# How many people "self service" their GT-Rs



## stixGTR (Sep 24, 2013)

The question is...

Would I be mad to service the car myself ?

I have access to a work shop with ramps etc and very good friends with some highly skilled mechanics who have all offered to help. 

Would I or do I need to plug her into a computer for any part of the service?


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## Arcam (Jun 30, 2009)

Depends on your skill level and comfort zone, there is nothing too hideous in the general servicing requirements so long as you have access to a decent 4 wheel alignment system and at least the Ecutek software and cable to perform the clutch and cylinder bank learns etc.


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## MattGTR750 (Apr 26, 2012)

Would rather pay the pros to do it lol


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## R35Audio (Jul 9, 2002)

I think the savings might not outweigh the price cut and hassle you might have when you go to sell in the future. If it were me, I would stick to a specialist you trust and get a proper stamp in the book. You certainly don't need to use Nissan.


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## tonigmr2 (Sep 12, 2002)

If I buy a £5K car I'm not going to bother if it is home serviced. If I buy a £55K car I am! In fact wouldn't buy it...just my view.


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## JapFreak786 (Aug 29, 2003)

Had similar thoughts myself, on a GTR I'd still get it serviced somewhere just for the stamp alone as come resale time it will matter.


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## stixGTR (Sep 24, 2013)

No this is where I'm different. 

Leave your car with Nissan/specialist/ independent servicing guru or whatever else people want to be known as. Then part with your hard earned cash, get the car back and have a ribber stamp in a book.

Do you REALLY know whats been done? Do you Honestly know that the correct oil has been used and the filter housing has been torqued correctly .... the list goes on. 

Before anyone starts jumping up and down and throwing teddy bears out of prams I'm not having a pop at garages or independent specialists etc nor am I running down the fine work they do.

I have a friends that are highly skilled mechanics, one services R8s the other rebuilds mclaren F1s 
Plus I myself am pretty handy with a spanner. The original post was asking who services their own GTR.
I wasnt asking or commenting on service history or resale value.

A selling point....

I would much rather see a proper documented service history i.e a folder full of receipts for parts and photos of the work being done. To me a personal service history is worth far more than a book full of rubber stamps. Personal is just that. It shows commitment to the car and that its been really looked after.
obviously the ecu side of things is different. 

After things like engine oil filters diffs gearbox plugs etc I would be approaching a specialist to do clutch learning etc. In the hope that this will provide a detailed and comprehensive service history to my car. 
As far as rubber stamping goes..... can that anywhere.

so..... forgetting how wealthy some people are on this forum who can just "pay someone else to do it"
Does anybody do what I'm planning to do?

Stix


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## Ja5on (Nov 18, 2009)

I dont think the "wealthy" comment is very fair.

I'm buy no means wealthy, but I always have my servicing done by an GTR specialist. And if I can buy the required fluid for the service at a better price elsewhere then I do that.

I could make a comment back and say not all of us have friends who work on R8s and Mclaren F1s so the only other folk I trust are the GTR specialist.


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## stixGTR (Sep 24, 2013)

Sorry, I didn't mean to offend. I did say "some" though.

I'm just trying to find a way to keep the servicing costs down. Thats all.


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## Satan (Mar 8, 2012)

stixGTR said:


> Sorry, I didn't mean to offend. I did say "some" though.
> 
> I'm just trying to find a way to keep the servicing costs down. Thats all.


To be fair, I'm with you on the "do as much as you can yourself" and run my car on a more limited budget than MOST people on here.

As I only run the car for 6 months a year, I do get Litchfield to do a yearly service.

Their costs for parts and materials are pretty competitive and their labour rate is fair for the skill and knowledge that they have. The labour cost on each service is not the bigger part of the bill. 

In addition to all that, every time I go there, another update is loaded so I think, even for a tight-ar5e like me, it's good value.

JMHO though. Satan

I do believe 100% that what they say they have done, was done.


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## Karls (Jul 12, 2010)

Satan said:


> To be fair, I'm with you on the "do as much as you can yourself" and run my car on a more limited budget than MOST people on here.
> 
> As I only run the car for 6 months a year, I do get Litchfield to do a yearly service.
> 
> ...


I totally agree with the above but, if I had access to a ramp I would love to work on my own car, just for the enjoyment I'd get out of it. I'm an Engineer so I would enjoy delving in to anything mechanical.

