# GT-R Running costs in 2015



## smoggy12345 (Aug 4, 2013)

Apologies to many as this has been covered a million times, but this was the one bit of research that took a great deal of time to get a very clear picture of what the real world running costs were as information was so fragmented. This thread is really an aim to get all current information in one place to help any potential buyers, especially seeing as now the running costs seem to be a lot lower now than previous years. Also would like members to come forward and add to the thread with information on common issues and associated fix costs and also available common upgrades and associated costs ie. the 2014 Nav upgrade for MY09 cars. Also please correct me if any information is incorrect Cheers! 

So here goes...

Tyres:

MPSS 275/305 will last around 12,000 - 15,000 on NORMAL driving. Can be done for approx. £900 fitted. 

OEM Dunlop runflats, I believe can now be had for around £1200 fitted, unsure to how long these tytres last (can someone inform?)

Brakes Discs:

Discs are one item that have not come down dramatically, but common aftermarket parts ie. Alcon or AP Racing discs can be had for £1500 all round + fitting - lasting approx. 24000 miles? or 2 sets of Pads on normal driving? (someone please inform)

Dixcel discs can be had for around £1250 + fitting and appear to be fine and fit for purpose.

Brake pads:

Vary greatly, Borg and Beck pads, for road use only, can be had for £70 - £80 all round + fitting - a very good value pad for day to day driving and the odd spirited drive.

Mid range pads, ie. Ferrodo DS2500 can be had for about £350 all round + fitting. Very capable pad that will fulfil most peoples needs.

High End: Padgid RS29's are expensive but thought of as among the best pads for the GTR.
These can be had for about £650 - £700 + fitting? (think its possible they might be cheaper, someone inform?)

Servicing:

It's generally accepted now that MY09 + MY10 cars can be serviced once a year/9,000miles as long as the car isn't driven the limits ie. on track or regular hard road use. Cheapest reputable indy I have seen is about £500 for a major service. There is one service that can upto about £1,000 though I believe even at a cheap indy but on average expect normally upto £500 per year.

MY11+ cars are similar 

(can someone elaborate more on these costs)

Fuel economy:

From my experience: 14mpg town driving, 17mpg combined, 24mpg motorway. Roughly about £70 - 80 to fill up from completely empty. (@ £1.15/litre - Tesco 99).


Common upgrades and fixes:

Instrument cluster light failure - Can be fixed for around £160 - can also include a colour change of the LEDs so also a MOD. May mean having to remove the cluster yourself and sending away.

2014 Nav upgrade for MY09 cars - £1899 - A very good mod for 2009 Cars that will give the car the new high res screen, Sat Nav, Bluetooth and USB interface. A Must really for any MY09 owner as the MY09 cars ICE leaves a lot to be desired!

Stage 1 Upgrade: £1100 from Litchfields is the most common but also can be done elsewhere and prices can vary. Lifts the GT-R to approx 570bhp, making for a hugely quick car, another must have for GT-R owners!

Gearbox Upgrades 
- Circlips (can someone please post expected costs)
- Solenoid upgrades



Please add any more you can think of folks! I'll keep adding to the post over time.

Thanks,

Dean.


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## Ade (Jul 17, 2005)

In my opinion this would be a very worthwhile thread and well done for taking the time to start it.

I spent literally weeks using the search facility on here to find out everything about the GTR before taking the plunge - and I am so glad that I did. 

Having it all in one place to read would be a big help (still wouldn't stop me being an anorak and reading everything else about the car tho lol) and it would more than likely put many perspective buyers in the picture about the car and its costs, and help alleviate a lot of "should my new car make this noise" and the like posts.

Just my opinion of course,
Ade.


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## smoggy12345 (Aug 4, 2013)

Thanks, I think so too. Would have made life much much easier as searching for threads never covers everything in one thread so it's constant searching to compare prices etc... 

For example, only after I had bought the car have I found out its even cheaper to run than I thought. Had no knowledge of the borg and beck pads or the dixcel discs and also older information led me to believe tyres were around £1100. Sometimes it's hard to find the information that your after as often can be quite obscure to find! 

