new skyline

[WRXtranceformed]

Well, so much for the budget supercar. Hope you have deep pockets if you're servicing this thing at the dealer!

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Those of you 2009 Nissan GT-R haters out there, you're going to love this one. To the GT-R fanboys, well, sorry, this is going to be hard to make excuses for.

Last week we took our Nissan GT-R to Nissan of Santa Monica for routine service. We knew going in that this was going to be an expensive one. We'd been warned ahead of time that this service was not only an oil change (already expensive on these cars), but also a routine change of the differential and transaxle fluids.

Should be simple, right? Consider this: Automatic Transmission Fluid (GT-R specific) lists for $114.98 per quart. That's not a typo-- maybe an accounting error on Nissan's side, but not a typo. Forget Cristal we're going to start seeing hip-hop videos with rappers pouring this stuff on the ground while throwing dollars in the air. Don't worry, though, we didn't pay that. We got a deal; only $84.24 each. What a bargain.

Once you regain your breath-- lost either by laughing or screaming-- follow the jump for the full break-down of this service.



Now that we've all had a good laugh (or cry), here's the breakdown.

Transmission & Diff fluid change:

8 Quarts (Our car took just under 8. They quote 10 quarts, but the ammount used is rarely, if ever, that high. Honest dealers will tell you what your car took. Dishonest ones can easily charge you for the full 10.) of GT-R Automatic Transmission Fluid @ $86.24/ea: $689.92

3 Quarts of GT-R specific differential oil @ $62.02/ea: $186.06

Labor: $500

Oil Change:

1 Oil Filter: $6.95 (finally, something normal)

6-quarts Mobil 1 Synthetic 0W40 @ 9.38/ea: $56.28

Labor: $150

New Engine Air Filters and in Cabin Microfilter: (We could have saved a few bucks and done this one ourselves, but the car was already in the shop.)

2 engine air filters @ $52.86/ea: $105.72

1 Micro Air filter: $53.38

Labor: $115.00

The remote entry was repaired at no cost.

Our service advisor also noted that our right-rear tire had lost a strip of rubber on the inner edge, metal was showing. We have a set of tires already orderd from Stokes Tire Pros in Santa Monica.

TOTALS

Labor: $817.50

Parts: 1,101.31

Tax: 90.86

Total charge: $2009.67

Days out of service (including estimates for the repair): 4

As easy and fun as this is going to be to skewer in the comments, here's a side challenge (which we've also got posted on a white board in our office): What could possibly be in the GT-R specific oil to make it cost $114 per quart?

Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ 18,916 miles