Found a 08'. Buying it in a couple of days.

Any topics related to 2005-2012 R51

Moderator: volvite

cabinpath
Posts: 48
Joined: Thu Oct 17, 2013 12:53 pm

Found a 08'. Buying it in a couple of days.

Postby cabinpath » Mon Oct 21, 2013 3:51 pm

52k miles, SE, Tow package, grey... for.... $12k. From private party.

Is that a good deal?

Also, I am trying to figure out the SMOD thing. Should I bypass or replace radiator? what's the cost difference? I will need a mechanic for any of those options btw... I don't handle cars.


User avatar
doctahjones
Posts: 844
Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2010 11:08 am
Location: aurora, co

Postby doctahjones » Mon Oct 21, 2013 4:59 pm

seems like a decent deal to me. lowest i can find is ~$18,500 from a dealer.

unless you're going to be doing some heavy towing or going up 10% grade hills on a regular basis, just do the bypass.

i just bypassed mine, takes about 5 minutes (with a power screwdriver) to undo the bottom skid plates, about 5 minutes (if you buy the right connector the first time) to do the bypass, and about 5 minutes to put the plates back on. you don't even have to get -under- the car. i mean it's so easy my wife could have done the bypass for me if i were physically unable to do it.

also the bypass should cost you about $10 or less in parts, depending if you can buy the individual plastic pieces or if you have to buy a "connector assortment" to get the right size.

skinny2
Sponsored Member
Posts: 1531
Joined: Sat Dec 26, 2009 10:07 pm
Location: BFE, Ohio

Postby skinny2 » Mon Oct 21, 2013 5:51 pm

Is this a 4x4? Clean title? If so that's a great deal. I recently had a buyer lined up for my '08 SE 4x4 with 90k miles for $14k. I went the replacement route on the radiator.

cabinpath
Posts: 48
Joined: Thu Oct 17, 2013 12:53 pm

Postby cabinpath » Mon Oct 21, 2013 6:23 pm

doctahjones wrote:seems like a decent deal to me. lowest i can find is ~$18,500 from a dealer.

unless you're going to be doing some heavy towing or going up 10% grade hills on a regular basis, just do the bypass.

i just bypassed mine, takes about 5 minutes (with a power screwdriver) to undo the bottom skid plates, about 5 minutes (if you buy the right connector the first time) to do the bypass, and about 5 minutes to put the plates back on. you don't even have to get -under- the car. i mean it's so easy my wife could have done the bypass for me if i were physically unable to do it.

also the bypass should cost you about $10 or less in parts, depending if you can buy the individual plastic pieces or if you have to buy a "connector assortment" to get the right size.
I'm sold on the bypass. I am sure there are great guides out here for this. If it's that simple - I am doing it.

I am trying to close with this guy... I got a loan approved but he rather get cash than a certified check from Bank of America... Like really???? It's basically cash.

Hold your fingers for me that I can get him to go ahead tomorrow with me... Gosh' I want this car...

DanJetta
Posts: 478
Joined: Wed Oct 03, 2012 6:47 am

Postby DanJetta » Mon Oct 21, 2013 6:26 pm

The radiator/trannie are still covered under the extended 80K mile warranty, so you have a while before you have to worry about it. Put some money in a piggy bank every month so by the time you hit 80K you can throw in a new radiator. Or make it a part of your 100K mile service.

DanJetta
Posts: 478
Joined: Wed Oct 03, 2012 6:47 am

Postby DanJetta » Mon Oct 21, 2013 6:29 pm

That cash thing is annoying. Get the $12K in bundled $1 bills and give it to him in a brief case. Oh, or a duffel bag! In the desert!

User avatar
doctahjones
Posts: 844
Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2010 11:08 am
Location: aurora, co

Postby doctahjones » Mon Oct 21, 2013 6:30 pm

DanJetta wrote:The radiator/trannie are still covered under the extended 80K mile warranty, so you have a while before you have to worry about it. Put some money in a piggy bank every month so by the time you hit 80K you can throw in a new radiator. Or make it a part of your 100K mile service.
"covered by extended warranty" doesn't mean if you blow your tranny because the radiator failed that you get everything replaced for free. that only happens at 36k and under. after that it's a prorated scale for how much you have to pay (according to the letter i got from nissan about it). if it failed at say 70k, you're still out of pocket ~$3k i think. it's better than then $5k+ if you had no warranty, but still....

skinny2
Sponsored Member
Posts: 1531
Joined: Sat Dec 26, 2009 10:07 pm
Location: BFE, Ohio

Postby skinny2 » Mon Oct 21, 2013 6:53 pm

cabinpath wrote: Like really???? It's basically cash.
Not true at all. Most (probably all) banks hold cashiers checks because there is so much fraud with them now. The only way I'll take a cashiers check is if the buyer is willing to wait the 5-6 days for it to clear. Might as well just take a personal check.