So please take the time to add to this folks,could be the determining factor for some people and may help them to take the plunge!


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## vxrcymru (Sep 29, 2009)

It would be better if presented in a table with standard costs per car over say 5 years in colums e.g. mileage pa, Servicing pa, breaks pa, tyres pa, repairs pa. Have one for road use and one for regularly tracked cars


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## dav134 (Dec 22, 2014)

Great thread this!!


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## smoggy12345 (Aug 4, 2013)

I suppose, very time consuming though! The majority, I'm guessing, won't be tracking the car regularly though. It opens a whole other can of worms. Maybe we could start another thread for expected costs for a regularly tracked gtr?

Also people drive less miles than others so doing a a table for per annum costs may not be a true representation for most owners.

I guess a good way to work around this would be to link certain pages ie. Litchfield, evotune and jm-imports service schedule etc...


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## bobbie (Jan 3, 2013)

you could also update the stage 1 tune to level 5 takes the power to 590bhp this is what Litchfield told me.

Bobby


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## Huzzy1 (Aug 4, 2015)

Is it generally accepted that 09/10 cars can be serviced annually? To be honest, I only do 2000 miles per year and don't use it through winter but I'll probably still get it done every 6 months. I'm sure Litchfields always fiind something that needs doing while its there during the service, it's best to keep on top of them.


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## Huzzy1 (Aug 4, 2015)

bobbie said:


> you could also update the stage 1 tune to level 5 takes the power to 590bhp this is what Litchfield told me.
> 
> Bobby


600 plus if you're lucky. 

It confused me when I first started looking the difference between 'stage' and 'version', owners still get confused now!


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## borat52 (Jan 29, 2006)

Huzzy1 said:


> Is it generally accepted that 09/10 cars can be serviced annually? To be honest, I only do 2000 miles per year and don't use it through winter but I'll probably still get it done every 6 months. I'm sure Litchfields always fiind something that needs doing while its there during the service, it's best to keep on top of them.


IMO the 6 month service intervals on the early cars were more to do with Nissan wanting to keep an eye on the car, making sure they spotted any potential issues and rectify them in future models, than to do with the early engines requiring fresh oil more often than the later ones.

I like 6 month intervals just so the car gets a look over, but if I didn't do much mileage over the winter I'd do 1 service a year.


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## lordretsudo (Dec 24, 2011)

Another thing that might be worth adding is the bellhousing - there are 're-engineered' replacements available from both Litchfields and Middlehurst, I believe for around £700. Mine is finally starting to go (car 5 years old, covered 37,000 miles).


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## AdnanK (Jun 11, 2013)

Huzzy1 said:


> Is it generally accepted that 09/10 cars can be serviced annually? To be honest, I only do 2000 miles per year and don't use it through winter but I'll probably still get it done every 6 months. I'm sure Litchfields always fiind something that needs doing while its there during the service, it's best to keep on top of them.


You need to free the beast and sell it to someone who'll use it


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## AdnanK (Jun 11, 2013)

My MY13 is serviced yearly as per schedule but gets a 6 month oil service in between even though I do around 4-5k miles a year. I know its overkill but oil changes are cheap and I sleep better.


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## smoggy12345 (Aug 4, 2013)

bobbie said:


> you could also update the stage 1 tune to level 5 takes the power to 590bhp this is what Litchfield told me.
> 
> Bobby


I didn't know this? When did Version 5 become available? IIRC mine was done in April 2013 , is that late enough to have the latest softwere...I think it has the latest gearbox software?

Shame litchfields is about a 4hour+ drive from me 

Cheers.


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## smoggy12345 (Aug 4, 2013)

lordretsudo said:


> Another thing that might be worth adding is the bellhousing - there are 're-engineered' replacements available from both Litchfields and Middlehurst, I believe for around £700. Mine is finally starting to go (car 5 years old, covered 37,000 miles).


Of course! How did I forget this one? Thanks!

