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Car Forum / Australian Car Forums / 4x4 Cars (Australian group) / September 2007Nissan Patrol Diesels reliable?
G'day. My wife and self are getting ready for retirement and need a good reliable genuine 4WD for towing a caravan around Australia. Hope to use the caravan as a base and explore more remote areas. Looking at the new Nissan Patrol 2007 DX manual diesel model or Prado current diesel. Looking at doing my own frequent oil filter changes and oil - is the nissan patrol's oil filter fairly accessible ( I have a suzuki grand vitara and it would have to have the most inaccessible oil filter I have ever come across.) I have owned many utes in my life and acquainted with how they handle on the tar, dirt roads etc and their indirect steering. Does the nissan patrol handle similarly? Thanks very much for any input. Cheers Ron > G'day. My wife and self are getting ready for retirement and need a good > reliable genuine 4WD for towing a caravan around Australia. Hope to use the [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > > Ron Why would you forgo the warranty by doing the services your self??? Kev > Why would you forgo the warranty by doing the services your self??? > > Kev In my experience you get a much better standard of service from a mechanic who cares at a fraction of the cost and you know that the job has been done properly. In the event of a genuine warranty claim the dealers always look for an out to avoid their obligation anyway. DP I believe that oil and filter should be changed more regularly than the scheduled service periods. There is nothing to draining the oil and changing an oil filter and this can easily be performed by the average owner. BTW, getting your vehicle serviced by the company that sold you the vehicle does not guarantee good workmanship. An acquaintance of mine was a top specialist mechanic at a large Car Dealer workshop (I will not name the company) and the horror stories he told me about how people were ripped off...apprentices improperly doing their jobs etc. led to him leaving his profession. As Richard stated, it is best to shop around for a top reliable mechanic. Cheers Ron Cheers Ron > G'day. My wife and self are getting ready for retirement and need a good > reliable genuine 4WD for towing a caravan around Australia. Hope to use [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > > Ron You're right about that. My bad experiences with Major dealers over the last 20 odd years 1. Northside ( Brisbane ) Toyota Dealer. Cigarette burn in armrest after "road test". Service Manager claimed it could never happen. But it did. 2. Northside Toyota Dealer. Left Sump plug loose. Fortunately I found it before any damage was done. The only response I got from Service Department "sh.t Happens". No more dealings with those dealers. Potentially 3 new sales lost to Toyota. 3. Southside Mitsubishi Dealer. Collected car from Service and Handbrake was totally ineffective. Their short term solution was to continue driving it and leave it in Park until they had time to fix it. 4. Northside Mitsubishi Dealer. Decided a Tyre needed replacing and replaced it without consulting me. Refused to remove it and demanded payment for it. 5. Northside Mitsubishi Dealer. Replaced Timing belt and oil leaked from rocker cover therafter. Claimed it was not covered under service warranty 6. Northside Mitsubishi dealer. Replaced suspension components and put worn out dust boots back on. They subsequently replaced them at no cost. I now own a Nissan. So far no problems with vehicle or dealer. I agree with Ron about oil change intervals and it is unlikely to void any warranty by changing oil and filter. At least you know it is being done. DP >I believe that oil and filter should be changed more regularly than the >scheduled service periods. There is nothing to draining the oil and [quoted text clipped - 39 lines] >> >> Ron > I believe that oil and filter should be changed more regularly than the > scheduled service periods. There is nothing to draining the oil and changing > an oil filter and this can easily be performed by the average owner. True it can done easily by most people but if they wanted to be arseholes they could void your warranty. > BTW, getting your vehicle serviced by the company that sold you the vehicle > does not guarantee good workmanship. An acquaintance of mine was a top > specialist mechanic at a large Car Dealer workshop (I will not name the > company) and the horror stories he told me about how people were ripped > off...apprentices improperly doing their jobs etc. led to him leaving his > profession. True but there are also many dealers who do good work although finding them can be difficult. > As Richard stated, it is best to shop around for a top reliable mechanic. Any qualified mechanic can service a vehicle without voiding warranty and to be 100% sure they should also use genuine parts including filters. Daryl As I recall the last test of dealer servicing by Choice Magazine demonstrated there were NO good dealers out of those they chose for testing - this included selling dealers and service organisations like Ultra Tune IIRC not one of the services carried out was done correctly, and many were very poorly done - eg charging for new plugs but not fitting them, not adjusting brakes, not checking/flushing radiators etc etc - ALTHOUGH these items were on the scheduled service list, and the customer was charged for the full log-book service Many years ago when I was a lube operator we were overjoyed when customers demanded a 'log book service' rather than the standard gease and oil change - typically the log book would allow (say) 1 hr for the service, but it would actually take only perhaps 20 minutes or so even though I would make sure everything on the list was done, and done well. A great profit for the boss. David > True but there are also many dealers who do good work although finding > them can be difficult. > As I recall the last test of dealer servicing by Choice Magazine > demonstrated there were NO good dealers out of those they chose for > testing - this included selling dealers and service organisations like Ultra > Tune Like I said they are difficult to find, I know several of the mechanics who work at my local Ford and Toyota dealerships (owned by the same family) and I know they do very good work. Both have done private work for people I know and their work has been excellent. The quality of work done by Ultra Tune varies considerably depending on who runs a particular franchise, many have a poor reputation. My wife currently drives a 12mth old Subaru Impreza which has been dealer serviced, I am a qualified mechanic and have checked the car after each service and can't fault their work. > IIRC not one of the services carried out was done correctly, and many were > very poorly done - eg charging for new plugs but not fitting them, not > adjusting brakes, not checking/flushing radiators etc etc - ALTHOUGH these > items were on the scheduled service list, and the customer was charged for > the full log-book service No surprises there but it doesn't mean all workshops do crook work. > Many years ago when I was a lube operator we were overjoyed when customers > demanded a 'log book service' rather than the standard gease and oil > change - typically the log book would allow (say) 1 hr for the service, but > it would actually take only perhaps 20 minutes or so even though I would > make sure everything on the list was done, and done well. A great profit > for the boss. Yep, according to the service book an "A" service on the Corolla we used to own took 0.9hr but somehow the Toyota dealer wanted to charge over $200.00 so its no wonder they didn't see the car after the first service. Daryl Richard are you happy with your nissan? Cheers Ron > G'day. My wife and self are getting ready for retirement and need a good > reliable genuine 4WD for towing a caravan around Australia. Hope to use [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > > Ron |
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