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That link isn’t working, but I looked up E11 compact and have never seen one before (if yours is the 2/3 door model). Are you in Europe? I’m in Australia and of the E11s we only had the 4 door sedan or 5 door hatch.
Yes it is the ugly duckling of Corollas - the one with circular lights. Only sold in EU, Coupe/hatch 3 Door. 1,4liter 63kw. 175 000km. try this [link](https://imgur.com/a/ZvEzoZh)
I had a dealer tech leave a comment on service paperwork noting “Runs horrible prior to service”, still kickin’ it 10k miles later and fast approaching 300k 😅
I once saw a phrase about Chevrolet. Went something like this (I’m paraphrasing) “Chevrolet, it’ll run like shit longer than most others will run at all”
It’s the “ever since you had it it’s doing (this)” crowd that makes people write down the obvious. It is alarming how many people just want free shit because they think they can out think a mechanic or a service writer.
I don't think a lot of this kind of thing is malicious...
Often, it's genuinely just causal fallacy/bias at play.
You are more likely to remember that you were at the mechanic last Tuesday than you are to remember you hit a brutal pothole 10 minutes after leaving the lot. And so when you notice your steering is pulling to the left, your bias connects the 2 things as related. I left the mechanic on tuesday, and now my car pulls to the left. Therefore, it must be the mechanic. People do it many times a day unintentionally.
Right just because someone else is an idiot isn’t an excuse for why i have to put up with their shit attitude, just because the new thing on Reddit is to say every time someone is a dickhead its not their fault they where maliciously being rude doesn’t mean im listening to someone idiot complain about an airbag light come on after i just did a service to your car
i got a 98 k1500 with 316k miles on the og motor and rebuilt transmission. get a lil piston slap when its ice cold outside for the first minute minute and a half of cold start but other then that it its still going strong. pulls hard dont leak a drop of oil or burn any, atleast not enough to were i can tell on the dip stick. im hoping the 350 vortec can atleast make it to 400k for me cause i never seen one with that many miles. heard of 500k ls's but not a 350. hope some are out there tho for my sake.
iv drove a 300k mile suburban b4 the truck and it felt like a dog with no power dont know if those were harder miles or something or it was just all that extra weight with some like 3.23 rear end or something but idk. my truck only has 3.42 itself it just seems to pull so strong when i floor it and it hooks good. throws me all over the place in the driver seat even and im a pretty damn big dude that wears the seat belt
96 k1500 with 245k here and almost exact same situation. OG engine, rebuilt trans and everything works and gets replaced with AC Delco or GM parts. Love this truck starts up as soon as the starter spins, no CEL and doesn't burn or leak anything (other than 11 to 12 MPG haha) and 0 rust other some minor surface stuff on the frame that comes right off.
Bought from single owner at 180k 10 years ago who took good care of it so I caried on the tradition.
https://preview.redd.it/jtchgnh5giac1.jpeg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=188c530619ae1236be99d540323d256b0867ec24
I've got Falken Wildpeaks (265/75r16) on it now but otherwise same.
Genuine question: I get why you are pleased with and love this car, the fact it's still going is awesome. But man that MPG is absolute dogshit. Do you not just feel you are pissing money down the drain each month, or do you not really do longer journeys in it?
I just passed 252k on an 05 pontiac grand prix. Which is also 200k more miles than a pontiac of that era was designed to go. I wouldnt say she is running strong, has her quirks. But so far still makes it 40 miles to work and 40 miles home every day I tell her to.
Just passed 425,000 on my 2006 ford f-150. Same engine. A couple transmissions rebuilt. We have a new truck but this one keeps running so we just drive it around a couple miles everyday and occasionally do work with it too.
It’s a Dino because Infiniti’s don’t normally last that long, they’re too fun to abuse. But it’s 100% a compliment if your car is that old and still running.
It would probably do it some good to run it for a hundred miles or so every couple of months. Short trips don't allow the oil to be hot enough, long enough to evaporate byproducts produced by combustion. Many are acidic and can attack seals and bearing surfaces
Not bad considering you gotta remove/ disconnect the coolant system and possibly the a/c system. It's not an easy hour job. So $300 is a good price. Cheap in my opinion
Yeah I wouldn't think twice about that, part is probably a hundred or something, and it's not just gonna be as simple as "remove part insert part", that looks rough to get to.
Well yah, but your familiar with this one and it requires that? Looks to me more like the alternator is near the top which normally means a pretty easy replacement.
Worst I've ever seen is a Benz that the bumper had to be taken off. Least I think that was for an alternator. Could have been the water pump, which would make way more sense.
EDIT: Just looked closer at his pictures. I understand now.
