I just picked up my 2005 Maxima SL this Wednesday. When I was going through my stuff I was very suprised to see that it didn't come standard with wheel locks? What's with that? A $30K car skimping on $20 wheel locks. It's a little dissappointing.

I was back at the stealership yesterday, buying an 05 Altima 3.5 SE for the wife yesterday (damn that's a fun car - way nicer than my 01 Max SE) and I was looking around, every other car, Max SE, Altima SE, Altima SL, had wheel locks.

Don't mind me, I'm just griping.

 

Totally up to the dealer. Some throw them in, some don't. It's usually cheaper to just to buy them yourself, since most dealers include a charge in there somewhere for them.

 

the sales person threw some in on my car......

 

Yeah, they hooked me up with some locks too.

 

Yep, depends on the dealer. Some will try to crap out of alot of stuff. They hate giving away accessories.

 

Call the salesman and whine. He'll probably do the right thing.

 

True, especially if you have a CSI survey coming to you at home.....

 

I hear your point. I mentioned it when I was back there yesterday, buying another damn car, but they did't seem like they were in a hurry to do anything about. Basically trying to convince me that I don't need them.

Anyway, I'll have 2 CSI surveys in my hands in the next week or two, so maybe that will change their response.

 

Since I live in Brooklyn, I told the salesmen that I wanted free locks and a Nissan hat or I would go somewhere else. I got them. If you don't get them and don't need them right away, I still have them and I could send them to you when I come back from Florida on the 14. PM me. Later Warren

 

I don't mind buying them, it's just the point that they are on all of the less expensive cars there, so why aren't they on the Max SL?

Now that I think about it, it's probably because they had to locate my car. I've got to check the few Max SL's that they have on the lot next time I go there, just to be sure.

If I don't get anywhere with them I'll let you know about buying your set.

 

Wheel locks have been automatically installed on EVERY new car by my dealer the day the car is unloaded off the auto rack truck. He lists these on the 'Dealer Installed Options' sticker right beside the official Nissan window sticker. I never include this cost in my offer for a vehicle, although the cost is so insignificant I would pay it if the dealer insisted. Which mine won't.

I find it a little bothersome that your dealer would not immediately offer you a set. This is a way he could get on your good side with a minimum outlay.

Once you get your locks, don't misplace the socket key. I keep mine in the tire well in the trunk.

 

When I bought mine I had the dealer include a nose mask, wheel locks, and a sunroof wind deflector as part of the deal - ended up not getting the wind deflector and traded it for 3 oil changes instead. All part of the deal. I am sure that the cost was in there somewhere, but bargaining up front is a lot better way to get stuff. Getting freebies after the sale is like getting fluids from a turnip.

 

I talked my price down to invoice along with 1.9%. Why worry about getting cheapo locks? I simply bought gorrila locks for less than $20 online. Some dealers throw these on to make more of a profit kinda like the sunroof option.

 

my car was a trade off from some other dealer(500 miles away) who had already installed the wheel locks, so I did not pay for it.

but the dealer I bought the car from wanted extra $25 for wheel locks and $40 installation charge.. yeah right....

 

I hear you there, I just am not up for making a huge stink about it yet. They've been decent to me so far.

Last Wednesday I got my 2005 Max SL for 29,775, with no haggling at all. That was $180 more than the carsdirect.com price, and $70 less than the invoice price on Edmunds.

Then I went back with my wife on Saturday, and got an Altima 3.5 SE for $25,500, with about 20 minutes of haggling. That price was $800 less than the carsdirect.com price, and $300 less than the invoice on Edmunds.

Still, I probably venture down there when I have the 2 CSI surveys in my hand, and maybe convince them to get it taken care of.

 

Asking for wheel locks never even entered my mind, and after thinking about it some, I know why. In the rural area I live there car theft (or even car parts) is not a big issue. I know some people who don't even lock their houses. Not that I have looked closely, but I have never noticed any wheel locks on vehicles around my (small) town (about 13,000 pop.).

 

So like you are a Hillbilly without locks. Cool. I sure wish I could live in the land of no electricity and outhouses.

Bottom line? You are fooling yourself.

 

I live in Texas for a few years, and even worked a stint in Dallas. I've lived and worked in other large cities too (Atlanta, LA, Houston, etc.). My point is that in the small towns in which I have lived, the community culture is markedly different from the cities where I have live. I lived for ten years in a small town (approx. 1,800) in WA state. People don't lock their car doors when they go in to stores, and some people don't lock their houses either. Same for the town in which I now live.

