Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

Hey guys, I'm wondering how everybody gets the best out of a mechanics service, because basically I'm hesitant to get anyone do a good job.

I've tried a few different mechanics, and have even given them the log book and specifically asked to service it as per the book 'yeah sure no worries'.

The book stated it required air filters and the in cabin micro filter.

I get the car back to find out that they just blew out the air filters and pretty much ignored all the other stuff. Getting things like wipers done is a 'special request' where they have to order in the special blades and charge appropirately! I understand the in cabin micro filter is a rare thing, but the air filters! Come on!

Sure I can do the reaearch, find all the part numbers, call them up and book it in weeks in advance so they have the parts on hand (and overcharge me for!) and then specifically state all the things that need doing, but what a pain! I'm paying $400+ here, I shouldn't have to do any of this IMO.

Also oil - they charge $99 for 5L which I can buy from Big W for $50 (I know this is to mask higher labour costs). I'm not sure if I should supply this myself or if it will piss them off.

My car has a rough idle and I'm guessing could use a throttle body clean out, although I'm just read how important it is not to disconnect the sensor otherwise it'll screw things up - do I need to specify all this to them as well? I'm a little hesitant getting others to do this also.

My running costs are tax deductable and I don't have garage space so servicing at home is not an option (certainly not for jacking a car up and changning the oil).

I have previously taken my car to two well known Skyline performance guys here and I wasn't impressed either, little things like fuel filters and washer bottle top ups just don't get done again unless specified.

Any tips on how to get a good service? Would a Nissan dealer be better? Any suggestions for inner Melbourne shops?

Hey guys, I'm wondering how everybody gets the best out of a mechanics service, because basically I'm hesitant to get anyone do a good job.

I've tried a few different mechanics, and have even given them the log book and specifically asked to service it as per the book 'yeah sure no worries'.

The book stated it required air filters and the in cabin micro filter.

I get the car back to find out that they just blew out the air filters and pretty much ignored all the other stuff. Getting things like wipers done is a 'special request' where they have to order in the special blades and charge appropirately! I understand the in cabin micro filter is a rare thing, but the air filters! Come on!

Sure I can do the reaearch, find all the part numbers, call them up and book it in weeks in advance so they have the parts on hand (and overcharge me for!) and then specifically state all the things that need doing, but what a pain! I'm paying $400+ here, I shouldn't have to do any of this IMO.

Also oil - they charge $99 for 5L which I can buy from Big W for $50 (I know this is to mask higher labour costs). I'm not sure if I should supply this myself or if it will piss them off.

My car has a rough idle and I'm guessing could use a throttle body clean out, although I'm just read how important it is not to disconnect the sensor otherwise it'll screw things up - do I need to specify all this to them as well? I'm a little hesitant getting others to do this also.

My running costs are tax deductable and I don't have garage space so servicing at home is not an option (certainly not for jacking a car up and changning the oil).

I have previously taken my car to two well known Skyline performance guys here and I wasn't impressed either, little things like fuel filters and washer bottle top ups just don't get done again unless specified.

Any tips on how to get a good service? Would a Nissan dealer be better? Any suggestions for inner Melbourne shops?

i took my 33 to dandenong nissan, they dfo a mega job. even washing and polishing the car. looks like its a bit of travel for you but hit em up if your willing. they will follow the book to the letter.

I'm in the same predicament.. I don't trust mechanics anymore, won't name any..

There are 4 that I will not go to again. Also this was not in a skyline or import, these were only a 93 festiva and an 83 corolla..

I'll start with the rolla, took it in just after buying the car for new spark plugs, full service. Gearbox/diff/engine.. Told them to also look at my brakes at the front (a little warped)

Got the car back and it was fine.

Next morning driving to work and hear a loud clunking noise coming from Left front wheel..

I live 400m from this mechanics workshop, so I slowly hobbled there after leavin my house, as I pulled up they were just opening and was watching me slowly coming down the road (he knew something didn't sound right) told me to drive into there garage, as I did my front wheel FELL OFF! And scraped along the ground a good 3m.. I told them someone must have not tightend up the nuts for my wheel.. Long story short.. I'm the one full of crap, they blamed ME for the wheel falling off..

Festiva is a whole other story at a different workshop...

Now I do not trust anywhere to take my skyline when I take her in for a service etc.

i took my 33 to dandenong nissan, they dfo a mega job. even washing and polishing the car. looks like its a bit of travel for you but hit em up if your willing. they will follow the book to the letter.

Thanks for the tip #@Plattsy. How much does your average service cost down there and how long does it take?

I know FTG Nissan are one of the two 'premium' Nissan dealers in the state (only ones that sell/service GTRs) and were really good for the little I've had to do with them (getting a spare key reprogrammed).

Being a V36 I should also look at Infiniti dealers I suppose.

Thanks for the tip #@Plattsy. How much does your average service cost down there and how long does it take?

I know FTG Nissan are one of the two 'premium' Nissan dealers in the state (only ones that sell/service GTRs) and were really good for the little I've had to do with them (getting a spare key reprogrammed).

Being a V36 I should also look at Infiniti dealers I suppose.

i could not tell you mate as i get fleet rates plus another discount. they have serviced my wifes kia twice and did the 100k service on the 33. they charged 200 for that but i supplied all the parts. timing belt, bearings, water pump etc.

i could not tell you mate as i get fleet rates plus another discount. they have serviced my wifes kia twice and did the 100k service on the 33. they charged 200 for that but i supplied all the parts. timing belt, bearings, water pump etc.

