Nissan Dealer Tech here, getting ready for my LEAF

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georides

Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2012
Messages
5
Hello to the forum,

I've been working (and studying) as a auto technician now for about 6 years, am ASE certified master tech and emissions certified in NJ. Whole reason I followed this career (after a liberal arts college degree) was to build myself an electric car. Well here we are years later and I think the closest I'll get is working on the LEAFs that come into the dealership where I work, or upgrading a Prius to run in EV mode extended. Both are actually pretty promising because they are very close!

Looking forward to acquiring my own LEAF soon, surprised the EV thing hasn't caught on here in NJ like it seems to be in CA. But when I spend $200+ in gas a month and could charge my leaf at the dealership where I work (for free) the $370/month lease isn't too far out of reach :)

Anyway, I look forward to giving some "inside info" as much as I can to the Leaf community and some feedback on some services. I was shocked to read the post about a $600 flat tire. I just read in our NissanNet intranet that every EV dealer will stock 1 bridgestone tire for the LEAF which is cost around $115 I think. If you get a flat, there is NO NEED to change the TPMS sensor, only if it is damaged at the stem which never happens. Anyway, when anyone comes in with an electric car, the first thing the service writer/mechanic will think is, this guy/girl is loaded let's hit them up... truth is, I think a lot of us are "99%-ers" and are interested a fair deal :)

I'll see what kind of deal the sales team can offer me in about a month when I'm ready to order :)

GIO :mrgreen:
 
georides said:
Anyway, when anyone comes in with an electric car, the first thing the service writer/mechanic will think is, this guy/girl is loaded let's hit them up... truth is, I think a lot of us are "99%-ers" and are interested a fair deal :)
Really, do service writers actually do stuff like that? :eek: Shame on them. ;)

But, welcome to the forum.

Bill
 
ebill3 said:
georides said:
Anyway, when anyone comes in with an electric car, the first thing the service writer/mechanic will think is, this guy/girl is loaded let's hit them up... truth is, I think a lot of us are "99%-ers" and are interested a fair deal :)
Really, do service writers actually do stuff like that? :eek: Shame on them. ;)

I've only been working there for a few months and the main difference I noticed right away compared to working at Pep Boys is that the shop/techs/writers have pretty much free reign to charge whatever they want. Generally the standardization is there but compared to the "corporate computer control" that PepBoys had over the systems, I see instead "generalized" labor times for repairs (aka 1hr to change some fan belts when the book says .7hrs) and this goes for markup on parts. The good news is this allows more freedom to the writer to flex the work order if additional repairs are needed (say we do front struts and then we find we need a camber kit to get the alignment exactly right).

But from some of my interviews with independent shops this is the case across the board, they often charge what they think they can, rather than what the manufacturer publishes. This is why I'm suddenly even more supportive of the Pep Boys model, because the standardization is there and the prices are fair (and often tend to shaft the tech (and writer) in benefit of "doing it for less".

Inevitably though, the techs at the dealer will know the brand a million times better than an all makes/all models shop, and have the best tools to make the repairs. Just get ready to pay (if you're not under warranty)
 
LTLFTcomposite said:
Welcome indeed!

And be sure and let us know when they figure out the problem with the brakes grabbing :D

I'll check the TSBs tomorrow on the service manual console (technical service bulletins = problems that Nissan is aware of with their appropriate fixes).
 
georides said:
I was shocked to read the post about a $600 flat tire. I just read in our NissanNet intranet that every EV dealer will stock 1 bridgestone tire for the LEAF which is cost around $115 I think. If you get a flat, there is NO NEED to change the TPMS sensor, only if it is damaged at the stem which never happens.

Congrats on your new Nissan dealership job and future LEAF. The TPMS can become damaged when the "Goop" is pumped in there (that the car comes with) to "fix" a flat.
 
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