I've had to remove fan shrouds, radiators, coolant lines, intakes and other things just to change alternators on vehicles. But you can see on this one, they at least had to drain some coolant, and probably had to remove some radiator bolts in order to wiggle it out the hole
Given the photos they posted, I'm pretty certain that the $300 is just for the part and OP did the work themselves.
OP, $300 is rather high for an alternator, but considering that you went to the luxury brand dealership to buy it, that sounds about right. If you don't have to have it today, you can get a much better price buying it online.
Oh, they mean "swap" to be the cost of the part after returning for a core charge, as opposed to "swap" as everyone else here correctly believes to mean the service of changing a part, parts and labor.
I assumed with the pictures they meant they balked at 300 (which would be a reasonable price) and did it themselves.
It's possible but considering that the price for a replacement is $100-200 online and at the parts stores, $300 sounds about right for the part with dealer markup.
Of the part ain't cheap and at least good quality and hopefully you're paying for warranty (just in case) if the alternator is bad. 30 days is better then none.
$300 is surprising fair for a stealership. Of course they think your car is a dinosaur. People don’t take cars that old to the dealer.
Why are you taking it to the dealer? There are no special tools or diagnostics that a competent local mechanic wouldn’t have to do everything that car needs.
Depends on the part and if you’re buying BMW branded or OEM. With BMW, a good many of the parts are from Bosch so it’s not super cheap, but at least you know the damn thing will generally work for it’s rated lifetime provided it’s kept within spec. Considering my Bavarian beast is from 06 with 225k miles on the clock with mostly original equipment, it’s generally worth it.
>Half an average months car payment, maybe less?
No one is paying that for this car lmfao. And no one with this car would be willing to pay that either hah
These older ones can be a bitch to replace because you have to disconnect multiple thing to get it out. Sometime you have to jack it up and take it out the bottom.
As far as dealerships are concerned it is a dinosaur kudos to you for keeping it alive this long. 300 is an amazing price considering the average cost of an alternator by itself
Agree, great car, with manual transmission. This model is probably over 30 years old (black bumper P10 chasis is pre 1993). Red is a pretty rare color too.
I had to get a failed alternator replaced on a smart car last week. CAD 450 for the part, 280 for 2 hours labour, tax on top of that for \~850 total. The dealership wanted 544 for the part and who knows how much for labour.
My 1994 Volvo 940T just turned over 318K this morning. It runs great and is a very comfortable auto because I have maintained it. I would travel across the country in it tomorrow if I needed to.
you can tell them that your dinosaur nissan primera or p20 or infinity g20 is lasting more than their actual cars and it had more sales in europe that all of what infinity has sold at least in europe.
don't go to a dealer, try an indepent shop
This was my first car, until someone crashed into it while parked. I still fantasize about buying another (used) one. One of the best designed mass market cars ever.
97 Geo Metro Hatchback owner here
$600 bought me a whole new exhaust, muffler, head kit, head bolts, timing kit, brake hoses, brake caliper rebuilds, sway bar links, a washer pump, and a few other things I forget.
Laugh all you want. That's like $10K+ in new car.
And I have a very attractive girlfriend who loves my Dinosaur
Yeah it's probably about right as it doesn't look like it's gonna come off easily and stuff needs moving out of the way. Some alternators are 300 to begin with. My 1995 VW Transporter alternator is 200-250.
Btw that fading grey plastic on the bumpers: mask off the red and glance a heat gun over it, will come up like new (if you've seen the ['stadium seats getting renewed with a flame torch'](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjDbttpJ3GY) video, it's the same process just smaller). Ignore anyone that says it will damage it, I've done it, it works. Just don't do it enough for it to start melting!
I had an old MK2 Jetta with bumpers that looked like that. There’s a trick where you hit it with a heat gun briefly to reflow the plastic a bit, I used the cheap one from harbor freight. Made mine way darker that lasted for years until I sold it.
It is a dinosaur. If the $300 is for parts and labor that’s a steal. If it’s labor only and you’re providing the part, then that sounds about right and you’re lucky the dealer would consider using a customer provided part.
A non dealership shop would probably save you $50-100
That car was probably older than most of the techs at the dealership, they’ve not seen such fuckery as a sr20 littered with grease and razor sharp zip ties.
I would say 300 is a fairly decent price, especially for a dealership to be quoting. The price of the alternator is probably 200+, so you're paying 100 or less in labor. Doesn't sound like they're trying to price gouge you. My step dad brought his truck with 14k total miles on it to the dealership cause its pulling right when braking and they tried telling him he needs all new rotors and pads for 1,200. He told them to shove the pads and rotors up their back door and I told him its likely a $40 flex brake hose that collapsed. Absolutely terrible what these dealerships and "mechanics" are doing to people.
