Nissan dealer labor times

[SalsaSC01]

Anyone have access to the Nissan "black book" that the dealership service departments charge labor by?

I've been told a head gasket replacement is a 15 hour labor charge (by the book). This equates to around $1600 in labor alone.
The parts are $154 and there is tax and misc. shop charges (whatever that is)

I'm going to call a couple other nearby dealerships tomorrow to see how their labor compares.

I think this dealership is trying to rip me off because I'm out of warranty and they know I need my truck fixed.

Anyway, the consensus is to have the water pump and timing belt replaced at the same time. I also have 6 new colder spark plugs that I haven't gottn in yet because they are a royal pain to get to. Do you think they will put them in if I take them up there?

[sbradburn]

Usually its either a mitchell guide, which might be online, or 1.5 times warranty labor times. As far as timing belts go....they should have a set price for it. Usually if you do that the labor is included for the water pump since you have to remove it to do the belt anyway. Most only charge for the part. Same with drive belts. Plugs would be a diferent story, but some places do install some easy items if large jobs are done. I know they would if you did the head gaskets.

[bman2505]

15 hours does sound high for a head gasket. My brother is a Nissan tech and he gets paid flat rate like most mechanics do. He get screwed on our warranty work but makes out great on 30, 60, 90K services and things like described in the post. Not to say it fair for us but think about the guys working on the car trying to make a living... Still I would shop around!

[Phil'sFrontier]

Originally Posted by SalsaSC01

Anyway, the consensus is to have the water pump and timing belt replaced at the same time.

I thought we had timing chains on our Frontier's...which will last a long time....please correct me if I am wrong

[sbradburn]

Our trucks have chains.....the 3.3 has a belt.

[bman2505]

05+ has a timing chain but I beleive the gen1 trucks have a belt...

[SalsaSC01]

I have two other dealerships working quotes for me as I type this. We'll see how their prices compare. I'll post the results.

[Shadow2007]

What year is your truck?? I am very lucky I have a garage I go to who are very honest. They use OEM parts if requested. Once I took my old Altima to big o tires for a brake job and said I need rotor replaced quoted me some $600. I then took it to this other shop, they said my rotor is fine. Paid $60 for a premium lifetime brake shoes. Shop around..it sure helps and may find an honest garage shop. So once my warranty is out I go to the non-delaer repair shop....GOOD LUCK!!! btw, I bought the 100k warrranty too. It's worth it in the long run..my personal opinion.

[SalsaSC01]

I have (or had) the 100,000 mile extended warranty. However, I am over by time, not miles. It expired 1 1/2 months ago.

The truck is a 2001.

[VafrontierVa]

if your out on your warranty, forget the dealership, they do the same work for tons more money....take it to a local shop that you can trust. after your warranty runs out, the dealership becomes useless