and now they call and say I need new brakes front and rear and something about I'm done to one milimeter........ and its like $190 or something for each set ((when in the past 6 months I have taken my car to Les Schwab for a free brake inspection and they said nothing is wrong with it??)) but also my parking brake light is like always on now.....

and they said I need new belts and that they are cracked and they want a $135 for that..

and they said I need a oil sensor something for $58 and that it is leaking oil and my car is gargaged and wouldnt i see it leak oil????

anyways that is adding up plus the cost of the 60k service on top of that......

what should I do.???? i need advice!!

 

go get a second oppinion. i mean some places just try to cheat you out of your money. its the real world man. about the oil yes you probably would see an oil leak in your garage, theres even scumbag places that will cause an oil leak just so you fix it. if i were you go get a second oppinion somewhere that you trust, or somewhere that a friend trusts. have them check the car without telling them what the other place said, if they mention nothing of it, say well the place said this, this and this have them check again maybe. if they do mention it, its either A. a true existing problem, or B. the other place you went to actually caused these problems. well this is my advice or what i would do. POINT OF STORY: take your car only to mechanics you TRUST!

Good Luck

 

Funny same thing happened to me when I went into have my alternator replaced. I just ordered some new brake pads and an A/C belt for about $70 shipped from Gerrard's Nissan. If you could, buy the parts and find a place to install it for you. Much cheaper IMO. Here's the link to all the Nissan dealership that have discounts. http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....hreadid=145887

 

While I agree that there are more than a few "scumbag" mechanics out there, and that a second opinion is always a good thing, I prefer to take a positive approach and ask a few questions.

Isa, you don't mention if your Maxima is an automatic, but it's fairly well known that auto's burn up brakes more quickly than 5speeds. Have you been driving in hilly areas, or with a few more people, or with extra stuff in your trunk? Been doing some serious road racing?

You also don't mention if you took your car to a Nissan dealership for the 60K service. It could very well be that the folks at Les Schwab's have had some problems with Maxima brakes. Oh, by the way, what you refer to as the "parking brake light" is actually a brake system warning light, so it would seem that you have some problem with your braking system that needs to be dealt with as quickly as possible.

The belts are probably due for replacement - your car is nearly 6 years old - but do I think $135 is a little steep.

As for the oil sensor leak, unless I'm mistaken, the oil sensor is on top of the engine and the leak is probably less than an ounce a day which sits on top of the engine and burns off - so you wouldn't necessarily see any evidence on your garage floor. Replacing it for $58 is a bargain - especially if you consider what it'll cost if it lets go completely.

But as StickMax said: take your car only to mechanics you trust - it takes a while to find them, but they're worth looking for and keeping.

My 1.15cents (2cents - after taxes)

 

I'd get another opinion for the brakes, as for the other problems...they're probably right. I had my 60k service and ended up paying around $1,500 for all the problems I needed to fix. Car does run great now though...

 

yea it's gonna be like $910 total

I called Les Schwab for the brakes and they said like $449 for front and back and that's not with OEM brake pads

and they dealer wants $400 with OEM brake pads..

so they are cheaper than atleast somewhere else and I dont have time to find a good mechanic.. and plus how do you know they are good???? grrrrrrrr this is so frustrating !!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Yes, my car is an automatic
Have you been driving in hilly areas, or with a few more people, or with extra stuff in your trunk? Not really Been doing some serious road racing? and no and I dont even drive that much .. just to work and school

You also don't mention if you took your car to a Nissan dealership for the 60K service. My car is in for the 60k service at the Nissan Dealer right now and thats when they said they "found" these problems

I am just frustrated because how do I know these are actually problems? If they will actually replace these items? If this is a fair cost? I mean given the 60k service is like $319 and this is all adding up to like $910 which is a little more than cheap ya know??

I dunno I'm not even keeping this car and now I am getting a headache.. I hate being ripped off......