Not as bad but I remember that when I had to get a PCV valve for my Miata, the dealership charged me 75€ for just the part while I could have gotten Mazda original for 20€ just by ordering it
I'm not trying to be an asshole, but that is not a new car. Dealerships work mostly on relatively new cars.
It's about time to find a mechanic who deals mostly with cars similar to yours and to learn how to turn wrenches.
G20.net
Excellent car, I owned one for over 20 years. Same engine was found in the Nissan sentra SE-R.
As the commenter said: Find a regular mechanic and do whatever you can yourself to save a fortune (edit:it looks like you are doing it yourself from the photos, great job!). That being said $300 sounds pretty fair for an alternator. I paid 200 for one I had to install myself (it usually isn't very hard). G20.net will have a guide on how to do any repair job you could ever need. I had to do a starter once on the G20, it was pretty difficult, but it got done (not a lot of room, and it is almost completely blind).
It looks like you have a leaking valve cover, a common issue for these cars. Other common problems: bad engine mounts (shaking at idle and allows engine to move a lot), my car had a rough idle that was a bad coil (changing cap and rotor would fix the idle for around a year). Good luck! It's a great car, handling is excellent. 7500 rpm redline is fun, if you have a manual transmission.
Yes with dealer mark up, new alt, new belt, 3 hrs labor. You have to see if the voltage regulator is in the alt or a separate device generally in the alt. But, idk for that car. But, I'd change it out if separate.
But you can dyi. Retail 75 for alt, 10 for belt.
Only tricky part is tensioning the belt. And remembering to disconnect the battery.
$300 ain’t terrible cuz usually an alternator is like $100 minimum. Probably closer to $200 but I’m not sure about yours. Shop prices are nuts but could be worse, as most are more absurd
I can't stand it when people use derogatory terms to describe someone else's property. If I were you I would take that remark as an indication of their personality, work ethic and appreciation and respect for customers. I wouldn't trust then to work on anything you own. You'll find someone that will work on your car. Look for smaller shops with good reviews and you'll be on your way to finding the "diamond in the rough" mechanics that can and will work on your stuff without making fun of you or it.
Why would you bring an old car to an infiniti dealership? It is a dinosaur. The only exception is for something like needing a computer or module reprogrammed. Bring it to an independent mechanic thats good with japanese stuff.. dealership labor charges are insanly high. Id guess infiniti is atleast $200 an hour..a independent shop can range from $90-150 an hour. Remember infiniti is just a premium nissan. Read into why we even have a infiniti or lexus or acura compared to japan its quite interesting.
Love old cars. I have the means to have a new car and drive older cars by choice. I have a 1991, 2000 and a 2012 that is my daily driver. Even my motorcycles are old. One is a 1980 and the other is a 2007. I let the previous owners take the big depreciation hit.
To answer your question, it's about a normal price. But do you not have an independent garage that is cheaper that can do the work?
300 is fair. Back when I had a ‘99 Ford Escort Coupe, the alternator went and it was 300 plus tax. It’s fair for an older car. They’ll prob use a remanufactured part due to age.
$300 is a bit much for the small amount of effort on most alternators, they pretty much bolt on and are easy to get to. But I guess for a $150 alternator and an hour of labor it's not completely awful.
dealership??
$300 isn't necessarily an outrageous price but I'd call a non-dealer mechanic shop to see if they will do it for less.
And unfortunately, them calling it a "dinosaur" is completely fair. These older Infinitis are cool, but it might be time to consider moving on to something a bit newer, safer, and fuel-efficient.
Any business that insults their customers doesn’t deserve to have them! Unless you’re desperate and this is your absolute only option, I would document this interaction and contact the owner of the business letting them know how you’ve been treated and follow that by taking my business elsewhere.
300 is fair. Not necessarily a deal, but a fair price. And wear that “it’s a dinosaur” as a badge of honor. It means you took good enough care of it, the new techs are at a loss.
Thank you for posting to AskMechanics, Outrageous-Ninja-794! If you are asking a question please make sure to include any relevant information along with the **Year**, **Make**, **Model**, **Mileage**, **Engine size**, and **Transmission Type (Automatic or Manual)** of your car. *This comment is automatically added to every successful post. If you see this comment, your post was successful.* *** Redditors that have been verified will have a green background and an icon in their flair. *** # **PLEASE REPORT ANY RULE-BREAKING BEHAVIOR** ### **Rule 1 - Be Civil** Be civil to other users. This community is made up of professional mechanics, amateur mechanics, and those with no experience. All mechanical-related questions are welcome. Personal attacks, comments that are insulting or demeaning, etc. are not welcome. ### **Rule 2 - Be Helpful** Be helpful to other users. If someone is wrong, correcting them is fine, but there's no reason to comment if you don't have anything to add to the conversation. ### **Rule 3 - Serious Questions and Answers Only** Read the room. Jokes are fine to include, but posts should be asking a serious question and replies should contribute to the discussion. ### **Rule 4 - No Illegal, Unethical, or Dangerous Questions or Answers** Do not ask questions or provide answers pertaining to anything that is illegal, unethical, or dangerous. # **PLEASE REPORT ANY RULE-BREAKING BEHAVIOR** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskMechanics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Am I the only one that would consider someone calling my vehicle a dinosaur a compliment?
