I checked my dip stick to oil was not purple it is a clear light brown. I then put the dip stick in the left over oil it came out purple? WTF?

Purple in the bottle, but quickly turns brown in the engine.

Thank you I thought I got ripped off.

IMO mobil 1 gets burned up really quickly.. then again i track a s2000. very high reldine for us. so most s2000 users just royal or motul or castrol. plus there is talk the quality of mobil 1 has gone down in s2000 forums.

Just got charged 240$ for an ester oil change at boardwalk nissan in redwood city ca

JUST for an oil change? My local dealer wants $90 for ester oil change but another local dealer only charges $70. I just bought Penzoil Platinum and a Purolator PureONE oil filter. My dealer only wants $16 for labor. I'm going this route for now on. If they are charging you $240 JUST for an oil change, you are getting ripped off badly!

We are talking about a standard Nissan / Infinity internal combustion engine...right?

The Nissan owner's manual does state that any oil with API certification and viscosity of 5w-30 is required...right?

There is UNBIASED analysis available that shows that there's really no difference between the major automotive oils...right?

Anything else is really personal preference...right?

Why would anybody pay $240 for an oil change? OMG!!!


I just did mine today. I think it cost me a total of $30 for oil, filter, and a crush washer and the confidence of knowing it was done right. I just can't believe this thread and the fact that it was dug up after so long. $240 for an oil change... :shakes head:

What I did before was buy Mobil1 oil from Walmart for like $30 then paid $22 at the Nissan dealership for the oil filter and labor. After that I changed it myself for a little bit less. Not a huge cost savings, but it was a lot more convenient to not have to go to a dealership for an appointment (which is usually very early in the morning for me).

I never paid $120 for ester or synthetic. That's crazy

Whomever is charging you anything over $85.00 is robbing you silly. I just got mine done here in Northern Va area from a dealer. Ester oil change was 85.00 (45 minutes, out the door).

Check the prices in your city, some service departments are just crooks and can't justify the price hike when you ask them. Simply say no thanks and go elsewhere. You can also go the Parts Departments at a dealer, purchase Ester Oil or go online and do it yourself or a good indy shop.

Go some research before walking in a dealer service dept. Common sense.

Wow. My Z06 oil changes are $130 at the dealership using 10.5 quarts of Mobil 1 5-30 DEXOS and requiring a special fill procedure that only 1 tech is certified on, technically.

$120 for a wet-sump holding probably around half that is ridiculous. I don't care if they are filling it with unicorn jizz. That's insane.

I was told that it will cost me $149 for an oil change and that I couldn't do it myself because the transmission is sealed. **wtf face

Wow, thread necro...

Anyway, $120 is not bad if you took a european vehicle out of warranty.
My E92's oil change was $400 (out of warranty). $120 from my experience
is really good.

Yeah, but the Z isn't a European vehicle. $120 for an oil change for the Z is really expensive.

I know, I know, but it can't get any worse, right?

$400 for an oil change? Really what do they do? I assume it's still just a drain and fill procedure.

yeah, well i absolutely refused to pay 240$... and haggled them down to 190$~... it was roughly 20$/qt, ~20$ for oil filter, and 50$ for labor ?_? it took them 4 hours to change my oil when they said 1h30m... last time i ever go to boardwalk nissan.

:roflpuke2::roflpuke2:
4 hours...what were they doing?

:eek2: Dude you need to do some SERIOUS research next time so you don't get ripped off again. :shakes head:

I went to the Nissan dealer today and got the Ester oil change. It was $93 for me.

Just go to Autozone, buy some Mobile 1 Extended performance 10w30 (It's a GL-4 oil) and do it yourself.

I do my oil change myself and it's a pain in the fkn ***... I can't get the oil filter out without taking off oil cooler lines from sandwich adapter... Good thing is i get to drain a lot of the oil out of the lines each time.

Edit: Takes me about an hour... 30 minutes just waiting for oil to drain.

i'm always shocked at how many people don't change their own oil.

Whoa 4 hours? and $190? Did they use Unicorn blood or something? :bowrofl:

Hope you checked your mileage after because 4 hour oil change brings this to mind...

http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/909...isbueller2.jpg

I would go one more time and speak to the service manager. Tell them that the charges are out of order: about 2x what other dealers charge. Why?

I think you are entitled to a free change for that price (making it about a 95 service) and that with that pricing, you would return. Otherwise, you will never be back and word will get out about this pricing issue.

