After 5 weeks our GT-R is finally back in action. Almost. We took it in for service while waiting to schedule an insurance adjustor. Repairs to the rear bumper were finished after about a week at no cost to us. The at-fault party's insurance picked up the $3,500 bill.
But now its back to the dealer again. We are due for a scheduled transmission calibration and alignment. So we pulled from the body shop driveway back into the service drive at Nissan of Santa Monica. We will give you a summary of the service when it returns.
Mike Schmidt, Vehicle Testing Manager @ 19,000 miles
srlracing says:
05:16 PM, 04/22/09
I feel a painful service bill coming on.
carguy622 says:
05:22 PM, 04/22/09
Me too.
altimadude00 says:
05:40 PM, 04/22/09
It's painful just reading about it, let alone actually paying for it.
xelement says:
05:40 PM, 04/22/09
It's certainly not a car to be driven daily!
s1gins says:
05:45 PM, 04/22/09
You guys seriously have ridiculous luck and timing with your GTR.
We are using our GTR as a sometimes daily driver (11K miles) and have had none of the issues you have come across!
Get this car back in service and have some fun in it!
ace47 says:
06:34 PM, 04/22/09
Take it for a road trip already.
pengwin says:
06:58 PM, 04/22/09
I bet the body shop took the GT-R for a spin around the block...500 times.
kurtamaxxxguy says:
09:06 PM, 04/22/09
Has somebody been sneaking GT-R launches that are unknown to you ??
How many GT-R's are actually in the field these days? Any indication how they are holding up in general?
redliner says:
09:06 PM, 04/22/09
When i was younger, i worked as a valet and you wouldn't believe the stunts people pull. I always followed the golden rule, if i wouldn't do it to my car, then i wouldn't do it to a customers car.
tryan says:
03:07 AM, 04/23/09
redliner - Just one (of many) reasons I will never use valet parking...
It does seem like the GT-R has spent an inordinate amount of time at the dealer post-honeymoon.
Although, with 19,000 miles in a little over 8 months, I guess we shouldn't be surprised...
cjasis says:
08:04 AM, 04/23/09
I hope you guys have started stretching.... because I feel a very expensive service coming on.
Touch your nose to your toes that's how the GT-R service dance goes.
lazyhater says:
08:34 AM, 04/23/09
Can we have a break down of the $3500 body shop bill? I want to know what was done and replaced?!
stingray454 says:
08:36 AM, 04/23/09
Transmission calibration. Yet another reason I prefer traditional manual transmissions over this DSG nonsense. DSG's are great technology, but if they require much more maintenance, then it's a technology that needs more development before I'll ever consider it.
chavis10 says:
09:09 AM, 04/23/09
stingray- I'm not sure if other DSGs need this type of service besides the GT-R's unit. Sounds very questionable for this supposed "technological marvel"
lazyhater says:
09:32 AM, 04/23/09
That Transmission calibration sounds like another dealer service scam by Nissan. Since much cheaper cars with DSG like the GTi don't need such calibration.
jederino says:
09:43 AM, 04/23/09
Sorta doubting there is a service scam by Nissan. It's a low-production numbers exotic car, with max performance. When you buy a car like this, you're stepping into a whole odyssey of strange service intervals and repair bills. Just think of it as part of the mystique!
I speculate that with Ferraris and Lambos, much of the experience of ownership (like 90%) is bench-racing, telling tall tales, and waiting for the phone call that your car is ready from the mechanic.
stingray454 says:
12:00 PM, 04/23/09
jederino - Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. The GT-R is not exotic, and I wouldn't even consider it low-production. It has supercar performance, yes, but it's not an exotic. It is a Nissan, and it does have some humble roots.
The Corvette Z06 and ZR1 have similar supercar performance as the GT-R, yet they do not have exotic car maintenance and service requirements. They're almost as easy and inexpensive to maintain as the average family sedan (except for the tires and brakes).
1487 says:
12:09 PM, 04/23/09
This is what happens when you create a high performance car that has little in common with other vehicles made by the manufacturer. Everything for this car is high unique and thus the durability of the components is questionable. One reason why a Vette doesn't need so much service is that it's engine and powetrain is shared with other vehicles which means they need to be durable enough and low maintenance enough for conventional use in mainstream vehicles. I would love to see how this vehicle holds up after 50k miles or so.
hondacura4 says:
02:49 PM, 04/23/09
I respect the GTR and its performance capabilities however Im so sick of hearing about this car from EVERY publication!
Id easily choose a GT3 or a ZR1 over the GTR.
tryan says:
03:05 PM, 04/23/09
hondacura4 - If money was no object, I think many of us would do the same. As it is, the GT-R is much more inexpensive than either alternative you mentioned.
The more appropriate question would be if you would take a standard RWD Carrera (non S) or Z06 over the GT-R?
jederino says:
05:23 PM, 04/23/09
I would take a Carrera over the GTR, and I'm a Nissan fan. I've had a Datsun, Nissan and now Infinity. But the Carrera is prettier, simpler, and somehow more authentic. I would take a Corvette for the same reason, even if the interior is dime-store rubbish. I would save-up some of my maintenance-savings and get the interior completely customized so I wouldn't throw up in my mouth a little everytime I stepped inside.
hondacura4 says:
08:17 PM, 04/23/09
"The more appropriate question would be if you would take a standard RWD Carrera (non S) or Z06 over the GT-R?"
Tyran, probably so as I prefer a more pure, mechanical driving experience overall and both cars are much simpler as another poster mentioned. I love simplicity!
ace47 says:
09:28 PM, 04/23/09
"One reason why a Vette doesn't need so much service is that it's engine and powetrain is shared with other vehicles which means they need to be durable enough and low maintenance enough for conventional use in mainstream vehicles."
Thats why you buy a Vette for 70K and sell it for 40K.
And with your comment, you answered stingrays comment as to why a GT-R is a supercar.