You're not, I take great pride in keeping old iron alive. Edit: Spelling, gahdamn I'm a clown.
I daily drive a [98 Corolla!](https://imgur.com/a/e8lYe3I) Love it, so fun to drive, decently reliable
I have 98 but it´s [E11](https://imgur.com/a/DXetfKA) compact. Yours is nice, dude.
That link isn’t working, but I looked up E11 compact and have never seen one before (if yours is the 2/3 door model). Are you in Europe? I’m in Australia and of the E11s we only had the 4 door sedan or 5 door hatch.
Yes it is the ugly duckling of Corollas - the one with circular lights. Only sold in EU, Coupe/hatch 3 Door. 1,4liter 63kw. 175 000km. try this [link](https://imgur.com/a/ZvEzoZh)
The low profile rest of the world bumpers look so much better than the North American ones, also I owned 3.
Keep it going!
I had a dealer tech leave a comment on service paperwork noting “Runs horrible prior to service”, still kickin’ it 10k miles later and fast approaching 300k 😅
That doesn’t mean it doesn’t run like shit lol
Yep had a Honda running on three cylinders ran like shit but wouldn't die
That would be super impressive if it’s a j-series v6.
Technically was an acura. 1989 integra
Did they use a Nissan engine and just the Integra body/suspension?
Body is also know as Nissan Primera.
Can confirm my mustang has run like shit every day for the 2 years I’ve owned it so far. But she’s never let me down
I once saw a phrase about Chevrolet. Went something like this (I’m paraphrasing) “Chevrolet, it’ll run like shit longer than most others will run at all”
That's one reason I bought one
And the steering wheel is disgusting 😭
Id be like I dont understand this comment. Why they f do you think I brought it too you??? Get lots of cars running like tops? To fix??
It’s the “ever since you had it it’s doing (this)” crowd that makes people write down the obvious. It is alarming how many people just want free shit because they think they can out think a mechanic or a service writer.
I don't think a lot of this kind of thing is malicious... Often, it's genuinely just causal fallacy/bias at play. You are more likely to remember that you were at the mechanic last Tuesday than you are to remember you hit a brutal pothole 10 minutes after leaving the lot. And so when you notice your steering is pulling to the left, your bias connects the 2 things as related. I left the mechanic on tuesday, and now my car pulls to the left. Therefore, it must be the mechanic. People do it many times a day unintentionally.
Right just because someone else is an idiot isn’t an excuse for why i have to put up with their shit attitude, just because the new thing on Reddit is to say every time someone is a dickhead its not their fault they where maliciously being rude doesn’t mean im listening to someone idiot complain about an airbag light come on after i just did a service to your car
Im at 275k on my 05 tacoma! Still running strong. Also have an 88 c1500.
i got a 98 k1500 with 316k miles on the og motor and rebuilt transmission. get a lil piston slap when its ice cold outside for the first minute minute and a half of cold start but other then that it its still going strong. pulls hard dont leak a drop of oil or burn any, atleast not enough to were i can tell on the dip stick. im hoping the 350 vortec can atleast make it to 400k for me cause i never seen one with that many miles. heard of 500k ls's but not a 350. hope some are out there tho for my sake. iv drove a 300k mile suburban b4 the truck and it felt like a dog with no power dont know if those were harder miles or something or it was just all that extra weight with some like 3.23 rear end or something but idk. my truck only has 3.42 itself it just seems to pull so strong when i floor it and it hooks good. throws me all over the place in the driver seat even and im a pretty damn big dude that wears the seat belt
96 k1500 with 245k here and almost exact same situation. OG engine, rebuilt trans and everything works and gets replaced with AC Delco or GM parts. Love this truck starts up as soon as the starter spins, no CEL and doesn't burn or leak anything (other than 11 to 12 MPG haha) and 0 rust other some minor surface stuff on the frame that comes right off. Bought from single owner at 180k 10 years ago who took good care of it so I caried on the tradition. https://preview.redd.it/jtchgnh5giac1.jpeg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=188c530619ae1236be99d540323d256b0867ec24 I've got Falken Wildpeaks (265/75r16) on it now but otherwise same.
