chengjeremy123

I have a 2011 g37xs coupe with 175,000KM (~109,000Miles). There is a bunch of issues with the car - is it worth fixing, or should i just sell the car? It will cost me close to $6000 Canadian dollars as shown in the work order below.

ILM-NC G37S

iTrader: (3)

Is your car experiencing problems to warrant this ridiculously overpriced work order or is this a "preventive maintenance" deal? Is this a dealer service dept. or a independent shop?

Some of these items, like the filters and wipers are a easy DIY for even the most unskilled person. Others, like the belt, fans, coolant flush/ fill, thermostat, and spark plugs, can be a simple DIY but will require some basic mechanical skills.

Items such as the "resonator" you can go to a independent shop and have them address that issue- if it is one. "Air/ Fuel Induction" service, engine "shampooing" are all silly add-ons that make a ton of free money for the shop. My 2008 with 122k miles has never had any of that crap and it still runs like new.

Is it worth it? Only you can answer that. Again, does you car have any issues or...? If so, prioritize those and go from there.

goldbug

iTrader: (4)

ILM nailed it. It’s 100% up to you, but if you are mechanically inclined or even good with self-taught or directed instructions a very large majority of that stuff can be taken care of by yourself.

As ILM said already, some of that stuff is just fluff to make the shop money. I work as an assistant service manager at a dealership for a major car brand so (unfortunately) I know exactly how this works, and is sadly true for a lot of services I’ve seen. It might only cost them $10 for a bottle of fluid but they’ll charge $100+ for the service even if they’re only pouring it in somewhere and nothing past that.

Let’s go down your list real quick, it isn’t too bad! Mostly just long term maintenance items.

1- Thermostat and coolant system:
A new OEM thermostat can be purchased for $30. Located on the front driver side of the engine block. If you are installing new radiator hoses (recommended) this is an easy install with the hoses out of the way/removed. New upper and lower radiator hoses are about $40 to $50 total and say $5 to be safe for new OEM spring clamps. All you need then is 3 gallons of pre-mixed Nissan coolant and a Lisle spill-free funnel. Also heavily recommended is replacing the OEM plastic heater hose connector with a metal unit. Z1 makes a metal unit for cheap with a bleeder port to make life easier. Total parts cost estimate around $180 and all labor can be done by you and/or a mechanically inclined friend. DIY’s can be found here, on the370z.com, and YouTube.

2- Radiator cooling fans
This one isn’t too bad to install. Would be best done when you remove/replace radiator hoses as you will need to remove the coolant overflow tank (easy, just requires a flush and fill+burp so doing everything at once saves you from wasting coolant and burping the system multiple times). Parts cost online is around $540 USD excluding shipping. Much cheaper than your quote, regardless. I would budget around 3-4 hours by yourself to remove and replace everything. Nothing crazy, just time consuming.

3- Serpentine belt
Another relatively easy install, best done after removing coolant hoses and radiator fans and before installing new fans, hoses, etc. This will give you the most room to work with. OEM belt is around $65 USD but Gates and Z1 have options. Again, several DIY’s out there for this on this site, the370z, and YouTube.

4- Coolant System Service
Touched on this in #1 but again just grab some OEM premixed coolant (3x gallons) and new OEM spring clamps for your radiator hoses (4x clamps total).

5- Power steering hose
Very easy. Get a turkey baster or a suction pump. Pop open the cap on your power steering reservoir. Drain as much fluid as possible, then remove the power steering reservoir from its bracket. Have a rag ready and under the reservoir (to catch and PS fluid that drips out left in the reservoir) and remove the 2x hoses attached to the reservoir. New PS hoses can be grabbed for $36 USD from Z1 and just grab a few bottles of PS fluid to keep on hand. There are a few threads on this forum that delve more into that process ie turning the wheel when draining etc. Very simple and straightforward, will take less than an hour.

6- Engine shampoo
Now this is something I wish my dealership offered. But regardless, up to you. Just an engine bay cleaning. It will look nice and pretty again but is useless for performance or longevity. There are several ways to clean an engine bay, some more sketchy than others - YMMV.

7- Engine air filters/air intake filters
This one can be done by you 100%. Easiest of all. If you open your hood the stock airboxes both have 2x clips on the front. Pop open the clips and the air filters just slide right out. Recommend a set of AFE pro dry S filters if you never want to replace again (around $100). Simply rinse, blow out, and dry the are filters vs replacing. Otherwise new OEM filters are about $25 each so $50 total USD. If you go with OEM filters and DIY you save the $44 labor instantly.

8- Cabin air filter
Another very easy one with several DIYs out there people have made. I would DIY 100% and save another $33 in labor. Takes 5-15 min depending on how fast you are. If you’re mechanically inclined you can replace a cabin filter in under 5 minutes.

9- Resonator
This is where you need to go aftermarket for sure. The OEM exhaust components are just dumb pricey. What I’m guessing they are referring to is the mid-pipe where the 2x factory exhaust resonators are located. Remark/Revel make an OEM diameter midpipe that might work perfectly for you and is almost $500 cheaper than the OEM part. AAM makes one as well but it approaches the $1k territory. Any reputable exhaust shop can also fab up some 60mm diameter piping, 2x resonators, and some flanges and make a custom replacement midpipe for you for a few hundred $$$. They should be able to install a replacement or aftermarket midpipe for $100 or so if that’s the easiest route. If it is just the resonators that need to be replaced, we can point you to some options and/or you can have any exhaust shop cut out the factory resonators and weld-in replacements. I would recommend finding a midpipe that is 60mm diameter and compatible with the OEM y pipe and muffler if looking elsewhere, but a 2.5” diameter midpipe will also do fine (just not even diameter throughout the exhaust for optimal flow- though such a small difference in diameter it’s almost negligible esp when only replacing the midpipe). New exhaust midpipe gaskets are also recommended/should be installed if removing and reinstalling the midpipe.

10- Spark plugs
Another one that can be DIY if you are a little mechanically inclined. Takes a couple hours, but only need a few tools and patience. A set of 6 new OEM spark plugs are around $120 USD. So if you can DIY this job you can save $700 off of that invoice!

11- BG induction service
Pretty much a gimmick, won’t make a real difference. Just grab a bottle of CSC MAF sensor cleaner and CSC throttle body cleaner for about $10 each and call it a day. Will help with idle and throttle response. Saves $200+

I hope that helps! These really are great cars. Nissan gave us a great set of bones, they just need a little TLC and help to get to their full potential and live the long life they’re capable of.

Cheers,

dkmura

Good answers posted here. This is an opportunity for the OP to learn more about their car and get their hands a bit dirty. DIY tasks such as these do not require much more than a few hand tools and a wish to learn. Yes, the first time you try any task, it may not be done perfectly, but all of us had to start somewhere, and this is your chance! Save the $5K and buy/keep the tools you'll need for future projects. Besides, you won't want to heavily discount your car to sell it and these are relatively straightforward tasks needed before selling your car for top dollar.