so I broke down and bought some green OEM coolant today at the dealer. the guy at the parts counter tried to talk me out of it - he said to use whatever cheap green coolant I could find, but I insisted on OEM. so he supposedly cut me a break on the price - $18 instead of their $32 list price - whatever. I also bought a new fuel filter - he gave me that for $13 instead of $21 list. not sure if that was a deal or not. then he threw in a free oil drain plug, 3 free washers, a free can of carb cleaner, and a free can of brake cleaner. I think he felt bad for "ripping me off" on the coolant. I think I came out OK.

 

What dealer did you go to? Did you the parts guy's name? Thats not a bad deal at all.

 

Is there much, if any difference in OEM and prestone anti-freeze? Just curious. It doesn't make sense to me why the dealer would tell you to get "cheap stuff" If there was much of a difference. Besides, If you change it on a regular interval like you should there shouldn't be any troubles with using say Prestone. Just my to pennies tho. But beside that, Sounds like you made out pretty well. Nothing beats freebies from the dealer, hell thier usualy the ones who like to get you for what ever you got on ya.

 

i bought my coolant for 5 bucks at autozone. Why would you go to the dealer for coolant? What could they be possibly putting in it that makes it cost $32? If you would have went to a general auto parts store, you could have gotten everything you listed there for $18.

 

woodfield Nissan. I didn't catch the guys name, but he usually works the part counter on Fridays at lunchtime. he has a '99 Max too. There's another guy who is sometimes there, and if you ask him for deals he'll give 'em too.

 

Japanese cars use special coolant. it is silicate free, amines free, and borate free with organic acid technology. to my knowledge, there is no aftermarket equivalent. Toyota and Honda are very similar to Nissan coolant, and they are all expensive. use an aftermarket if you like, but it will shorten the life of your water pump and radiator, and might damage your seals and gaskets.

 

Good info. It would be nice to have a local parts contact (with decentp prices) for those times when you can't wait for shipping/etc.

 

No kidding, I never knew that!!! You learn something new every day. I always thought anti-freeze was anti-freeze. I'll be damned.

 

it is

 

I also paid $18 for OEM engine coolant at my local Nissan. I think that is the regular price.

 

Yea toyota red is the really good stuff from what i heard. But i dont think its 32$ a gal. I can see maybe $10 a gal.

32$ for a gallon of antifreeze makes no sense. plus if you flush out your system once a year you really do waste a lot of money. $5 compared to 32$ in the long run you might be saving more money if you get the $5 stuff and replace the water pump and radiator.

Thats my 2cents aleast. =P

 

You over paid on coolant and you over paid on the fuel filter. The drain plug was because he felt sorry for you and wanted you to feel like less of a sucker.


$5 prestone anti-freez is all you need. Ive been using it in my car for 3 years with no problem. A $32 gallon of coolant is a joke, even if you get it for only $18

 

well, a Fram fuel filter is $12, and we know how well they build their oil filters. and despite your experience with prestone, there is a ton of evidence that shows silicates are not good for aluminum engines - this is well known and covered in many places. if you are using a DexCool clone (which for $5 you are not) it lacks the phosphates required for cleaning and anti-corrosion that Japanese coolants have. but most importantly - you cannot mix different coolant types, the inhibitors are not chemically compatible. so I hope you did a complete flush before you put the prestone in, you might just get away with it. for me - I can afford $10 every 5 years to avoid a water pump failure. to be a sucker you must first be ignorant.