And when I break it (when not if ) I'd ask Litchfield to fix it! :thumbsup:


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## gtr mart (Mar 29, 2004)

I think the depreciation and resale comments are on.the money. You asked if people did service their own cars and I think those are the reasons why you are unlikely to get a yes. 

I agree you dont always know if a dealer or some independents have done what they said they would but equally as a potential buyer I am more inclined to believe they would do a better job than the owner. It makes your car different which I think would make people nervous.

If you want to tinker, then do the mods yourself. Thats the expensive bit anyway and no one will begrudge you doing that. Then get a specialist to service the car and take care of the maps.

I think there is more money to be saved and more fun and satisfaction from fitting your own exhaust, filters and injectors. Plus you will get recognition on the forum for actually doing something yourself, rather than just being 'the skin flint' that services his own car


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## gtr mart (Mar 29, 2004)

Plus, you can pick up used parts that come up and bag yourself a bargain. Every few months someone buys a new akra, gets buyers remorse and sells it at a knock down price. Quids in for you then!


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## stixGTR (Sep 24, 2013)

Valid points, thanks..... however I wouldn't dream of trying to map the car myself..... thats just asking for trouble.


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## Brad1979 (May 26, 2012)

It would be great if one of the traders could have some sort of open day to show people some of the basic of the car for which you pay to attend then maybe some more involved sessions could be counter productive for them possibly 

I did this when I had my bike at a race team prob 20 of us there and it was money well spent still had bike serviced there lol as half the time it's the tools that cost and finding the time but it's nice to think you have some sort of understanding.


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## saucyboy (Nov 1, 2009)

Mate, I'm also like you and try to run her on a tightest budget. I also like to tinker however I'll be honest and say I've used an Indy since I bought her 2.5 years a go. Tbh using a good Indy (I use sly but there are obviously a lot of others) hasn't been expensive. Always done me deals and I haven't been able to source oil/tyres etc any cheaper else where thus far. So really labour is the only addition and that's not that expensive by today's standards. 

I know what you mean about trusting what garages have done on your car etc (remember catching a garage out with my old mans car many years a go) but Im Sure that's not the case with the indies here. In fact I've always been around when mines done and am always amazed at the time/care and effort put in.


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## tinimark (Dec 3, 2012)

Knowing what I know now and having seen the results of both, I would prefer to see a book with specialist indy stamps in over Nissan stamps. Not sure if most new buyers would think the same but either way...that book needs stamps if you want to sell it again for a good price.


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## Chronos (Dec 2, 2013)

tinimark said:


> Knowing what I know now and having seen the results of both, I would prefer to see a book with specialist indy stamps in over Nissan stamps. Not sure if most new buyers would think the same but either way...that book needs stamps if you want to sell it again for a good price.


+1 for specialist Indy stamps over Nissan as well, any day of the week.


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## NELLEE (Mar 8, 2014)

stixGTR said:


> The question is...
> 
> Would I be mad to service the car myself ?
> 
> ...


I think it depends how its been serviced before you got it... If its been owner serviced already, then why not carry on yourself, as your not diluting the service history any more. If the car has been at dealers and Indies then theres no way i would change that and start doing it myself, surley what you would save would be knocked of the car when you try and sell it. 

If you plan to keep it for a long time then selling it on might no be an issue,


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## borat52 (Jan 29, 2006)

Of your keeping it for at least 2 years then the money you'll save will match the depreciation. If you photo the servicing and photo the mileage each time possibly against a daily newspaper to verify dates then it would only hit a couple of grand off the resale worst case.

The older a car gets the more I would look for an enthusiastic owner and clean condition of a car than service stamps. A clean car with stamps will always get a premium though


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## gtr mart (Mar 29, 2004)

borat52 said:


> Of your keeping it for at least 2 years then the money you'll save will match the depreciation. If you photo the servicing and photo the mileage each time possibly against a daily newspaper to verify dates then it would only hit a couple of grand off the resale worst case.
> 
> The older a car gets the more I would look for an enthusiastic owner and clean condition of a car than service stamps. A clean car with stamps will always get a premium though


I dont agree. Not on a newer model anyway. You could do it on an 09 but I think it would then be treated with similar suspicion as an import, possibly to the extent that you couldn't sell it or would need to let it go for c£25k and a chancer / chav could just about afford it. 