I don't accept that just because people living in some communities don't need to take the same precautions that someone living in Dallas might that the former are fooling themselves. It is a quality of life choice. Not that one is better than the other, but that the choices are different. Gas is generally significantly less in my town than Chicago. I never have to feed a parking meter in my town, as far as I know there are none.

As for your comments regarding being a hillbilly with no electricity and outhouses, I am confident that the sense of community identity and support in many small towns is greater than that of many more urban areas. This doesn't mean that a smaller community is necessarily better than an urban or metropolitan area, but nor does it give any person the right to pass judgement on another community. It as been said that those who are quick to stratify people generally evaluate others harshly an go easily on themselves. One can speculate on why someone would feel the need to do this, perhaps for self validation. It has always troubled me how quick we can be to denigrate another's person or choice. Doing so assumes we know a lot about that person. To be sure, small communities in rural areas can be frustratingly provincial, but perhaps the reason that people in cities feel a greater need to take certain precautions is because they are not as trusting of others in their towns-they know they can't be.

 

IMO the wheel locks that the dealer provided are not the greatest. i'd go with a spline type locking lugnut ala mcguard or gorilla

 

aren't the nissan locks made by McGuard? My wife's 05 Altime 3.5 SE, and my previous 01 Max both came with the nissan locks, and I'm pretty sure they were made by mcgaurd.

Anyway, are there any links I can check out about the Gorilla locks?

 

It is 'McGard', not McGuard', and yes, this is the lock the Nissan dealers around my area use.

If a professional really wants your wheels, he will get them. But most thefts around here are teenagers or 'semi-pros' using very basic tools like a universal lug wrench. The McGard prevents those type thefts.

 

Mine were free. Richard DeGregoris of Gregoris Motors in Valley Stream knows how to treat his customers right. I recommend him to anyone!!

 

I had to pick up a document at the dealership last night, and I checked the other SL's on the lot, and they all had the Nissan "McGard" wheel locks installed. The answer must be that mine didn't have them because I had them locate my SL, since they didn't have any on the lot that I liked. My salesperson wasn't around last night, or I would have pointed it out, tried to get a free set.

Anyway, I'm just going to wait until I have my two CSI survey's in hand, then I'll attempt to pursuade them into ponying up.

 

I totally forgot to request them, or at least check to make sure they were included until a few days after I had the car home. In fact, I remember just sitting on the couch watching tv one night and the thought just popped into my head whether my car had them or not. Immediately walked into the garage to check - yep, they put them on.

 

Wheel locks were included free at my dealership.

 

my point was regardless of what brand you use, the spline type are better. I had the car put in for some work, when i got it back the key was all chewed up and i had to go back to the place and they used a suction type rwrnech device to remove the locks. with spline type the key fits over the nut like a socket. my $.02

 

Actually, I'm going to interject with funny story. Truth be told that perhaps the best type of wheel locks aren't real wheel locks at all.

About 10 years ago I had borrowed my mother's car, it was a Chevy Celebrity (my car at the time wasn't overly reliable). I was about 50 miles from home and had gone to the movies with some friends. After the movie was over, we returned to the car to notice it had a flat tire. Didn't seem like a big deal at the time - got the jack and tools out to change it. But the wrench didn't fit the nut, so I assumed she had wheel locks and searched the car for the key but couldn't find it. It's about midnight now called my parents to see if they knew where the key was, but they had know idea. Not much we could do now.

Wound up getting a ride to our friends house and just spent the night there. Next morning, called out sick to work and went to the local Chevy dealership for help. They actually loaned me the entire master set of wheel locks and all I had to do was give them my license as a deposit . But none of them fit. Now what? Purchase a can of that compressed air tire patch stufff and filled the tire, stopped at gas stations every five miles to check/refill the tire as needed.

Finally got it back to my parents house and brought it to the local garage to see what they could do. Never crossed my mind why a car with hubcaps would have wheel locks but I was young and wasn't much of a car fanatic at the time. The mechanic looked at the wheel, twisted of the lug nut caps (yes lug nut caps) and took the wheel off.

Yeah, the wheel that wouldn't come off had lug nut caps - not locks. Good enough to fool me

oh well, that's my story