Errrrr.......can i not EDIT my Original post now?? How do i do it? lol


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## jrattan (Oct 23, 2014)

smoggy12345 said:


> Of course! How did I forget this one? Thanks!
> 
> 
> 
> Errrrr.......can i not EDIT my Original post now?? How do i do it? lol



Nice post mate - agree with what you said. If you're in/around London, Sly at Kaizer motor isn't far.
You can definitely edit it on the web browser but on the app it can sometimes go a bit funny.


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## StreetRunner (Feb 14, 2015)

Thanks for this! Been finding myself looking more and more at selling the R34 for an R35.


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## lordretsudo (Dec 24, 2011)

smoggy12345 said:


> I didn't know this? When did Version 5 become available? IIRC mine was done in April 2013 , is that late enough to have the latest softwere...I think it has the latest gearbox software?
> 
> Shame litchfields is about a 4hour+ drive from me
> 
> Cheers.


The V5 software was only released in September. There's also a more recent gearbox update than what you'll have from April 2013. 

See Litchfields thread here: http://www.gtr.co.uk/forum/387721-litchfield-version-5-software-update-ecutek-phase-5-a.html


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## goRt (May 17, 2011)

jrattan said:


> Nice post mate - agree with what you said. If you're in/around London, Sly at Kaizer motor isn't far.
> You can definitely edit it on the web browser but on the app it can sometimes go a bit funny.


You can't edit after a few hours

Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk


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## smoggy12345 (Aug 4, 2013)

goRt said:


> You can't edit after a few hours
> 
> Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk


This has just pi**ed on my bonfire :/


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## Huzzy1 (Aug 4, 2015)

smoggy12345 said:


> This has just pi**ed on my bonfire :/


Cut, paste, edit into a new post with more info?


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## Huzzy1 (Aug 4, 2015)

AdnanK said:


> You need to free the beast and sell it to someone who'll use it


I recently sold my 22B after I only done 96 miles one year, sold it and bought an RA that had only done 5000miles in 10 years and 43 miles in the 4 years previous to me buying it!


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## smoggy12345 (Aug 4, 2013)

Huzzy1 said:


> Cut, paste, edit into a new post with more info?


Yeh looks like that's what I'm going to have to do!


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## smoggy12345 (Aug 4, 2013)

OK Latest update:

Apologies to many as this has been covered a million times, but this was the one bit of research that took a great deal of time to get a very clear picture of what the real world running costs were as information was so fragmented. This thread is really an aim to get all current information in one place to help any potential buyers, especially seeing as now the running costs seem to be a lot lower now than previous years. Also would like members to come forward and add to the thread with information on common issues and associated fix costs and also available common upgrades and associated costs ie. the 2014 Nav upgrade for MY09 cars. Also please correct me if any information is incorrect Cheers! 

So here goes...

Tyres:

MPSS 275/305 will last around 12,000 - 15,000 on NORMAL driving. Can be done for approx. £900 fitted. 

OEM Dunlop runflats, I believe can now be had for around £1200 fitted, unsure to how long these tyres last (can someone inform?)

Brakes Discs:

Discs are one item that have not come down dramatically, but common aftermarket parts ie. Alcon or AP Racing discs can be had for £1400 - £1500 all round + fitting - lasting approx. 24000 miles? or 2 sets of Pads on normal driving? (someone please inform)

DIXCEL discs can be had for around £1250, have seen some threads recently where discs have suffered so beware - do your own research on these discs but probably fine for fast road use.

Have seen an offer recently on the forum where Full set of AP Racing Discs + Ferrodo DS2500 pads for £1600.00 inc. VAT! This this is about as cheap as I have seen for a full worthwhile set up!

Brake pads:

Vary greatly, Borg and Beck pads, for road use only, can be had for £70 - £80 all round + fitting - a very good value pad for day to day driving and the odd spirited drive.

Mid range pads, ie. Ferrodo DS2500 can be had for about £350 all round + fitting. Very capable pad that will fulfil most peoples needs.