The increased depreciation on a car like this will far exceed the money saved.


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## FRRACER (Jun 23, 2013)

stixGTR said:


> No this is where I'm different.
> 
> Leave your car with Nissan/specialist/ independent servicing guru or whatever else people want to be known as. Then part with your hard earned cash, get the car back and have a ribber stamp in a book.
> 
> ...


I agree with you there mate, hard to trust anyone these days and no one will take care of your car like you will yourself.

Not an R35, but I do pretty much all the work on my R32 GTR myself as well as my BMW and FR race car. Agreed the R35 is complex but those who are specialists are not robots anyone with a brain and some intelligence can learn.

Mapping is a different thing, that I would pay someone to do it. Also some things that would limit me such as the lack of workshop and specialist tools, ramps etc.


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## tonigmr2 (Sep 12, 2002)

gtr mart said:


> The increased depreciation on a car like this will far exceed the money saved.


This! I'm not rich, I just think it's savvy. Oh and I'd be perfectly happy with independent stamps, doesn't have to be Nissan. But sorry I'm not going to trust a home serviced car worth north of £30K, ever, however competent the mechanic (I can't know how competent you are can I?):runaway:


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## FRRACER (Jun 23, 2013)

There are several people on here who have built pristine examples, so to write off a GTR or any car that has been maintained by its owner is wrong.

I would trust myself more than any general trader or tuner or mechanic! Certain specialist things such as mapping work or part of an engine build I will seek out the best and use them.


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## tonigmr2 (Sep 12, 2002)

It's not 'wrong', it's simply my POV! Because I am no mechanic myself I would look for a known quantity such as stamps and history.


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## stixGTR (Sep 24, 2013)

FRRACER said:


> There are several people on here who have built pristine examples, so to write off a GTR or any car that has been maintained by its owner is wrong.
> 
> I would trust myself more than any general trader or tuner or mechanic! Certain specialist things such as mapping work or part of an engine build I will seek out the best and use them.


My point exactly.


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## DMH12 (Sep 28, 2013)

Agree with tonigmr2. If you don't know someone how can you trust they're a good mechanic and have done a good job of maintaining their GTR out in the garden or in the garage. I'd be more confident knowing a repair or wheel alignment had been done by a good dealership like Middlehurst or specialist like litchfield. I was told they're sensible money to service outside of the servicing pack anyway?? I'm sure I was told about 400 and 900 for minor and major respectively. And that was at a nissan dealership. Is the couple of quid you save really worth not having any service history? You'd get your pants pulled down if you ever wanted to part ex it.


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## stixGTR (Sep 24, 2013)

Wheel alignment and clutch learning and all the electronic stuff I would get done by an indy or main dealer. 
Also if I was going to map the car it would go to a specialist. 

Im talking about general servicing..... oils lubes filters plugs etc... general car maintenance. 
If its such a bad idea why are there so many "how to....." threads.

plus the car would end up having a more detailed service history than most.
detailed being the key word here. 

I totally understand what people are saying but I only asked the question to see if people did what I'm thinking of doing.


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## WingedBeast1968 (Sep 18, 2009)

I do the fluid changes, if I can be bothered. If not, I get it done at Litchfield's. 
Got Cobb Accessport for mapping and clutch learning. Oh, and TPMS learn mode, data logging and general messing about. EcuTek cable for engine balancing. Also logs. 

I used to have a Nissan S14 200SX touring. Lightly tuned, and serviced by me from 12 months old. Engine oil every 3k miles. Tinkered and fettled nearly every day. Service book was virtually empty. I got market value when I sold it, and the chap that bought it was absolutely thrilled to find one sooooo loved. He'd had his destroyed by a pillock, so mine was the replacement. I still miss her. 

If you know how, it's better to do it yourself. People can tell if a car has been well maintained, or fixed as required, or completely loved to death. I love my GT-R. :clap:

Ooh, and she's got 24k miles on the clock, is 4.5 years old, and has been serviced NINE times. Mental


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## GTR RGT (Aug 29, 2006)

I agree with the OP in that, I would buy a car knowing the owner had serviced it himself as long as he produced receipts,recorded mileage and pictures. 

After all, aren't we all buying the previous models with no stamps now? 
I would also be more happy with a indie tuner stamped book than Nissan because of the kids they have to employ. 