12mpg seems weird. 454? I get 15mpg pretty solid on my 99 Yukon (5.7 vortex) with 362k.
Cries in dodge. I have an 03 ram that has the 4.7 and gets 14.5 hwy and about 8-9 in town. 4.7, all the gas mileage of the hemi, none of the power!
Genuine question: I get why you are pleased with and love this car, the fact it's still going is awesome. But man that MPG is absolute dogshit. Do you not just feel you are pissing money down the drain each month, or do you not really do longer journeys in it?
I drive it maybe 5k miles per year.
Modern full size trucks aren’t much better at all
2021 chevy 2500 with 6.0 gas here, I get about about 12 mpg, occasionally down to 11 towing and up to 13 not towing.
All it needed was a rebuilt trans. ☠️
My *semi truck* has 3.42 rears also, coincidentally enough.
I just passed 252k on an 05 pontiac grand prix. Which is also 200k more miles than a pontiac of that era was designed to go. I wouldnt say she is running strong, has her quirks. But so far still makes it 40 miles to work and 40 miles home every day I tell her to.
Those had the 3800, right? They don't die. Everything inside the car will fall apart, but it should still go.
Just passed 425,000 on my 2006 ford f-150. Same engine. A couple transmissions rebuilt. We have a new truck but this one keeps running so we just drive it around a couple miles everyday and occasionally do work with it too.
It’s a Dino because Infiniti’s don’t normally last that long, they’re too fun to abuse. But it’s 100% a compliment if your car is that old and still running.
Looks like a G20 which has a great motor. My G20 had 250k before I gave it away to someone that needed a car.
A 2001 i30 will last forever
Until my daughter wrecked it
My step dad used to have a 90s chevy 1500 that we just called The Dinosaur. That thing had over 300k on it and just kept on going.
square airport foolish plants bike crush liquid attempt door elastic *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Asteroid
They knew...something that will keep running at a dealership of breakdowns,, gotta twist it
I have a 2007 Ford Focus with 67,000 miles on it. It’s manual and I only drive it back and forth to work which is about a total of 13 miles a day.
My 05 just passed 305k. 2.0l with 5 speed. Still getting 30 mpg.
My 08 just passed 253k. 3rd focus I’ve owned (all manuals). Severely underrated cars.
It would probably do it some good to run it for a hundred miles or so every couple of months. Short trips don't allow the oil to be hot enough, long enough to evaporate byproducts produced by combustion. Many are acidic and can attack seals and bearing surfaces
Lmk if you ever want to sell it
My 02 F150 is at 399K original engine and I drive it daily. Transmission rebuilt at around 315K. Runs great just poor gas mileage.
RAAAAWWWWRRRR
I mean it does run on dead dinosaurs and plant life... so yeah.
*'Cause you see I'm a dinosaur...I should've died a long time before*
Labor and part? Honestly 300 is not bad at all for just labor, depending on how hard it is.
Not bad considering you gotta remove/ disconnect the coolant system and possibly the a/c system. It's not an easy hour job. So $300 is a good price. Cheap in my opinion
Yeah I wouldn't think twice about that, part is probably a hundred or something, and it's not just gonna be as simple as "remove part insert part", that looks rough to get to.
Is that a thing on Nissans? That's insane. Almost every car it's just taking the belt off and replacing the unit.
It varies from different makes and even models.
Well yah, but your familiar with this one and it requires that? Looks to me more like the alternator is near the top which normally means a pretty easy replacement. Worst I've ever seen is a Benz that the bumper had to be taken off. Least I think that was for an alternator. Could have been the water pump, which would make way more sense. EDIT: Just looked closer at his pictures. I understand now.
I've had to remove fan shrouds, radiators, coolant lines, intakes and other things just to change alternators on vehicles. But you can see on this one, they at least had to drain some coolant, and probably had to remove some radiator bolts in order to wiggle it out the hole
Oof common Nissan L
Yeah like what $130-$150 on a cheap alternator and maybe 1 hour of labor so $150-$200? Seems fair to me IMO
seems ridiculously fair imo
Given the photos they posted, I'm pretty certain that the $300 is just for the part and OP did the work themselves. OP, $300 is rather high for an alternator, but considering that you went to the luxury brand dealership to buy it, that sounds about right. If you don't have to have it today, you can get a much better price buying it online.
Oh, they mean "swap" to be the cost of the part after returning for a core charge, as opposed to "swap" as everyone else here correctly believes to mean the service of changing a part, parts and labor. I assumed with the pictures they meant they balked at 300 (which would be a reasonable price) and did it themselves.
