Stealership wants $650 to replace my dead-as-of-Saturday alternator. Ugh. Not like I have a choice.

 

They go for around $150 at a auto parts store... My local mechanic quoted me $300 installed (which is still high IMO).... Where do you live?

 

I'm just North of Chicago, in the suburbs. If I wasn't in need of a tow, then I'd go to my friend's garage and have him do it... but he's an hour away on a good day. Unfortunately I have no other options, so I have to let the dealer do it... Bleh.

 

If you have a fully charged battery the car should start and run but i don't know if it'll go an hour away... see what other options you have in the area. Autozone, pepboys etc. should be cheaper and give a warranty for their work.

 

Wow... Dealer must love you.

 

Well I decided to have the dealer go ahead and do it... my service guy was able to take a little bit more off the price... so it came to $524 and some change. Bleh.

At least it's working again! Last thing I wanted to do was drive around to shop, and be stuck again.

 

never knew it was that expensive

 

not sure about the 6th gen but in the 5th there is enough space to fit one of those jump starts, when my alternator got ****ed me and my dad used 3of them to take it to my dads bay went for about an hour (30miles)

 

That's great... This has to do with getting bent over by the dealership.

 

In a way, the $650 quote seems steep. But then I remember back in 1988 when I needed a new alternator on one of my '85 Maximas, and the dealer quoted me around $450, and I had the shade tree mechanic at the local Gulf station do it for $350 or so. When we consider the rise in cost-of-living, that $450 of 1988 would probably be more than $650 today.

But $650 still stings.

 

y don't u try a local mechanic?

 

I did not know Alternators broke

 

I had the car at the dealer already, and didn't feel like driving it around in 20 degree weather to price shop mechanics.

 

Alternators do break, and when they do...it's expensive.

Joshua

 

Ouch is right! $600 bucks for an alternator!!! Is the outside part of it at least carbon fiber?

 

wow, sounds like I'll take advantage of my local mechanic here for $300... I'll need it sooner or later..(i'm at 120k miles) and they tested it OK last week...

 

Hell, on my 5th Gen Max it was $692.98. I'll never forget the day because it was November 2, 2004 and I had to go vote. The car just died all of a sudden. I let it sit for about 3 hours and jump started it. I drove 1 (yes 1) mile and was able to make it to Firestone and just left it. After the alternator, battery, and labor, I was out of the above mentioned monetary figure. I remember that I shed a tear when I signed my credit card slip.

 

Double OUCH!

 

Who did you vote for?

 

Why dont you just buy the part and fix it yourself? I dont see why it would be really hard to unbolt an alt and rebolt a new one?

 

+1 an alternator bolt on is not that hard. Given you have a decent pair of tools.

 

well even if it takes you a full saturday, if you pay 150$ for the part, you save 450$. is your saturday worth 450$? you decide. (if you have the tools, will, time, and minimal knowledge, I guess).

 

I already had the car at the dealer, and I wasn't going to pay the towing company again to tow it back to my house.

 

Everyone is not mechanically inclined. Plus, I can't give myself a 2 year warranty

 

Another reason my interior electronics are stock with the exception of a police scanner and radar detector. Don't want to beat down the alternator any faster than I have too...

 

Geez, six hundy for the replacement!
Battery went dead on my Maxima a few weeks ago, and I initially thought it was the alternator. I'm not sure what made me think alternator first, but I'm sure glad it wasn't that. Seeing that your 2004 had one go bad makes the fears resurface.

There's no way I would think either a battery or an alternator would go bad in three to four years.

 

yep... my battery died in my 04 about 3 months ago. Amazing how fast it went out.

 

Depends on the part you buy.