had no enjoyment. So in the end i have more then my share of tools. plus i most of the time when i work on my car or other sidejobs people throw at me its more of a event, we talk and hang out while i do work and bitch about how this car has this stupid design and say things like wtf why wont you go in right.

 

Everybody knows that the dealer charges way more than you can get it done at smaller shops. The reason is OVERHEAD. Those nice clean floors and that hot cup off coffee cost money. Your little "Joe the Mechanic" shop does not have a $5000 electric bill each month. He doesn't pay his help as much, nor supply uniforms or pay benefits.

He also doesn't know your car make like the dealer, he hasn't worked on as many as the dealer. The dealer has all the "special" tools that make a mechanics life so much easier.

That said, I still won't let my dealer do anything that's NOT under warranty. I just costs too damn much.

 

I think everyone is stating the obvious. The dealer has alot of overhead, and needs to make a profit, so their prices are going to be high. I try to do everything I can to my car, and go to the dealer as a last resort (I am out of warranty).

For the parts, its a matter of personal preference. OEM is probably best, but hey it the cheapo part from ebay works, more power to you. Just as long as it is not a critical system part, I wouldn't trust powertrain or brake system parts from some cheap ebay seller...

Use the forums to your advantage. Everyone knows someone that has done the install themselves, and I enjoy wrenching on my car too, so I am sure alot of others would help out when asked...

my .02 cents