Hi,

This is my very 1st post on this site. I have visited this forum from time to time over the years since purchasing my 2006 maxima in 2009 with 36k miles. I currently have 99k miles on it. I still have about one year and 4 months to pay off the car.

In the past year I have replaced my alternator, front rotors, and ABS actuator TWICE. Actuator went out in January and 13500 miles later in October. Dealer didn't work with me in getting covered under warranty because I was outside of the 12k miles. Outside of two new tires, A/C recharge, and AC amp short circuit I have spent over $5k in repairs this year.

On my last trip to get the ABS actuator repaired, the dealership gave me a list of items they recommend be done. This includes:

low side A/C hose/freon (I have noticed not so cool temps as I would expect after having the A/C recharged in the beginning of the summer)

Power steering flushing (they say it is dirty)

front struts and boots (noisey and torn. i didn't notice any noise, but they did show me the boots were torn)

primary timing chain/guide/tensioner/o-rings/crank sealer (they say they hear a noise which i have not noticed, and the guide is possibly broken)

and finally, the check engine light was on at the time of inspection and they informed me it possibly is the catalytic converter, but a diagnostic check is needed. the light is off for now.

all that totals out to approximately $3500 before determining if the Catalytic converter is really bad.

I know this is a lot, but in essence can I trust the dealer in that these are things that need to be done? Or should I just trade it in while i can?

Thanks!

 

find a good mechanic that is fairly reasonable in cost and get a second opinion on the listed things above. You can get some of these things done a lot cheaper than what nissan charges.

 

those are minor issues cheap fixes just try to tackle it yourself... trading in a car is a huge rip off just sell it on your own if anything.

 

Most of those issues are in fact minor and can be tackled with a bit of instruction. As far as your AC goes, you have a leak somewhere and sounds like nobody wants to fix it. Freon never dissipates or "wears out" so if your freon levels are getting low, its because it's getting out!!

 

I would keep it, broski! Thats not much and to be honest a lot of it is stuff we all had to do to our Maximas. Every car line has its flaws that have to be fixed sooner or later. If you have time and are willing to learn I would say you could fix a lot yourself! There's tons of information and people on here and my6thgen.org that are very knowledgeable and willing to help! As far as the Low side AC, just take the hose to a hose repair shop and have them make you up a new one. Thats what I did and it saved me tons compared to OEM and its made better!

 

You're going to get many opinions on whether or not you should keep it or trade it in. It's all up to you since it is your car. As others have said, you can get those repairs done for much less than the dealership. Dealers love customer pay repair tickets over warranty because flat rate tech's don't get paid nearly as well with warranty work.