And they are happy having you supply parts or were they a little miffed at it?

That to me seems like the way to go.

And they are happy having you supply parts or were they a little miffed at it?

That to me seems like the way to go.

they where very happy mate! speak to the service manager there. his name his glen. explain that a guy you spoke to on a forum told you about the work they did on his 33. mention my name (paul) should be happy to help!

and he also asaid his maintainence is paid for. f**k it. if someone paid for my cars to be serviced i wouldnt do them myself either.

scotty. how many jacks to build me extractors! haha.

I would only fabricate turbo manifolds for you, extractors are for teh gays. :P

Claiming tax for servicing doesn't 'pay you back' you are still wasting cash hand over fist for what is literally a 5 minute job in the case of dropping oil in the VQ's.

I would only fabricate turbo manifolds for you, extractors are for teh gays. :P

Claiming tax for servicing doesn't 'pay you back' you are still wasting cash hand over fist for what is literally a 5 minute job in the case of dropping oil in the VQ's.

i wouldnt tt the ls1.

but if i table build an ls6..... mwahahahaha!

Oil filter, oil and air filter changes are so easy to do on 95% of cars the thought of me paying someone to do it wouldn't even enter my head.

Do it yourself!

I'm fine at oil filter, replacing oil, changing wheels, air filter etc.

Everything else.. I'm screwed and wouldn't attempt doing something I have no idea about..

I'm fine at oil filter, replacing oil, changing wheels, air filter etc.

Everything else.. I'm screwed and wouldn't attempt doing something I have no idea about..

There is only one way to learn ;)

Well that's not true at all but i do suggest at least having a go at doing servicings and stuff like that, its simple and really is a life skill worth having.

Edited by iruvyouskyrine

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • I came here to note that is a zener diode too base on the info there. Based on that, I'd also be suspicious that replacing it, and it's likely to do the same. A lot of use cases will see it used as either voltage protection, or to create a cheap but relatively stable fixed voltage supply. That would mean it has seen more voltage than it should, and has gone into voltage melt down. If there is something else in the circuit dumping out higher than it should voltages, that needs to be found too. It's quite likely they're trying to use the Zener to limit the voltage that is hitting through to the transistor beside it, so what ever goes to the zener is likely a signal, and they're using the transistor in that circuit to amplify it. Especially as it seems they've also got a capacitor across the zener. Looks like there is meant to be something "noisy" to that zener, and what ever it was, had a melt down. Looking at that picture, it also looks like there's some solder joints that really need redoing, and it might be worth having the whole board properly inspected.  Unfortunately, without being able to stick a multimeter on it, and start tracing it all out, I'm pretty much at a loss now to help. I don't even believe I have a climate control board from an R33 around here to pull apart and see if any of the circuit appears similar to give some ideas.
    • Nah - but you won't find anything on dismantling the seats in any such thing anyway.
    • Could be. Could also be that they sit around broken more. To be fair, you almost never see one driving around. I see more R chassis GTRs than the Renault ones.
    • Yeah. Nah. This is why I said My bold for my double emphasis. We're not talking about cars tuned to the edge of det here. We're talking about normal cars. Flame propagation speed and the amount of energy required to ignite the fuel are not significant factors when running at 1500-4000 rpm, and medium to light loads, like nearly every car on the road (except twin cab utes which are driven at 6k and 100% load all the time). There is no shortage of ignition energy available in any petrol engine. If there was, we'd all be in deep shit. The calorific value, on a volume basis, is significantly different, between 98 and 91, and that turns up immediately in consumption numbers. You can see the signal easily if you control for the other variables well enough, and/or collect enough stats. As to not seeing any benefit - we had a couple of EF and EL Falcons in the company fleet back in the late 90s and early 2000s. The EEC IV ECU in those things was particularly good at adding in timing as soon as knock headroom improved, which typically came from putting in some 95 or 98. The responsiveness and power improved noticeably, and the fuel consumption dropped considerably, just from going to 95. Less delta from there to 98 - almost not noticeable, compared to the big differences seen between 91 and 95. Way back in the day, when supermarkets first started selling fuel from their own stations, I did thousands of km in FNQ in a small Toyota. I can't remember if it was a Starlet or an early Yaris. Anyway - the supermarket servos were bringing in cheap fuel from Indonesia, and the other servos were still using locally refined gear. The fuel consumption was typically at least 5%, often as much as 8% worse on the Indo shit, presumably because they had a lot more oxygenated component in the brew, and were probably barely meeting the octane spec. Around the same time or maybe a bit later (like 25 years ago), I could tell the difference between Shell 98 and BP 98, and typically preferred to only use Shell then because the Skyline ran so much better on it. Years later I found the realtionship between them had swapped, as a consequence of yet more refinery closures. So I've only used BP 98 since. Although, I must say that I could not fault the odd tank of United 98 that I've run. It's probably the same stuff. It is also very important to remember that these findings are often dependent on region. With most of the refineries in Oz now dead, there's less variability in local stuff, and he majority of our fuels are not even refined here any more anyway. It probably depends more on which SE Asian refinery is currently cheapest to operate.
    • You don't have an R34 service manual for the body do you? Have found plenty for the engine and drivetrain but nothing else
×
×
  • Create New...