Just a thought,

- b

I quit changing my oil myself ten years ago. Disposal is a pain, plus I just don't have the time or want the hassle. For me, letting the dealer do it is easier and it's documented in the system.

I'm now living in a townhouse, so it's out of the question these days. Chalk it up to being old. :tiphat:

What's really funny is the fact they want to charge so much for "ester" based oil when they display an ad at the (Fontana) dealership displaying a 370 and Mobil 1. ??

I took a pic of it with my phone btw... I will post it up when I get to my comp

I just got my second oil change over the weekend. Yes its $120+ taxes and fees. Ester based oil is used on our 370z and Nissan Maxima 09 and up. Unfortunately our cars only use 5 quarts of oil which limits the amount of miles you can go between oil changes. Due to the high performance engine, our cars will natrually consume about 1 quart of oil (depending how you drive) in about 3k miles. That will put you at 4 quarts remaining in our engine which is extremely low and dangerous. I had a Mercedes CLK before my 370z. That beast will use 8.5 quarts of full synthetic Mobile 1. I would go about 7k miles between oil changes. However, the engine oil management system would tell me to top off 1 quart of oil after 5k miles. Realistically I could go 10k miles but I wanted to change oil every 7k miles. Moral of the story, you still have to change your oil relatively close to close the 3k mile intreval because of the low capacity of oil (5 quarts) in the engine.

You can use full synthetic oil but Nissan recommends ester based oil because the VQ engine valves are coated in nissan patented polymer which attracts the ester based oil by its natural polarity. You do not get this attraction by using Full Synthetic oils.

I just spoke with my Nissan dealer here in Sterling Va. and they have quoted me $95 for Ester oil and filter change with there express service taking no more than 45 minutes.
Hate to hear that you were taken advantage of like that. You have got to go back and make them correct this highway robbery!!

Look at the original post date. :)

I was talking about wafflesarefun he just got his done a couple of weeks ago and paid $190 after having to hagle with them from $240. That sh#$ is crazy.

He haggled the **** out of them!

Maybe he bartered with waffles -- they are fun...

This is one of the easiest cars to change oil that I've owned. The hardest part is getting it up on ramps. For heavens sake it's a ton easier than doing an annual inspection on my Bonanza (which I do myself) so I think pretty much anyone can do an oil change on a Z...

That's reasonable if you consider a $12-15/qt product, plus filter and labor.

If you are happy using the Ester that is fine, though don't due it due to mis-information and marketing fluff (vs. hard science) such as what robones regurgitated above (amigo: I count 4 inaccuracies alone in your posts. Do you work for the OEM that supplies Nissan with their Ester brand? :D )

For the sake of warranty and zero hassle factor, follow the manual (which clearly states any certified 5/30 fill is fine). If you are outside the warranty or don't care, then run what you like and if you choose to run extended intervals, perform some UOA's to see how that particular formulation is behaving.

There are plenty of posted UOAs at BITOG and other sites to go on.

I am following a 6month change interval myself (as I don't hit the mileage numbers per the scheduled maintenance guide), which will include dealer 5/30 in the winter, and Pennzoil Platinum in the summer.

Once outside the warranty, yearly synthetic changes right before the winter when it tends to set for a few months.

- b

Has anyone ever stopped to think that nissan recommends their brand ester oil because its their brand and its expensive?

If they say that conventional oils and other synthetics work fine then they will work fine, and not one person here can say otherwise with any validity. They would likely be sued if they tried to sell you a car that REQUIRED their own brand of expensive oil, which is why its nothing but a recommendation.

I got lifetime ester changes when i go tthe car... - first trip in to the shop, i watched as they lifted the car, changed the oil... then the service manager caught the fact that they didnt put in esther.. so up it went again, and they changed it again to the right kind...

all other service at that dealer has also been excellent..

Nissan Ester oil is pure overpriced crap. I used it once and the viscosity broke down so badly by 3,000 miles that I am amazed it was lubricating at all. I have the analysis to prove it. 12 bucks a quart? I don't even spend that much on hooch. :icon17:

Used ester oil for my first 2 oil changes. Definitely overpriced, went over to Motul 300V power racing 5w30 for the summer. Pure nectar, its an ester oil and in my opinion the best you can get. Its about time to do an oil change before putting her away for the fall, going with amsoil synthetic, will go back to Motul next summer.