So I just got this 2009 G37xS (7AT) AWD with 148k for about $10k. I’ve had it for less than a month and I’m in love! It’s my first car so it’s like my baby right now. I want to make sure it gets the proper TLC so I wanted to know if anyone here had any suggestions or advice. She runs great and there’s no immediate concerns. I’ve already taken her to Infiniti for an inspection and they’ve “recommended” quite a few things… I’ll list them here;


Left Front Lower Control Arm - $895.82 plus tax

Front Brakes and Rotors - $434.99 plus tax

Right Front Caliper - $364.99 plus tax

Water Pump and Rear Timing Cover - $3,595.08 plus tax

Drive Belt - $259.99 plus tax

Valve Cover Gasket - $322.50 plus tax

4 New Tires - $1,076.00 plus tax

Spark Plugs - $475.00 plus tax

Engine Air Filter - $45.00

AWD Service - $389.99 plus tax

Brake Fluid Service - $159.99 plus tax

FIS Service - $389.99 plus tax


i know I’m due for a coolant flush soon as I can’t see any in the reservoir, I’m hoping that doesn’t turn into something lol. Other than that I’m probably going to tackle the water pump at some point soon along with the gaskets, spark plugs, and drive belt at the same time. Then since my filters aren’t really bad at all, I’ll wait a bit and throw in Z1 CAI. Then upgrade to big boy brakes, get some new rims and tires, drop her down a little and throw on that control arm. I figure I’ll bring her to Infiniti for service in the coming weeks but altogether the brake fluid just got serviced before I got it and idk what FIS Service is??

Again any advice or suggestions are appreciated! I’m super excited and want to take it a step at a time. Thanks!

Everyone, meet Trina!

 

Hahahahaha....F**king Infiniti recommending $8400+ dollars worth of recommended items to replace on a car you just bought & certainly got no bargain on with paying top dollar and then some .

Stay away from the dealer . Download the FSM and get to work . Fill the coolant reservoir immediately and check the radiator is full before anything else .

AWD Service - $389.99 plus tax = Front and Rear Diff fluid and Transfer case fluid under -$50

Brake Fluid Service - $159.99 plus tax = Bosch Brake Fluid 32oz -$15

FIS Service - $389.99 plus tax = A can of BG44K Platinum - $25

You get the idea .....do not let the dealer murder your wallet .

 

Just about everything on that list are standard maintenance items for a 12 year old car with ≈150k miles and a (likely) unknown service history. Depending on your skillset/ tools/ garage setup most of those items make for excellent weekend driveway projects with many being completed in a single afternoon. Also, there are plenty of DIY threads here on the forum to help guide you.

The only red flag I see is the "Water Pump/ Rear Timing Cover." Do you have any leaks (oil/coolant)? Replacing the water pump is not as intensive as repairing the rear timing case (cover). This job, can be very complicated, tedious and extremely time consuming. The entire timing assembly has to be removed and a lot can go wrong. Unless there are obvious signs of there being a issue, I would not be in a rush to crack open the front of the engine unless you have confidence in your skills. I am not trying to discourage you, but the rear timing case is not a job for the faint of heart.

If you decide to go that route, you may want to consider replacing the oil gallery gaskets while you have everything apart.

"FIS" means "Fuel Induction System." ie. Fuel system cleaning. Just another, of many, dealership ripoffs. (IMO)

Welcome to the forum. There are tons of valuable resources and members here on the forum. You can download a full set of the factory service manual (free) from here. Lots of luck!

 

Man, they're already trying to take you for a ride, and you just got the car...
The coolant thing, check the spring clamps on the main radiator hoses. You can use a small mirror or something to look at the underside of said hoses and see if there are leaks. The main fat upper hose likes to drip right below where the rad cap is. There is a heater core hose on the passenger side, between the motor and the battery compartment that has a plastic coupler that, with age, cracks and sometimes blows up and drains all your coolant. Replace that piece of plastic ASAP, even if it's fine. Probably the most common issue plaguing these cars now that they've aged.

As for the other stuff, seems like normal maintenance, but their prices are ridiculous. If you're able to do some of the work yourself, at least taking care of all the fluids shouldn't be too difficult.

The AWD service, they just check the cv boots and drain and fill the transfer case.
The FIS is MAF clean, Throttle Body clean and reset, Fuel injector clean (which they never do, just use shell 91) Just get a bottle of MAF cleaner and a bottle of throttle body cleaner and look up Motorvate DIY on youtube to see how to clean and what to do after. Save yourself $350 and those fluids will last you the lifetime of your car.
Right front caliper... they're charging you more than what a BBK caliper costs. You can get a set of Akebono BBK calipers in good condition under 1k.
Spark plugs are $10-15 each for Denso or NGK, and the job is less than an hour.
The valve cover gasket seems quoted below normal, must be quoting just one. Are there even any leaks? Did they even take the engine plastic cover off? Gasket itself is cheap, like $15, but the job is a pain in the *** and having done it before, I would probably pay someone to do it again if I had to.
Drive belt/serpantine belt is a 15 min job and a $20-100 cost for the belt, depending on how much you want to spend.
Front lower control arm is like $150 from MOOG. Could be some stuck bolts, but again something you can do in your garage in an hour or two.

The big one is the water pump/timing cover. If there is an actual issue and the paper gasket blew out, this needs to get done, and I would not recommend a DIY. They just recommend this because the paper gasket blowing out on -2011 models is a known issue. Doesnt mean that your car currently has this issue. If you are planning on keeping it long term though, this is worth doing and replacing the paper with a metal gasket.

At least they didn't tell you your power steering fluid smells burnt or whatever other stories they make up to get more money out of you.

 

I really appreciate the feedback. I figured most of their recommendations were more so scheduled maintenance. I’ve gone over the FSM a few times and will continues to do so. There’s no leaks but I do plan on keeping the car for the remainder of its lifetime so I’ll be sure to follow the FSM. I appreciate you guys explaining what is entailed with their services, as, I’ll probably do most of the work myself. Seems fairly simple excluding the water pump n galley gaskets