1 year/15k service - $28!

[aidan80]

I just was due 15,000 service on my Versa. I asked the dealer previously what the costs is for the standard service and was told it would be around $240. I didn't think the price was bad but I wanted to see what if anything I could do myself. So I did some reading on here and elsewhere plus in the owner manual and found that I could do most of this myself, without any tools other than a screw driver or technical knowledge.

I bought:
In cabin air filter plus an engine air filter on Amazon for $20 + free shipping
Front wiper blades (generic brand) for around $30 inc tax

Took about 15 - 20 minutes to do the above, worst bit was trying to properly find the release for the in cabin filter. I checked the dealers website and found a coupon for a free rotation plus I had another coupon from Nissan for a $25 oil change! All in, including the inspection and tax I paid about $28!

The bottom line is $212 stayed in my pocket for $50 in parts and about 15 - 20 minutes of my time, that's madness! I have to admit I like this wee car more and more!

[sooner4x4]

Good job on saving a bunch of money. I have never understood the outragous prices on the services charged by the dealerships. I do most of my own maintenance also and save a ton. The added benefit is knowing the job was done correctly by someone who cares, plus the good feeling that comes from doing the job yourself.

Oil changes are pretty easy to do yourself, but you do need a few items (good ramps, a few tools, a good container to catch the oil), plus you need to properly dispose of the oil, and it can be a little messy. Since I maintain the four cars in my household, I save quite a bit on oil changes, plus I get to use better oil and filters than the dealership or a shop would normally use. Oklahoma City has a hazardous waste disposal center so getting rid of the old oil is easy.

I notice in your sig that you have a manual. For us auto transmission folks, the drain and fill on the Versa is very easy (I only know about the four speed). Easier than an oil change. I do a drain and fill once a year using the Nissan fluid (four quarts). Drain and fill on the coolant also. This keeps the fluids clean without having to pay for an expensive flush. While I am not sure, I would suspect the drain and fill on the manual transmission would be easy to do. Do a little research and use the correct fluid.

It's always great to have an excuse to get more tools.

[aidan80]

I can only assume the prices are part of the many things dealers do to make a bit more profit. I'd do the oil myself as well only I wanted the oil and the "inspection" noted in their system and my logbook. Just in case anything ever happened that's done by them. Plus their oil change prices are like $30 which isn't terrible. Although I do keep receipts of everything I do myself with the car. I have a few more tools on hand but great to know anyone really can save some $$ with nothing more than a screwdriver and a wee bit of time with this car.

When I was at the dealership I did ask if they could check the alignment when they rotated the tires. They said they couldn't just check it without charging the full fee for the alignment. I'd been to Sears one time with my old car and they did my oil, rotated the tires and checked the alignment for free when I had the rotation done. I haven't noticed anything yet to suggest an alignment is needed but thought it'd been good to have checked at least at the one year point.

[iluvmyVersa08]

Not only do you save money, but you learn more about the car by doing the servicing yourself!

The only time Kitty gets taken into a dealership for servicing is to have an oil change done (and that's only when they send me a coupon); otherwise it's changed at home.

Labour rates here are ridiculous; plus I like learning about the car by working on it myself.

[aidan80]

I have to agree, saving money and learning a wee bit about this car is always handy. Unfortunately my last car (ford) taught me more than I wanted to know lol. Although everything I touched in my last car seems to fall apart and it was in decent shape too. Ah well so far the Versa has been great excellent as expected.