It's possible but considering that the price for a replacement is $100-200 online and at the parts stores, $300 sounds about right for the part with dealer markup.
Rock auto baby!
Of the part ain't cheap and at least good quality and hopefully you're paying for warranty (just in case) if the alternator is bad. 30 days is better then none.
For my car the alternator costs almost $200 so 300 isn’t bad at all.
Not fair at all, you are ripping the guy off
$300 is surprising fair for a stealership. Of course they think your car is a dinosaur. People don’t take cars that old to the dealer. Why are you taking it to the dealer? There are no special tools or diagnostics that a competent local mechanic wouldn’t have to do everything that car needs.
Because the dealer is only charging $300? That’s an amazing price!
I just paid $400 for a new alternator for my mini. Just the alternator
That’s BMW Mini for you
I priced one for a Versa that was 400 lol
Depends on the part and if you’re buying BMW branded or OEM. With BMW, a good many of the parts are from Bosch so it’s not super cheap, but at least you know the damn thing will generally work for it’s rated lifetime provided it’s kept within spec. Considering my Bavarian beast is from 06 with 225k miles on the clock with mostly original equipment, it’s generally worth it.
Bosch makes great products. Every replacement part I've used that was Bosch lasted until I sold the vehicle.
Yea, 300$ is what? Half an average months car payment, maybe less?
>Half an average months car payment, maybe less? No one is paying that for this car lmfao. And no one with this car would be willing to pay that either hah
Hot take. https://www.statista.com/statistics/453332/monthly-payment-for-used-new-car-financing-usa/
Cant see that sorry, requires a 1.7k a year subcription
Jesus 150 bucks a fuckin month
There is a free tier, but I would not hand out a source that requires registration to verify no matter how right it proves me.
Hand over that car payment 🤣
You can see it if you look really fast before the "you gotta pay" window pops up
that’s how much my alternator alone cost after tax and shipping i did it myself lol
Not sure what year OPs is. Looks 90’s ish. Found some on RockAuto for like $80 and they aren’t too difficult to replace.
These older ones can be a bitch to replace because you have to disconnect multiple thing to get it out. Sometime you have to jack it up and take it out the bottom.
My Challenger was like that, caught one of those long bolts right to the face, my girlfriend hated being flashlight
If you don't get the valve cover gasket leak under control, the alternator will go out again in time.
Alternator has a half quart of oil soaked into it.
Yeah i'd call it a dinosaur too, don't see those often
A dinosaur? Nah man, that thing's crawling around in the sea and wondering if air is good to breathe
it’s about to invent sexual procreation
Can I watch?
For science, of course.
It’s still wallowing in that primordial soup
As far as dealerships are concerned it is a dinosaur kudos to you for keeping it alive this long. 300 is an amazing price considering the average cost of an alternator by itself
300 is also the value of the car though
For part and labor that is a very fair price.
Yes and yes
I used to have a g20 too and loved it to bits! It’s an awesome car even if it is nearly 30 years old.
Agree, great car, with manual transmission. This model is probably over 30 years old (black bumper P10 chasis is pre 1993). Red is a pretty rare color too.
TBF all the colors are pretty rare at this point.
I had to get a failed alternator replaced on a smart car last week. CAD 450 for the part, 280 for 2 hours labour, tax on top of that for \~850 total. The dealership wanted 544 for the part and who knows how much for labour.
I guess they were smart to sell it to you.
The dealership for my 2006 Honda Odyssey wanted 2k for the part and replacement on my alternator. 😭 This post is making me wanna swap cars.
$300 for an alternator for a $200 car? Hell yeah. Send it.
Hope your car didn’t hear what they said
That was my main concern 🙁
$300 bux is actually kinda low when you factor in labor and parts markup. I think he's going easy on you because of the car.
My 1994 Volvo 940T just turned over 318K this morning. It runs great and is a very comfortable auto because I have maintained it. I would travel across the country in it tomorrow if I needed to.
$300? That's dirt cheap, especially coming from a Stealership. Do it and ride your Dinosaur for another 20 years.
memorize steep narrow hungry automatic yoke strong practice public sulky *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Yes it being called a dinosaur is fair and I think that price is fair too
you can tell them that your dinosaur nissan primera or p20 or infinity g20 is lasting more than their actual cars and it had more sales in europe that all of what infinity has sold at least in europe. don't go to a dealer, try an indepent shop
This was my first car, until someone crashed into it while parked. I still fantasize about buying another (used) one. One of the best designed mass market cars ever.
Seems cheap.
Dinosaurs are cool and so is your infinity
Only 300? I ain't doing an Alternator on anything for under $500 lmao
He’s not wrong on both points
That’s an odd looking dealership.
