2005 Nissan 350Z Sports Car

Reader Question: I have a 2005 Nissan 350Z which needs its 30,000-mile maintenance checkup. The Nissan dealership that I bought it from gave me a quote of $500, which seems like a lot.

Is it a lot? Can I negotiate the price? Is it worth taking to a non-Nissan shop and would it be cheaper? Would that void my warranty?

Thanks,

Evan

Hey Evan,

The price of $500 does seem a bit steep, but I would want to know what it is that you are going to get for that price. It might be totally justified. Most shops and even most dealerships will have their own ideas of what items make up those 30, 60, and 90K services. Call another Nissan dealership and you will probably get a totally different price and a different list of items that will be inspected and serviced.

30K service for this vehicle will probably comprise mostly of INSPECTIONS and not of actually replacing or servicing items and parts. Call them up and ask them to tell you what the service details. I would bet you hear the word “inspect” more than anything else and it will probably be items that you are not familiar with or items that are trivial, like “inspect fuel door operation”…give me a break when was the last time you had a problem with the lid to your fuel cap? You would be surprised, that “service” is found on many 30K inspections.

I would change the oil and filter, rotate and balance the tires and inspect the brakes for wear and consider a front-end alignment and possibly an air filter and wiper blades. That is probably about the extent of what you will actually NEED to have done at this mileage interval.

You will not void your warranty getting work done outside the dealership unless you have parts replaced that are not Nissan parts. Example, you get a brake job elsewhere and use non-Nissan brake pads.

Here is a general 30K maintenance checklist I put together awhile back.

General 30K Car Maintenance Checklist

Blessings,
Austin Davis

Reader Updates: Austin, I called another Nissan dealership and they gave me about the same price. Independent shops quoted about $100 for the inspection items and another $150 or so for the needed replacements (air filter, etc.) so a half the price (unless they “find” other things that ‘must’ be replaced.

Thanks for the help.

Evan

Evan,

I think I would go with the independent shops for this service. If you get your tires rotated and balanced, which you should do anyway, you automatically get a free brake inspection, and a regular oil change should include checking all under hood fluids including checking the air filter.

So, I would not pay for ANY inspections at this mileage to be honest, except a front-end alignment which will check all steering and suspension components.

Blessings,
Austin Davis