$$$$$ MAINTENANCE SERVICE $$$ THE WINNER IS ...

[Larz]

In the next few days I will be taking my car to the dealer for maintenance and a few extra bits of service. Your assignment is to guess as close as possible, how much this will cost. Most of us have had one or more of these services done in the past. I just closed a bloody HUGE contract with a major medical office in four counties for high-tech IV services and I am dancing about the room and came up with this idea.
Why not just get a new car? I have found nothing that grabs me and says 'buy me'.
Included:
4-wheel balancing and alignment
coolant service (flush, fill, etc) and install all new hoses
install new engine belt
transmission and differential service (flush-fill, whatever they do)
oil and filter change
install new hood (front bonnet) struts - just labor (I am providing the struts)
install new spark plugs
throttle body and injector service

*** if any other services are needed, they will NOT be included in this poll. I will deduct that cost to keep this fair ***

Click on one of the selections above, then post a reply with the exact dollar amount ( $1,255, $832, $1,045, etc)
The first member who guesses closest without going over will win a $50 gift card to one of the following:

Home Depot (my second home)
Lowes
Amazon
Best Buy
Visa

[szh]

Close to $1500 I think.

Z

[steve_c]

I'm in.....
I say $1,173 before Tax.

Congrats on your sales!

[EdBwoy]

Congrats on the contract!

$1,363 before tax I say, and that is as as wild as any WAG can go.
Extra points for the exact number?

[pedsemdoc]

$1446.49 before taxes.

Larz, how about Jaguar's Project 8 for your next ride??? : supercharged V8, see https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... h-xe-sedan

[Debonair]

$710.50

[Rogue One]

A buck three eighty two (adjusted for inflation).

[Ilya]

$1650

Maintenance is cheaper than a new car (I've recently converted to that ideal as opposed to having a car payment if the maintenance is less per yer than 12 car payments) but if I was you I'd strongly consider a Q70L with a 5.6 loaded to the tilt. MMMMM.

[steve_c]

$710.50

Hmm, possible, but I do not think Larz is related to the owner of the dealership...

[EniGmA1987]

$1350

[94_snake]

1753.67, before tax.

[Larz]

$1650

Maintenance is cheaper than a new car (I've recently converted to that ideal as opposed to having a car payment if the maintenance is less per yer than 12 car payments) but if I was you I'd strongly consider a Q70L with a 5.6 loaded to the tilt. MMMMM.

Believe it or not, the latest Q70L 5.6 was definitely on my list. However, when you check other brands that I consider to be in the same league, you will find that Infiniti has added a few inches to the back seat - and stopped there. Every other maker also has rear seat options similar to my 2009 like reclining, temp controlled seats, a fold down rear screen, side window screens, and a center arm rest that allows control of everything the driver has - including NAV, sound, climate zones, etc. Inifniti ... well they offer cup holders and have only recently added heated seats. That's not what I call an extended saloon car. My 2009 has much more kit in the back seat than a new $75,000 Q70L. And don'y get me started on the panoramic roof that is STILL not available! Then there is the aging, outdated Bose surround which pales compared to B&W, Lexicon, Meridian, and Bose panaray, etc found in all other brands.
True, other cars in this class are more expensive, but I will be buying a 1-3 year old model so much of that initial extra cost will be gone by the time I buy it. It will still cost more than a similar aged Q70L, but not all that much more and I will get loads more kit.

[steve_c]

Believe it or not, the latest Q70L 5.6 was definitely on my list. However, when you check other brands that I consider to be in the same league, you will find that Infiniti has added a few inches to the back seat - and stopped there. Every other maker also has rear seat options similar to my 2009 like reclining, temp controlled seats, a fold down rear screen, side window screens, and a center arm rest that allows control of everything the driver has - including NAV, sound, climate zones, etc. Inifniti ... well they offer cup holders and have only recently added heated seats. That's not what I call an extended saloon car.

Your observations are correct!
Carlos Ghosn's vision was for Infiniti to compete with the luxury offerings from Lexus, Mercedes & BMW.
It did not work out, but a nice attempt as we all can attest to with the M's we all own and love.

I recently read an interview with Infiniti's current boss (I think it was AutoWeek mag), that Infiniti is comfortable sitting a notch below the premium offerings of BMW, Lexus & MB.

So...what went wrong?
A few factors for sure, but I feel Infiniti's dealer & corporate network are not up to same standards as BMW, Lexus & MB. Ghosn offered us the "Infiniti Inner Circle"
That took off like a lead balloon. I called it "infiniti Inner circle Jerk"
Inner Circle provided no meaningful customer support at all. It was just hype.
Lucky for Infiniti Corporate that our cars are so good, we did not need a strong support backbone!

[midnightclub619]

my guess $1715.50

[kmiles]

$1595 before tax. Best wishes!