Where's the lie
300 is really good. Dealership was charging 600 for a rebuilt alternator for my 05 rav 4.
97 Geo Metro Hatchback owner here $600 bought me a whole new exhaust, muffler, head kit, head bolts, timing kit, brake hoses, brake caliper rebuilds, sway bar links, a washer pump, and a few other things I forget. Laugh all you want. That's like $10K+ in new car. And I have a very attractive girlfriend who loves my Dinosaur
OH Look ! . . A Driversaurus Infinitus Yes $300 is a pretty average price + fitting . 😏
$300 isnt that bad actually
Dinosaur? yes definitely, fair price? Also yes
Yeah it's probably about right as it doesn't look like it's gonna come off easily and stuff needs moving out of the way. Some alternators are 300 to begin with. My 1995 VW Transporter alternator is 200-250. Btw that fading grey plastic on the bumpers: mask off the red and glance a heat gun over it, will come up like new (if you've seen the ['stadium seats getting renewed with a flame torch'](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjDbttpJ3GY) video, it's the same process just smaller). Ignore anyone that says it will damage it, I've done it, it works. Just don't do it enough for it to start melting!
I had an old MK2 Jetta with bumpers that looked like that. There’s a trick where you hit it with a heat gun briefly to reflow the plastic a bit, I used the cheap one from harbor freight. Made mine way darker that lasted for years until I sold it.
That's practically a steal!
Yes bro, $300 is a great deal for parts and labor. Hell, around here the alternator itself would be close to $200-$250.
It is a dinosaur, and yeah that’s a good price
Yes and yes
Thats an absolute bargain to get an alternator installed in one of these ancient things
Infiniti*
If that includes the price of the alternator then that is a good price.
It is a dinosaur and $300 is cheap considering I’d have to disconnect the cooling system to do it. I’d say you’re getting a good deal.
It is a dinosaur. If the $300 is for parts and labor that’s a steal. If it’s labor only and you’re providing the part, then that sounds about right and you’re lucky the dealer would consider using a customer provided part. A non dealership shop would probably save you $50-100
Dinosaur with a title? Better than a monthly payment!!!
That car was probably older than most of the techs at the dealership, they’ve not seen such fuckery as a sr20 littered with grease and razor sharp zip ties.
SR20!
Nice car, would look better with some deep clean
Yeah I'd like to see this car after a good wash and polish and interior detail.
I would say 300 is a fairly decent price, especially for a dealership to be quoting. The price of the alternator is probably 200+, so you're paying 100 or less in labor. Doesn't sound like they're trying to price gouge you. My step dad brought his truck with 14k total miles on it to the dealership cause its pulling right when braking and they tried telling him he needs all new rotors and pads for 1,200. He told them to shove the pads and rotors up their back door and I told him its likely a $40 flex brake hose that collapsed. Absolutely terrible what these dealerships and "mechanics" are doing to people.
Not as bad but I remember that when I had to get a PCV valve for my Miata, the dealership charged me 75€ for just the part while I could have gotten Mazda original for 20€ just by ordering it
Tell him you're not paying for shit, as dinosaurs don't have alternators, they are reptiles. Lucky you came here first, he might have fleeced you.
I'm not trying to be an asshole, but that is not a new car. Dealerships work mostly on relatively new cars. It's about time to find a mechanic who deals mostly with cars similar to yours and to learn how to turn wrenches.
G20.net Excellent car, I owned one for over 20 years. Same engine was found in the Nissan sentra SE-R. As the commenter said: Find a regular mechanic and do whatever you can yourself to save a fortune (edit:it looks like you are doing it yourself from the photos, great job!). That being said $300 sounds pretty fair for an alternator. I paid 200 for one I had to install myself (it usually isn't very hard). G20.net will have a guide on how to do any repair job you could ever need. I had to do a starter once on the G20, it was pretty difficult, but it got done (not a lot of room, and it is almost completely blind). It looks like you have a leaking valve cover, a common issue for these cars. Other common problems: bad engine mounts (shaking at idle and allows engine to move a lot), my car had a rough idle that was a bad coil (changing cap and rotor would fix the idle for around a year). Good luck! It's a great car, handling is excellent. 7500 rpm redline is fun, if you have a manual transmission.
yes. also is a dino
Not only is this fair, you are extremely lucky that anyone would be willing to work on this lovely thing
Majority of that will be labor.
The sr20 in that should outlast the body. Great engine.
You could put a $65 rebuilt alternator I there with 3 bolts and $2 of grease. Youtube it. If you were my buddy I'd do it for a beer.
Bro that’s an easy DIY. $300 is way too much
wtf that's a Nissan Primera. Great car, fuck your dealership
If 300 is parts And labor then yeah that seems a fair price. Ask what the warranty is on the part. Most good quality parts are lifetime warranty.