High End: Padgid RS29's are expensive but thought of as among the best pads for the GTR.
These can be had for about £650 - £700 + fitting? (think its possible they might be cheaper, someone inform?)

You can find pads in pretty much any price range though (from £80+), these are just a few common examples! Ebay has a nearly endless amount of pads to choose from so worth doing your own research and deciding whats best for yourself!

Servicing:

It's generally accepted now that MY09 + MY10 cars can be serviced once a year/9,000miles as long as the car isn't driven to the limits ie. on track or regular hard road use. Cheapest reputable indy I have seen is about £500 for a major service. There is one service that can be upto about £1,000 though even at a cheap indy but on average expect aound £500 per year but ranging from £170 - £700 per year

MY11+ cars are similar 

For servicing, Evotune, Litchfields and JM-Imports have a service schedule and breakdown of costs on their websites!

Fuel economy:

From my experience: 14mpg town driving, 17mpg combined, 24mpg motorway. Roughly about £70 - 80 to fill up from completely empty. (@ £1.15/litre - Tesco 99).


Common upgrades and fixes:

Bellhousing - Common failure. Can be replaced under warranty at Nissan for free if still within the period, however, is still prone to failing again. An upgraded part from Litchfield is around £700 fitted.

Instrument cluster light failure - Another common failure, possibly replaced for free under Nissan Extended warranty for free but this resets your mileage to ZERO - Stamped letter from Nissan is provided for the service book to provide valid history of the mileage. Instead, Can be fixed third party for around £160 - can also include a colour change of the LEDs so also a MOD. May mean having to remove the cluster yourself and sending away.

2014 Nav upgrade for MY09 cars - £1899 - A very good mod for 2009 Cars that will give the car the new high res screen, Sat Nav, Bluetooth and USB interface. A Must really for any MY09 owner as the MY09 cars ICE leaves a lot to be desired!

Stage 1 Upgrade: £1100 from Litchfields is the most common but also can be done elsewhere and prices can vary. Lifts the GT-R to approx 570bhp, making for a hugely quick car, another must have for GT-R owners! New 'Version 5' of these remaps can offer even higher performance still. There are extra costs involved to upgrade the car to Version 5 if the car is already mapped.

Gearbox Upgrades 

- Circlips - Quoted around £1700 all in from a reputable indy.
- Solenoid upgrades - (anyone inform?)



Please add any more you can think of folks! I'll post updates every now and again to keep everything in one post! 

Thanks,

Dean.


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## TABZ (Apr 30, 2003)

Probably worth mentioning the variable specs on the 2009 cars, I know allot get caught out expecting something that isn't there:

Sat Nav
Aux/USB/HDD
Reverse camera
Park sensors
Cobra tracker
Some mfd's only read in kph units not in psi. (Usually premium addition)

Did you know?
No car jack (passenger footwell)
Emergency boot key lock is located in passenger footwell along side tools.
Key fob charge port under steering wheel to the left.
Boot switch under bumper between number plate lights.
Rear view mirror is retractable to help prevent obstruction view.



A common upgrades:
4 light conversion on the rear.
Some go for the bonnet pop up cancel kit.
Auto mirror fold via remote central locking. 

Recall work includes;
Cluster faults
Steering column fault.

Common issues include:
Bell housing (mentioned above)
Rattle noise from brakes (use search)
A lot of soot from exhaust on various stages.
Almost all standard cars have a horrid clonking and poor gear change, hence newe software to elemenate.
Paint on the earlier cars is horrendous especially Kuro black.


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## smoggy12345 (Aug 4, 2013)

TABZ said:


> Probably worth mentioning the variable specs on the 2009 cars, I know allot get caught out expecting something that isn't there:
> 
> Sat Nav
> Aux/USB/HDD
> ...


Some good info here, didn't know some of the stuff on here! - You have any information on costs involved on any of the Issues? ie. Steering wheel fault etc....

Can u elaborate on the paint issue? lol, think mine is Kuro black under the wrap!


