Our beloved mechanic quit the business. We have no idea who to take our Xterra to for preventative maintenance at 98K miles. (We don’t know anyone with an import car to ask.) We want to do it now since we will be putting a lot of miles on (2,000+) over the next month and want to be sure belts, etc. are in good shape. It is running perfectly now with no problems. Dealer wants $971 to do a “Premier tune-up” and can offer no other options unless we have a specific list of items to be checked. We are clueless about what needs to be checked at this point. Can anybody give us an idea of what generally needs attention at this mileage? And should it cost less than $971 to have this done??
The first thing is find your “owners manual” and see what the servicing and intervals are recommended. The safest thing is simply have those which are due, done. Simple as that.
At 98K – given a generic car for routine maintenance – a mechanic would probably check if the
- timing belt needs replacement
- the air filter needs replacement
- the spark plugs need replacement
- the engine idle speed and timing needs adjustment
- all the fluids are clean and up to level
- the drive belt(s) need replacement
- check engine light is on or any codes are pending
- the brake pads front and back remain within their safety limits
- the suspension components are not broke and working correctly
- the exhaust system is working properly and leak free
$971 for doing all that? Seems a little steep. But not totally unreasonable.
You could get a better price probably if you can find an independent who specializes in your make and model.
Perhaps contact your retired mechanic and ask him whether he can recommend anybody to take your car to.
If you can help it, don’t bring your car to the dealer.
THANK YOU, George! The owner’s manual is of no use, it lists service for every 10K, lots of it cosmetic or not applicable. Your list is wonderful and exactly what I was looking for. I will work from that. We can’t contact the retired mechanic…family problems for him and he is not communicative with anyone (extremely small town). We have decided against the dealer, and will take this list with us to whoever we take a chance with.
The maintenance guide should be a seperate book for your vehicle. You can view the maintenance schedule for the 2008 Xterra online, https://owners.nissanusa.com/nowners/navigation/manualsGuide
For the 2007 Xterra a maintenance guide can be ordered.
At 90,000 miles a major service is due if not already performed.
At 97,500 an oil change and tire rotation is due along with a routine fluid level,suspension and brake inspection. Not a $971 service unless you are behind on the maintenance. The spark plugs are replaced at 105,000 miles.
Domestic or import, same thing, do the maintenance listed in the owner’s manual. In today’s market, there is very little difference between domestic and import.
General comments:
Dealers generally charge more. but don’t really do anything different (there are exceptions to this one)
Dealer wants $971 to do a “Premier tune-up” Yea, they want to do a cash transfusion moving money from your pocket to theirs. Do what the owner’s manual recommends and consider maybe doing more if the mechanic or dealer can make a good case for your car needing more maintenance than the manufacturer recommends in the owner’s manual.
Don’t neglect to do all the maintenance recommended in the owner’s manual.
This engine doesn’t have a timing belt. Nissan switched over to timing chains years ago.
As others have said…check the owners manual.
As for an independent…these vehicles are NOT difficult to work on. Any good independent can work on them. In fact they probably have. The independent I use occasionally works on ALL makes and models except diesel engine work and some exotic vehicles like Lamborghini. Nissan’s are very popular and NOT exotic.