darstar007

Hi all,

I'm close to pulling the trigger and purchasing an '09 GT-R. I've read about the good and the bad associated with this car (the bad being the high cost of maintenance). Any regrets??? Do you feel you paid too much???

Thanks for any feedback.

Racer M

I paid sticker for mine, $73,545 so I feel like I got a good deal.

As far as maintenance goes, any high performance super car is going to cost you. However, the costs associated with maintaining the GTR can be substantially lowered if you have an approved reputable shop do the services on the car instead of the dealership. Since you are paying for it anyway, there is no sense in paying dealer prices. I don't know where you live but in SoCal there are plenty of places that have been given the ok by Nissan to do the scheduled services.

The only regret I have is that I paid $80k including tax for a car that is manufactured by a company that wont allow you to drive it the way it was intended to be driven without voiding your warranty, and they have the audacity to have recently made an amendment to their previous warranty by adding more rules to what you can and cannot do with their car if you want to keep your warranty. In my opinion, it is false advertisement. In fact, Nissan voided their own warranty on their test car, per se, when they drove it on the Nurburgring. I promise you the VDC was off, and the car was thoroughly abused during the countless laps they did there.

Other than that, it is the best car on the planet today!

Catapult5

No regrets here. One way to reduce costs on tires is to buy them at tirerack.com and have the dealership mount them. It's a Supercar so higher prices than the average car are going to happen but it is such an enjoyable car it is all worth it.

AndyN

I'm about to pick up a 2010 premium. Cold someone define high cost of maintenance? Since Nissan pays the first 3 years of optimization services what services can I expect with maybe 6000 miles a year usage? Plan on driving it 3 times, maybe a week. It's been a bear begging the wife for one and I'd hate to not be prepared.

Thanks.

jgs911

I paid $99.00 dollars for the first oil change on my GTR. My last Porsche was $299.00 per oil change. My Viper was $150.00 per and My Mercedes was $199.00. I dont think the price is out of line with the type of car it is. What Im not looking forward to is the trany oil change. I hear its about $1000.00 per. That is a little steep. By the time I need it, I will find a shop to do it for less than. I met the mechanic at the Nissan dealer that is the certified GTR tech. Very nice guy. I will make friends with him and get it done for far less. Its always about those 6 degrees of separation.
The only disapointing thing about the car is the sound of the exhaust. Not loud enough. When I auto-x the car I cant hear where Im at. When I track the car in the fall it might be a little different. More time to check what gear Im in.
The car is awesome. Not quite the feed back of a GT3 but no one can argue the numbers.
You wont be disapointed. GET THE CAR.

AndyN

Thanks for the reassurance. When you break it down like that it does not seem to be excessive. Now I just need to see if I'm willing to do MSRP on a 2010.

darstar007

I see you're in Fremont too. I'm also in the market for one. The 2009s can be had under MSRP, but I kinda want to wait to see how good a deal I can get on a 2010 as well. I am also a bit concerned about "unreasonable" maintenance costs and I'm also trying to convince my family it won't be so bad. Man the parallels are eerie. Good luck!!!

AndyN

If you tell me you're pudgie asian due in his late 30's then that'll be eerie. As for the maintenance thing, you know $200 every 3-5k miles in a year would be at most $1000 a year for me or as low as $600. Add the usual $1500 or so on tires every couple years ( usual for all new sport run flats I think) then the cost doesn't seem too overwhelming. BUT the tranny stuff every year or two for $2000 and god know what for the 30k tune up has me scared. BUT if I keep to driving it about 6k miles a year then that's 5 years down the line.

Don't mean to hijack a thread but can anyone give me a good reason not to go for an 09? is the baby bump of the hp, tweak to the suspension, and the launch control software (anything else different?) in the 2010 worth say $5000 more?

darstar007

Semi-pudgie dude in his late 30's.....cue the Twilight zone music.

I hear what you're saying about the maintenance costs. It COULD go overboard, but if you plan on pampering it and have a short commute (which I do). It seems it could be managed. Of course, we are throwing-out common-sense and practicality by even considering buying this car, but the allure is too strong if you always dreamed of having a supercar of your own.

As far as the '09/'10 debate, it is also raging in my mind. You probably have been in contact with the same dealers I have. There are not many '09s left. The best I could get was $1K below MSRP, have you been able to do better? The only thing I could add to your list of differences is the obvious: resale. I'm also not sure if that is worth $5K though. Of course, if one decides to go for the '10 then it also might make sense to wait a bit longer (but then you get into the same old cycle).

I'd love to hear how things work out for you and share my own experiences, feel free to PM me if you want. This forum is a ghost town anyways.

Cheers

AndyN

Hope this isn't a Fight Club deally. Alter egos?

I've been getting MSRP quotes everywhere for the 2010. no bad I suppose considering where we were 1 year ago. BUT $5k bump for 5 hp and some suspension tweaks is quite a bit. I haven't read anything about strengthening the car in any way. Only protection for the tranny was a software update. So $5k is pretty steep.

I think locally there are only 2-3 09's that I noted from my search. If I get a good deal I think I'll be happy. If not MSRP on a 2010 won't bum me out too much. Man, this is hard. My biggest personal purchase ( outside of the house) and it's the most financially unsound and irresponsible move. Sadly this is the best time to do it.