I will spend the extra time and be completely anal with my car just topping up the oil to get the level within a thousandth of a mm on the stick, I will also double check things and torque every single nut to spec. I do this with an old land rover defender - I will stop work for 25 mins while I find a torque spec for a insignificant bolt holding only itself up. 

Maybe we should have a poll? see how much of us are servicing ourselves and how much of us trust that route? Think I saw such a thread on gtrlife but not here? 


Sorry for the resurrection, I recently had oil pressure failure on the wifes Fiat 500 which was garage serviced all its life - I'm almost certain it was the garage's fault.


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## Richf (Feb 8, 2007)

Personally i wouldnt buy a self serviced GTR if i was paying over £50k but i do a lot of the non service schedule stuff and just get the basic service stuff done by a pro and thats on my 370 

If i had a earlier Skyline i would still get an expert to check it over every couple of years


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## paulmc (Oct 31, 2004)

Another reason why I sold mine. Rip-off servicing or more to the point I could not do it myself as everyone looks for dealer or specialist stamp. 1000 notes for a 60 month service JOKE!!!


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## stixGTR (Sep 24, 2013)

Wow!! This is an old thread I started.... 

As an update.... I have done all the servicing. As I don't think I'm ever likely to sell the car..... and better still I now know a Japanese guy who has a GTR who owns a servicing garage who very kindly plugs his consult 3 in for clutch learns and fault code clearing..... you know... All the nerd stuff. 

Car has never missed a beat and is drum tight.


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## GTR RGT (Aug 29, 2006)

From what I've seen, the type of people that buy these cars don't mess around. Everyone does what the book says and normally go further.


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## Iggy GT-R (Dec 15, 2012)

When I was buying, main dealer or more so, reputable indie stamps. Litchfield looks after mine with their warranty also.

However, I service my D5 myself & I did change the discs & pads on the GTR, but only coz I get a kick out of doing little things myself 
But everything else, Litchfield for me :thumbsup:


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## BCNR33GT-R (Apr 6, 2011)

Over prices at HPC and staff not really able to service an Micra, No thanks prefere not! 
My car is serviced by my self then i know whats happen under this service period and it will only cost what it should be.


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## terry lloyd (Feb 12, 2014)

I service mine myself because i am a tight f##cker these cars are fairly easy to work on clutch relearn with cobb/ecutek - bank ballancing can be done with the ignition and throttle pedal sequence( cobb or ecutek will tell you if it needs doing) - full service with diffs/ gearbox and engine oil can be done for @£200 diy


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## gtr mart (Mar 29, 2004)

Interestingly this thread revival has shown a change over time. When it was first posted virtually everyone said don't be so silly, but with more time gone and the later services being a fair chunk of money more and more people are saying they are happy to self service.

I wonder if this could contribute to a crash in residual value as people struggle to sell their self serviced cars? :nervous:

I certainly hope not although with a fully stamped up book by NHPC dealer or reputable indy this shouldn't cause me an issue, other than cheaper cars on the market to compete with should I decide to change my car.


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## terry lloyd (Feb 12, 2014)

just been offered £36k for mine by the same garage i bought it from 2yrs ago for £36.5k with them knowing its self serviced since i bought it - quite chuffed with that offer


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## GTR RGT (Aug 29, 2006)

Brown envelopes under the table can get you a stamped book - brown envelopes under the table can't get you receipts, pictures or a project thread history and a caring owner. 
Not so likely with these type of cars but I have known people to have with the daily run around shit boxes. Just saying.


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## gtr mart (Mar 29, 2004)

I have self serviced cars before. I also tend to replace consumbles on my GT-R myself, such as brake pads and disks. I tend to use better oils and spend more time doing it than a regular garage might. 

The flip side to this of course is that many many people would do a slap dash job and just not give a care about it and it can be difficult to differentiate between the two.


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## terry lloyd (Feb 12, 2014)

Martin you seem more than capable of doing a service yourself - i dont get why you wouldnt want to save yourself @£600-£1000 each time and use better oils while doing so plus having piece of mind it was done right ( heard of gearbox plugs left loose and other mishaps even from the best of places)


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## gtr mart (Mar 29, 2004)

I have spent my kids inheritance on the car LOL. I need to protect the asset value and the foundation of that is a sound service history IMHO.

I also cant be arsed to take ALL of those little bolts out holding the undertrays on :chuckle:


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