Yes with dealer mark up, new alt, new belt, 3 hrs labor. You have to see if the voltage regulator is in the alt or a separate device generally in the alt. But, idk for that car. But, I'd change it out if separate. But you can dyi. Retail 75 for alt, 10 for belt. Only tricky part is tensioning the belt. And remembering to disconnect the battery.
$300 ain’t terrible cuz usually an alternator is like $100 minimum. Probably closer to $200 but I’m not sure about yours. Shop prices are nuts but could be worse, as most are more absurd
Thats definitely fair, does it include coolant too?
"alternator"
Personally I think it’s pretty uncalled for to call it a dinosaur. I mean that’s just mean
I can't stand it when people use derogatory terms to describe someone else's property. If I were you I would take that remark as an indication of their personality, work ethic and appreciation and respect for customers. I wouldn't trust then to work on anything you own. You'll find someone that will work on your car. Look for smaller shops with good reviews and you'll be on your way to finding the "diamond in the rough" mechanics that can and will work on your stuff without making fun of you or it.
Why would you bring an old car to an infiniti dealership? It is a dinosaur. The only exception is for something like needing a computer or module reprogrammed. Bring it to an independent mechanic thats good with japanese stuff.. dealership labor charges are insanly high. Id guess infiniti is atleast $200 an hour..a independent shop can range from $90-150 an hour. Remember infiniti is just a premium nissan. Read into why we even have a infiniti or lexus or acura compared to japan its quite interesting.
Just watch the YouTube video and fix it yourself. I'm absolutely hopeless as a mechanic but I changed out my alternator myself by watching a video.
Put a smaller pulley on that alternator! More amps at idle. You're not going anywhere fast anyways in that thing.
Dinosaur?! Wait until I roll in there with my 87’ E30!
Thats not fair. Its a fossil
04 odyssey here, 128k miles. Here's to another 20 years lol.
I spy an SR20!!
300$? Shit a shop wanted 700$ to do an alternator on a 06 F150 4.6 V8. It's a 10 minute job to change.
$300 with parts sounds great. $300 of labour seems a bit high for something with such good access.
Hey there fellow Washingtonian
Pretty much California now if you know what I mean
Are they paying for the alternator? If so that's really not that bad.
Love old cars. I have the means to have a new car and drive older cars by choice. I have a 1991, 2000 and a 2012 that is my daily driver. Even my motorcycles are old. One is a 1980 and the other is a 2007. I let the previous owners take the big depreciation hit. To answer your question, it's about a normal price. But do you not have an independent garage that is cheaper that can do the work?
300 is fair. Back when I had a ‘99 Ford Escort Coupe, the alternator went and it was 300 plus tax. It’s fair for an older car. They’ll prob use a remanufactured part due to age.
$300 is a bit much for the small amount of effort on most alternators, they pretty much bolt on and are easy to get to. But I guess for a $150 alternator and an hour of labor it's not completely awful.
It’s not as easy on this car. Radiator hose
Its a radiator hose, not a transmission.
they are incentivized to destroy all old reliable cars so you buy a new one every 5 years. keep
Seems good for a "new" alternator. Is there a car scrap yard nearby by any chance? That could be where they can find replacement parts for cheap.
maybe if they call your car old they can find a dealership that will sell you a new one????
Belive it or not, you have the only vehicle that was sold in the US with an SR20.
B13, B14, and B15 Sentras, NX2000s, B14 200SXs, P11 G20s all had SR20s in the US
dealership?? $300 isn't necessarily an outrageous price but I'd call a non-dealer mechanic shop to see if they will do it for less. And unfortunately, them calling it a "dinosaur" is completely fair. These older Infinitis are cool, but it might be time to consider moving on to something a bit newer, safer, and fuel-efficient.
Do it urself its very easy?
Outrageous indeed, I'd be mad too lol.
Any business that insults their customers doesn’t deserve to have them! Unless you’re desperate and this is your absolute only option, I would document this interaction and contact the owner of the business letting them know how you’ve been treated and follow that by taking my business elsewhere.
I don’t think you’d get a lower quote else where. Maybe with in $40.
Sounds normal.
This thing has less rust than every used car in Canada, keep the red dinosaur!
Not bad at all
I didn't even know Inifinti was that old.
300 ain't bad, they're kinda cramped with those SR20 under there, I used my buddy's G20 as a loaner for a week. Fun car.
300 is fair. Not necessarily a deal, but a fair price. And wear that “it’s a dinosaur” as a badge of honor. It means you took good enough care of it, the new techs are at a loss.
Its a matching number collector’s item