 

I looked at your profile out of curiousity and sure enough you're a female. I don't mean to sound sexist, but they looked at you and now they are giving you the shaft

you can get brake pads for $40 a set tops at your local auto parts store and it only takes ten minutes to change the brake pads on each wheel tops (taking it slow/easy). to check the brakes all you need to do is move the caliper up and take a look at how much pad material is left.

the 60k service is a big joke (all that needs to be down is check, fill, or replace the fluids; oil/filters change; and change the belts)

 

well they also said my roters are warped in the front -- I dunno I havent done anything with the brakes I got the car at about 27k and now it is almost 60k

I took it into Les Schwab twice in the past 6 months and they said nothing wrong with the brakes

but I do notice it sizzling in the front on the left and the parking brake light stays on like almost all the time now --

I cant change my own brakes and I dont think any other member who would be willing to do it is close to me...

and for new brakes Les Schwab wants $445

 

wow. the brake rotor is around $100 each. if you step on the brakes and notice the steering wheel shake or the car pulls to one side or another something is wrong with the brakes (not just worn out). the easiest way to tell if the brake pads are worn out is to hear a "screeching" sound when you apply the brakes to slow down.

the parking brake light might be because you are low on brake fluid ?

if you add up the labor for the shop it should go like this:
1 set of brake pads = $50
2 new brake rotors = $200
1 hour of labor at ($60/hour) = $60

and then add to that if you are also going to do the rear.
hope that helps.

 

i would say to have your brother, dad, or boyfriend take the car in. he might get a better price quote. i have seen this done on 60 minutes or something like that all the time. it usually works too

 

Hmm..

Well, if you're not in a rush...

I'd get a complete estimate from your dealer printed out with all the parts required. There are quite a few Nissan dealers here on the ORG that give great discounts.

Jerry Rome Nissan in MA or Courtesy Nissan in TX are good for parts.

Once you get the estimate list, you can send a copy of the list to one of the above dealers to see how much they quote you. If it's a lot less, mail order the parts and then take everything to a local shop to have them done. That way you only pay for labor. Should work out cheaper.

Also, if money is really tight. Do the brakes and belts first. The 60k service can wait.

I didn't do mine til 75k.

Good luck.

 

Thanks guys..
I am so glad I can talk to other max members..

my car is at the dealer right now (in case anyone wants to call and deal with the guy

I dont know where else to take it..

 

The oil pressure switch is near the oil filter. I didn't notice any oil on the ground but it was collecting on the switch itself on my Max. As advised by Daniel Martin elsewhere here, stickies maybe, replace the switch with an aftermarket one. The nissan switches are prone to early failure. Easily under 50.00 at a private mechanic.

Don't forget spark plugs, air and gas filters on 60K service.

 

I had a question about the 'screeching' noise though
I got the 60k service last week and told them the breaks were screeching and to check them. I was pretty sure that they had to be replaced because they were screeching when tapped slightly.
But instead they told me that the brakes were perfectly fine and tire cleaner residual on the brake rotors and pads is causing this.

I asked them then how to get rid of the noise and the tech just said you'll have to wait till you get the pads replaced/rotor resurfaced to get rid of the noise.
I have never heard of something like this before.
Is this alright or did he just screw me up(i doubt the screwy part because he said the brakes were perfectly fine and if he was screwing, he could have just told me that they needed to be replaced)

Any of you guys heard something similar to this?

 

I would get second opinions, they might be taking you for a ride, maybe.
As for the oil sending unit, that might be legit. It seems to be a problem with 4th gens. I have a 98, and was having a oil consumption problem. Never saw a drop on the garage floor, but they replaced the oil sending unit under warranty. There are a couple people on the ORG that had the same problem.

I found only on thread, but there are a couple:
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....l+sending+unit

 

Scroll over halfway down, the oil pressure switch is discussed.
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....threadid=72447

 

Be very careful. The Nissan dealer near me gave my brother-in-law a quote of $2200 because he had an oil leak. A local mechanic quoted him $170. Probably 2/3rds of mechanics will screw you over if given the chance.

 

Also, you probably just need new brake pads unless you're having braking problems. It's very easy to change them and it shouldn't cost too much.

 

you are correct. residual is BS, think about it, the brake pads themselves create brake dust and "residual".

you are correct again. the only thing I can think off is that they want you to scratch up your rotors so bad that you'll have to replace them on top of just the brake pads. so they end up with a bigger job and make more than twice the money.

 

Thanks for the reply.
I was wondering should I take it to some other mechaninc that is not a dealership to get a second opinion.
I would rather get them resurfaced right now rather than getting totally new ones in six months.
Let me know what you think.
Thanks

 

no problem and that sounds like a real good idea.

 

The brake light being on could also be a result of the ebrake being adjusted and the sensor that turns the light on wasn't. . . sometimes this can cause the light to stay on all the time.