Some Bargain: Inside Line reports $2000 routine maintenance bill for Nissan GT-R
2009 Nissan GT-R in the Autoblog Garage - Click above to view in high resolution
Our fathers always told us there's no such thing as a free lunch, and if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Then along came the Nissan GT-R, billed as a "bargain supercar" for those of merely elevated means. With a list price below eighty grand and performance to embarrass exotics worth several times as much, it seemed like the shoestring exotic had finally arrived like Santa Claus on Christmas. Couple that with what you'd be forgiven for assuming would be reasonable ownership costs – it is, after all, a Nissan, not a Ferrari – and the impossible had appeared to have happened.
However, such optimistic judgments about upkeep may have been premature. That's what the boys over at Inside Line found when their GT-R was called in to have its fluids changed. With transmission fluid selling for over $100 a quart, plus labor, the costs added up rather quickly, resulting in a routine refresh of the car's fluids and filters adding up to a sign-of-the-times-if-we've-ever-seen-one total of $2009 and change. If that's a bargain, we don't want to know what expensive is. Follow the link below to see IL's full breakdown.
Gallery: Review: 2009 Nissan GT-R
[Source: Inside Line]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
MemphisNET 12:33PM (4/01/2009)
It's probably still cheaper than a Ferrari checkup, but far more expensive than a Dodge Viper checkup :D
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tuna 1:07PM (4/01/2009)
I agree. This retarded story is spreading like wildfire. Think of the performance capabilities of the car and think of the cost of ownership for other cars in that class. $2000 for routine maintenance is a bargain. For the Italians, it's easily 5 times that.
Randy 1:40PM (4/01/2009)
Being no fan of Nissan at all I have to say that if you buy a high performance car then you need to keep it maintained like a High Performance Car.
What would one expect, a $15 oil change at Jiffy Lube?
If you buy an exotic pet, you don't feed it Alpo!
With all that said, the fluid costs are nuts!
MBS 1:43PM (4/01/2009)
With a Ferrari you expect to pay that but the GT-R is marketed as the common man's super car.
CB 1:58PM (4/01/2009)
Let's see what the labor costs are : $500 to change transmission & diff fluid (1 hour tops); $150 to change engine oil (30 minutes tops); $115 to change some air filters (10 minutes tops). The dealer charged $765 for some job that should take about 1.5 hour to complete, what a rip off!
k4ffy 2:09PM (4/01/2009)
meh, if you buy a supercar, you're going to have SOME cost of ownership.
i own an evo viii (GSR) and even that had a $1000 25,000 mile service.
Jeffrey Smith 2:56PM (4/01/2009)
You also got to figure that each of the dealers that sold the car has to maintain a dedicated technician and bay with alignment and all tools... which most likely adds to the overhead for the service of the car.
Franz 12:35PM (4/01/2009)
That's the biggest detractor to this car I've seen so far. So sense in trying to sugar coat it or make excuses: that's too bloody expensive.
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Franz 12:36PM (4/01/2009)
*That should have read "no sense".
the_MVP_X 1:07PM (4/01/2009)
Well, it's one of the best cars it in the world, not a Kia Forte.
g00fba11 1:52PM (4/01/2009)
Nope... Franz is right. There is no perfuming this pig of an expense. It was marketed as an everyman's affordable, accessible supercar. $2K for routine maintenance punts this totally out of accessible, affordable supercar zone faster than its 0-60 time. And I LOVE this car!
Most of the stuff that Inside Line spent money on, I guess we can do ourselves. But, there is no going around that $85/qt. trans fluid...at 10 f'n quarts!!!!
the_MVP_X 2:58PM (4/01/2009)
C'mon, do u know how much that will cost u for a Ferrari or Lambo? Then again it might be the dealer who is asking that much.
KT 3:54PM (4/01/2009)
So much for cheap fun.
You better pay that $2000 for the fluid change or you'll be paying $20,000 for one of those fancy transmissions!!
I don't care how much perfomance you get with this vehicle, a $2000 routine maintenance cost is highway robbery.
Curious how much the ZR's routine maintenance is?
g00fba11 4:45PM (4/01/2009)
@MVP:
yes...I do have an idea of how much Ferrari and Lambo cost in maintenance. They, however, are not marketing themselves as affordable supercars...that's the difference right there.
Ben Hayat 12:36PM (4/01/2009)
It's probably [most certainly] the dealership ripping people off!
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s13hybrid 1:14PM (4/01/2009)
I have to agree. I mean isnt that where the dealership makes a lot of their money?
Christian de Saint Preux 12:35PM (4/01/2009)
I like the Z06....
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zamafir 12:36PM (4/01/2009)
Hrm. So a DSG/Haldex service on a TT/R32 is $1000, and people are bawking at $2000 for a car which costs twice as much? Inside Line does test cars right? They are aware of the long term running costs of cars with similar awd/dsg setups? Of course they are the reviews are right there. Well, at least they paid for it this time, unlike the damage they did on the S5 they reviewed, lmao.
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why not the LS2LS7? 12:48PM (4/01/2009)
This is routine service. Nothing was broken. What routine service is there on a DSG/Haldex?
why not the LS2LS7? 1:00PM (4/01/2009)
Oh, and zamafir:
My Audi A6 2.7T has 104,000 miles on it and it has had exactly $0 in maintenance and repair costs on the transmission and AWD system. The only drivetrain costs so far are front CV boots, which is no different than on an FWD system.
What do you want to tell me about the long term running costs of AWD?