Kerry

[Larz]

Steve you are absolutely correct. Seems Infiniti have decided NOT to compete with anyone. When you hear presenters say "this Infiniti model is meant to compete with ...." that is the presenter's comment, but clearly NOT Infnit's goal. Seems Infiniti have decided to be an available option that is lower than high rung Euro boys, but higher than the lowest rung of Chevrolet, Buick, Ford, etc. Infiniti have grabbed the middle rung and they seem to fancy staying there. Trouble is, most high end buyers don't want a middle rung car. Those buyers have already accepted the idea that it will cost them plenty and most will still buy BMW, Merc, or Audi rather than 'settle' for a less expensive car with much less kit.
If Infiniti remains at middle ground and still think they will cut into BMW, Merc, and Audi they have but two hopes of doing it: Bob Hope and No Hope. My hope is that for 2018-2019, we see an Infiniti that CAN compete. Infiniti have successfully beat most everyone on reliability and presentation. Now it's time to yank up the knickers and build a serious challenger to the Euro sedans.

[cfrankling]

1,549.99 before taxes

[L'sm35]

$928 before taxes

[Mjkkb2]

$1777

[DS2009m35x]

$1770 with tax

[Larz]

UPDATE:
Jeffery, my service rep from the dealer, dropped by the house Thursday afternoon to pick up my car and leave me a fully optioned QX30 in that freaky color they call "liquid copper". [gulp] lovely.
While having some tea, we went over the work list and he told me: "I will drop the labor for installing the coolant hoses because we are going to hit you for the coolant flush and the hoses can be changed during that process." He told me he will have the guys do similar jobs at the same time to keep the costs down, and he gave me a rough estimate of the cost.
HINT: This will NOT be under $1000. That's all I'll say. Some of the low guesses came from members who work on their own cars so let me remind you lot that guessing what it should cost and the actual dealer cost are not even in the same post code. Some of you might want to re-submit your guesses.
I expect the car to be ready Monday 07/17. The only issue is the vibration up front at speeds past 50 mph. Jefferey and a tech confirmed it and they are working on it, but as of Saturday, nothing has been found yet. I told Jefferey to remove and chuck the 5mm spacers. Any costs for this issue is, of course, not part of this contest.

I will post a final notice for guesses after I pick up my care and return this gopping colored hatch back.

[WillV]

$1,297 Early bday present LOL

[L'sm35]

My new estimate before taxes I $1641.99

[bicsintegra]

$1,382.00

[steve_c]

I'm in.....
I say $1,173 before Tax.

Congrats on your sales!

I wish to prevail myself of Larz's generous offer to resubmit repair estimate bids....

My new bid is $1778.00

[Larz]

As you can see, the total was well past $1000. However, there were other things I had done that had naught to do with maintenance and were not part of this contest. Only the items listed in my poll were included.

Nearly 30% of voters chose correct price range: 1500-1750. You may also be surprised at just how much the bill grows with labor charges. This is where it pays to do your own maintenance if you are qualified.
For example:
cost of 6 spark plugs on Infinitpartsonline.com = $59.16
dealer cost for plugs and labor = $298 (5 X the cost of doing it yourself)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The numbers to win are as follows: before tax = 1558.28 / tax included = 1651.70

Kmiles came close with 1595 pre-tax but went slightly OVER by 36.72 <wah wah wah>
cfranklin came VERY close with 1549.99 pre-tax ... diff <8.29>
If you're scratchng yor head at just how close Kmiles came, you will realy love this next bit!

Ilya posted a tax-included bid of 1650 .... diff <1.79>
Not only did Ilya win, but he was less than $2 under the exact price !!!! Well done, mate!

Here are the details:

EW61C 22401 plug-spark 122.28
labor 175.72

Radiator hose - upper 79.50
Radiator hose - lower 58.85
labor 103.10

Coolant long life 61.98
labor comp

Transmission service 229.95

Differential service 129.95

Drive belt 68.46
labor 106.54

Rotate balance 4 tires 109.95
4-wheel alignment 129.95

Install hood strut / brace
customer supplied
labor 93.10

Oil / filter change 29.00

fuel system service 59.95

-----------------------------------------------------------

parts total: 391.07
labor total: 1167.21
sales tax: 93.51
------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL 1,651.79

Congrats Ilya!
Hit me up in PM with the name if the store for your gift card, or just choose a Visa gift card that can be used anywhere

[Ilya]

HOLY MOLY! I was damn close lol.

This is a good bit of news (courtesy of you) as I made a massive mistake by not reading fine print in my personal life which might cost me $4k (non-automotive related).

Congrats again on your sale and cool thing to do for the hell of it for the community.

[steve_c]

That was fun, and very creative & generous of Larz to share his fortune with a lucky member of the the M community!
Congrats again to Larz for his sales bonus, and to Ilya the winner!

Larz, you are a class A act!

[cfrankling]

Larz, you are a class A act!

+1

[Larz]

If any of you lot plan on getting a Lotto ticket - I reckon Ilya might be a good source for the digits! LOL.
Seriously though, I'm glad to be able to give a little something back. If I'm honest, the members here have saved me $ so many times over with advise and DIYs. etc. Thanks for playing along, everyone.