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## R35Audio (Jul 9, 2002)

My understanding :-

Key fob charge port under steering wheel to the left. Vicious Rumor - Doesn't charge - just holds your key - 

No Aux on any UK GTR's. Just US version.

Think the cars which have PSI/Bar issues are Jap spec cars

Cluster Fault wasn't a recall, just warranty - steering lock was a recall

Oh, and 4 light conversion on the rear and bonnet pop up cancel kit available from me 



TABZ said:


> Probably worth mentioning the variable specs on the 2009 cars, I know allot get caught out expecting something that isn't there:
> 
> Sat Nav
> Aux/USB/HDD
> ...


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## TABZ (Apr 30, 2003)

R35Audio said:


> My understanding :-
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Andy my late 2009 car has a USB post under the armrest, what's that for?


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## R35Audio (Jul 9, 2002)

USB socket on 59 plate or newer is for Music and charging, but its not really classed as an AUX port. Perhaps I'm just getting pedantic in my old age :chuckle: and I apologise for that.

Aux port is normally a jack socket that is flexible enough to accept many devices like phones, MP3 players, DVD players, maybe even a turntable on your back seat. You then select an AUX source on your AV unit and play the universal device you have plugged in. 

US cars come with an AUX port and the ability to select it on their AV units. UK cars don't.

Andy



TABZ said:


> Andy my late 2009 car has a USB post under the armrest, what's that for?


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## lordretsudo (Dec 24, 2011)

Definitely concur with the soot comment - mine is terrible. I hoped that when I went to Stage 2 it might improve a bit, but it actually seems worse if anything :-(


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## Barno1971 (Apr 11, 2015)

*Soot*



lordretsudo said:


> Definitely concur with the soot comment - mine is terrible. I hoped that when I went to Stage 2 it might improve a bit, but it actually seems worse if anything :-(


I'm pleased it wasn't just me I got so pariniod about the black smoke behind my gtr which is post 850 bhp I thought there was a problem now hate washing after every spirited drive obviously at the legal limit lol


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## smoggy12345 (Aug 4, 2013)

R35Audio said:


> My understanding :-
> 
> Key fob charge port under steering wheel to the left. Vicious Rumor - Doesn't charge - just holds your key -
> 
> ...


The key port doesnt charge the key, BUT if the fobs battery has ran out, and you can't start the car with the keyless system, you can start the car with the fob in the holder! You'd have to gain entry into the car first with the blade first though!

My car is UK spec early 09 model and my TPMS reads in kpa.


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## TurboFreak (Dec 14, 2014)

I have a '09 running 600bhp SVM upgrade. Mileage is 42K
Owned for 1 year and no problems apart from fitting new front discs and pads myself.

I get it serviced by local independent specialist every 6 months, even although I don't think it needs it having done only about 4,000 miles this year, I would simply change oil and filter myself after 6 months with one annual full service.

Does anyone know if having it serviced yearly when it clearly says in manual every 6 months would effect my after market warranty?


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## stealth46 (Jul 21, 2013)

TurboFreak said:


> Does anyone know if having it serviced yearly when it clearly says in manual every 6 months would effect my after market warranty?


I recently renewed my after market warranty and was asked if the car had been serviced in the last year but they didn't mention 6-monthly intervals, probably because they don't know how often a GT-R is due a service. However I would give them a call for clarification as we all know they can try to wriggle out of claims if they can.


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## billythefish (Jul 2, 2015)

What's this issue with Kuro Black then?? Mines a 59 and its this colour under the wrap?! I know the paints supposed to be very thin, is that what you meant TABZ?


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## TABZ (Apr 30, 2003)

billythefish said:


> What's this issue with Kuro Black then?? Mines a 59 and its this colour under the wrap?! I know the paints supposed to be very thin, is that what you meant TABZ?



Yes general quality of oaint is terrible, marks up badly, prone to swirls, scratches and chips. Being black everything shows up.


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## billythefish (Jul 2, 2015)

Thankfully mine was fully detailed before wrap was put on by PW. I've seen some pics of the car after it was detailed and it looked stunning but the detailers write up did say the paint was thin.


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