Speaking of which, I have a serious gripe with the cost of Neal & massey's regular scheduled servicing.
I know they would claim that their servicing is up to a certain standard because their mechanics are trained by Nissan and have qualifications, etc. etc. - but I don't believe that they can justify charging such a high price for simple oil-changes that any mechanic can do.
Besides, I believe that my own mechanic is similarly qualified - the only real difference between an outside mech and one from N&M is that the company's mech's have a service manual from NIssan from which they use as reference. I have a copy of that service manual as well, so hence in terms of level of information & specifications, we should be equal with them.
Look at what N&M charged me at my last 5000km servicing:
And thus the final breakdown came up to:
AFAIK, they use Castrol Hypuron 15W40 oil, which is a mineral oil and original filters.
I can get Amsoil 15w40 full synthetic oil outside for cheaper, as well as original filters from ROC bamboo and here's what my own estimate would work out to be:
- Amsoil 15W40 synthetic oil, 8 quarts/2 gallons = $360
- Original Nissan oil filter (outside seller) = $145
- Labour (plus tip from me) = $65 (+$20 tip) = $85
Total = $590.00
Savings = $1087.02 - $590.00 =
$497.02Now, I'm not a cheapskate, I believe in paying for good service and making sure my truck gets the best parts, materials and highest standard of labour - but I also believe in getting the best value for service and clearly I'm not getting it here.
Look at the sales receipt - how the fack does "Sublet Amount" come up to $457.50, and look at sales tax at $141.79 ??
Even when I was servicing the Frontier at Laughlin & degannes (which isnt' a cheap place), I was paying only up to $350-$400 for servicing, which included the cost of two gallons of Shell Rimula R4.
I just find this to be total B/S and the dealer hanging the statement "If you don't service by us, you lose your warranty coverage of other stuff that's not really supposed to break" is also total bullsh!t.
They're only using the warranty to bully you into spending more money in regular servicing by them.
Think about it this way, if I did my own regular servicing, I'd be saving almost $500 every time I change the oil. I only now reaching the 10,000km servicing, and I expect to keep the vehicle for the next 150,000km's. Imagine how much money I would be saving......
If you want the actual calculations, that amounts to:
150,000km worth of servicing = 15 services (at 10,000km each) = $7500 total saved.
Don't forget that at each major servicing they charge more (the 10,000 km service is a major service interval) - up to $1600 or so for these services.
And what do they do at these intervals? Besides changing the fluids & filters, they just check the brakes, push down on the suspension to see if it's working, check the alignment, and top up whatever fluid which is not up to mark.
That's it. That's what they'll charge an extra $500-600 more for.
See? Total bullsh!t.
All it takes is customer education. Be an educated consumer. Read as much as you can. Don't stick to one source of information - confirm the facts at other reliable sources.
I personally am a member of two sites dedicated to Navara's:
-
www.nissan-navara.net-
www.navara.asiaand I use these sites regularly to find out info and troubleshoot for my Navara & Frontier.
By being educated and well-read, you can avoid costly repairs and paying blindly for marked up service.
If anyone wants the service manual listings with the specified service intervals, PM me and I'll give you the link. This manual states at what mileages the servicing should be done, and what items need to be looked at, checked and replaced at these intervals.
