G35Rhino

I paid $1,700 for Elite 2 (5 yr - 75,000 mi.). I've been happy with it. In my case it pays for itself with the "major" periodic services later in the life cycle.

chitown

Very helpful thread and I apologize in advance for the naive question. I know I can find valued information/input into whether or not folks on this forum think these plans are worth it or not based on their experience. Question on Prices though ---- do the plans have something like an MSRP that I can at least use as an evaluation starting point, or does each dealer simply set whatever price they want without some sort of MSRP guidance? For example, it would be helpful for me to know going in that the negotiation starting point for Premium Level 1 is x and Elite Level 1 is y. Thanks in advance.

eauty

When I leased my car in Dec '09 I negotiated an Elite 1 maintenance plan and if I remember correctly they wanted something like $1500-1800 for my 39mo 45k leasse. They threw it in at the last minute when I got up to walk away from the whole deal. I remember hearing the finance guy say that "cost" was like $900.00 for that plan so basically they knocked off 900 dollars from my deal. We went back and forth on a few issues and when I figured they would basically pick up my car and give me a loaner and I never have to pay a dime for maintenance for the life of my lease I was happy. It is all relative though. If you get what you want and your happy thats all that counts.

chitown

Thanks Eauty. Really appreciate that info. In the next month or so I am hoping to get a 2010 G37x Sedan, so just getting all the info I can to be prepared when I pull the trigger.

rhymenoceros

I got pretty much the same deal as rhino, I got Elite 2 at around 1800 for 6 years. I figured I'd pay for the service now so later on I don't need to worry about it. And I don't really regret it at all.

eauty

I received a Maintenance contract through the mail regarding the Elite 1 service contract. In the inside cover of the booklet were all the details of the agreement which included all my demographic data, mileage, term of contract and cost. They stated the cost was $1040.00 for a 45,000 mile or 39 mo lease contract whichever came first. Therefore if I use the vehicle more than the agreed upon 45000 mile lease before the 39 mo lease is up, so is the contract. I hope this helps in your negotiations. Like I said, they threw this in at the end as part of the deal.

TinsleyC

Not to get off topic here, but two days ago I asked a service advisor at Sewell Infiniti in Dallas what oil they used and he said a standard petrolium based oil, unless otherwise specified. I asked about the requirement for Ester oil in my G37 Sedan and he said it was only required for the Coupe (?). Then he went on to say it's a solution for cars with the noisy lifters on startup.

eauty

I have to believe that if you have a maintenance agreement that the dealer has to honor then they will use the least expensive oil they can. It is just a matter of what the dealer can utilize to stay in warranty and stay profitable. With a lease the agreement made sense but if I bought my car I think I would be doing things differently.

mw09g37

iTrader: (3)

have to read the fine print actually. cause I think now infiniti premium maintenance includes the ester oil, but does not for the elite level ones...

I'm not 100% sure this is the case but I have heard of this distinction... i'd be pissed if my infiniti maintenance plan specified ester oil (11.95/qt) and gave me dino oil (6.95/qt 1.25/qt on sale)

The plan on the 08 I had asked for in writing what they'd be doing at every oil change (the redwood city/frontier infiniti dealer). they used conventional for the maintenance plan (despite a la carte price for the oil change was 49.99). I made sure I got in writing that they'd be using mobil1 or at least castrol full synthetic so they wouldn't be charging 150 bucks for a 49.99 oil change. I didn't worry so much when beshoff took over my maintenance schedule.

but yeah the plans aren't that unfair considering the major services. I mean just make sure it's reasonable. (like don't be paying 3500 dollars for the plan when the menu prices are like 2800)

G35 Stickman

I purchased the highest plan(most expensive) which equalled about 50% off if you add up all the services at current prices up to 75k miles. Also figured these prices would rise along with inflation so I will probably save more in the end. I have been happy with the plan thus far. My neighbor has the plan as well for his M35 and is satisfied as well!

Wiggum

I take it these plans are not worth it if we do not put mileage on our car? I usually put about 8k or less on my cars? So the major services would be wasted?

Just trying to arm myself before I hit the dealer.

mw09g37

iTrader: (3)

IMHO You should be doing an oil change regardless of the mileage actually.

The reason being is that oil that doesn't have a lot of miles still succumbs to thermal transitions (imagine warming up car 30 times and only travelling 30 miles). This is going to change the viscosity of the oil over time.

imagine a bowl of water and like 30 grains of rice. the rice particles represent the oil/dirt/fuel gunk, debris in your engine. when you add them cold to water, nothing happens. but heat that same water up, starch and sugar from the rice begins to leak and eventually even if you have solid grains of rice, the liquid itself dries hard (starch film on the top of the liquid) and eventually the rice itself changes and eventually disperses itself in the liquid and soon enough you have a gel.

It's not exactly same phenomenon chemically, but you get the analogy. over time, properties of the oil just degrades which is why most people would agree that 60 miles in stop and go traffic is probably worse than 300 miles of smooth highway.

However, the mileage is a question mark. 3500 vs 5000 is probably the same for most japanese engines. You can probably get away with going to 5k with a high quality oil. but I would imagine 80-90% of the people here change their oil between 3-4k if not every quarter.

at the end if the day if you're changing your car oil twice a year, you're probably going to be ok. The longterm tests so far isn't that bad @ 60k. with inflation the rate it's going now a days. if you're paying 50/oil change plus plus 30/60 @ 800 bucks. I think that's pretty fair. I mean shoot cost of the mechanic labor has almost doubled in the last 10-12 years. might as well lock it in now w/ how our economy is going... ha ha shoot I remember when these 60k was like 500 bucks for my parent's Merc. now it's like 1200 bucks.

Brian@Beshoff

1) Infiniti prepaid maintenance plans save on actual maintenance cost. Whether the package is Premium, Schedule 1 or Schedule 2, it cost less than paying individually for those services at the dealer. The savings varies depending on dealership prices for those services, but regardless there will be a savings. At our dealership the savings is 10-25% depending on the term of the plan.
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2) Regarding oil, Infiniti recomends Nissan Ester oil for the G37 and FX50 engines and all levels of Infiniti Elite prepaid maintenance include Nissan Ester oil. Your dealer should be using this oil if you have an Infiniti maintenance plan.<o></o>
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3) We recommend the Premium package (unless you are leasing). Schedule 1 & 2 do not include transmission fluid, differential fluid, coolant, radiator cap, external drive belts, wiper insert replacement at any interval. They also include less frequent filter replacements. I personally do not recommend Schedule 2 as (for 2009 and earlier models) as the interval of 7,500 vs 3,750 miles does not sit well with me.

Hope this helps

joelamp

Just received my complimentary 2 yr/30k Elite Maintenance Plan in the mail. States that the plan covers oil changes with conventional oil, but that the customer can "pay the difference" to have synthetic/ester oil. Guess I can't complain too much, the plan is complimentary and at worst it amounts to a discount on my first 6 oil changes.

KLB

If you change your oil every 3750 miles stick with the conventional.