Also, does he have clear title? Cash can be risky for a buyer if the guy has to pay off his loan. I've bought/sold a bunch of private party vehicles and there are a lot of ways to get ripped if you aren't on top of things.

User avatar
doctahjones
Posts: 844
Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2010 11:08 am
Location: aurora, co

Postby doctahjones » Mon Oct 21, 2013 8:07 pm

cabinpath wrote: I'm sold on the bypass. I am sure there are great guides out here for this. If it's that simple - I am doing it.
it's definitely that easy. i'd even give you my cell and i can walk you through it if you need.

here's my writeup on what i did:
http://www.thenissanpath.com/viewtopic.php?t=9717

cabinpath
Posts: 48
Joined: Thu Oct 17, 2013 12:53 pm

Postby cabinpath » Mon Oct 21, 2013 8:18 pm

skinny2 wrote:
cabinpath wrote: Like really???? It's basically cash.
Not true at all. Most (probably all) banks hold cashiers checks because there is so much fraud with them now. The only way I'll take a cashiers check is if the buyer is willing to wait the 5-6 days for it to clear. Might as well just take a personal check.

Also, does he have clear title? Cash can be risky for a buyer if the guy has to pay off his loan. I've bought/sold a bunch of private party vehicles and there are a lot of ways to get ripped if you aren't on top of things.
First, a certified check from bank of america is like cash. You are talking fake checks made out by individuals/small fake companies.. not really an apple to apple kind of comparison to say the least. When I make out a certified check it is made by me to someone else. Here, it is a check made out BY bank of america to someone else. Now, to forge their certification ,bank account, signature, and so on....... not easy. I wonder if you can show one example of this EVER happening... Examples of fake certified checks?? I am sure there millions but this 99.9% of them were "made out" by people or fake companies. Not by 'too big to fail banks'.

BTW - talking about 99.9% chances.... how about you hand over the cash and he starts running... hhhh. And don't tell me you won't hand it over until he signs the title and hands it to you because guess what... I will say: what if you sign the title and hand it over and then he starts running... hhhh.

Second, as far as I know he has clear title but guess what, not sure if you ever but a house before, when the bank gives you a loan - they are going to make sure you can pay it and that it is really a proper transaction. They do something called - "due diligence" which is why it is always smart to buy a house with a mortgage for example... The bank will make sure this is a sounds house because they need to cover their ass and it will cover yours. Same with cars.

If he has a 100k loan on the car - he is on the hook for it. No matter what. Just like if I quick claim deed you my house tomorrow... Guess what? You will have it even though I will be on the hook for the mortgage still....

cabinpath
Posts: 48
Joined: Thu Oct 17, 2013 12:53 pm

Postby cabinpath » Mon Oct 21, 2013 8:28 pm

doctahjones wrote:
cabinpath wrote: I'm sold on the bypass. I am sure there are great guides out here for this. If it's that simple - I am doing it.
it's definitely that easy. i'd even give you my cell and i can walk you through it if you need.

here's my writeup on what i did:
http://www.thenissanpath.com/viewtopic.php?t=9717
Thanks man! I might pm you about it soon ;)

I am really not going to wait on this bypass if I do get this car in the next couple of days.

I will basically never tow anything. I do drive from NYC to Port Jervis (200 miles round trip) 3 times a month. Plus I drive up to Rochester from NY (6.5 hours) at least 3 times a year. Too much for the bypass?

Just in general, how much will a radiator + labor cost me?

Funny that Nissan hasn't offered such a solution... Seems to make more financial sense than the Russian roulette of having a customer call up with a busted tranny and radiator.

User avatar
doctahjones
Posts: 844
Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2010 11:08 am
Location: aurora, co

Postby doctahjones » Mon Oct 21, 2013 9:24 pm

cabinpath wrote:
doctahjones wrote:
cabinpath wrote: I'm sold on the bypass. I am sure there are great guides out here for this. If it's that simple - I am doing it.
it's definitely that easy. i'd even give you my cell and i can walk you through it if you need.

here's my writeup on what i did:
http://www.thenissanpath.com/viewtopic.php?t=9717
Thanks man! I might pm you about it soon ;)

I am really not going to wait on this bypass if I do get this car in the next couple of days.

I will basically never tow anything. I do drive from NYC to Port Jervis (200 miles round trip) 3 times a month. Plus I drive up to Rochester from NY (6.5 hours) at least 3 times a year. Too much for the bypass?

Just in general, how much will a radiator + labor cost me?

Funny that Nissan hasn't offered such a solution... Seems to make more financial sense than the Russian roulette of having a customer call up with a busted tranny and radiator.
if you're not towing/hauling 5000 extra pounds everytime you're driving, and as you're not doing 70mph+ while in 2nd or 3rd gear for the whole trip, you'll also be fine. basically if you drive it like 95% of people do, then it's no problem. you also should have a small cooler in front of the radiator (lower drivers side) so it's not like you're totally taking out cooling. which technically under regular driving conditions the radiator will heat up the trans fluid since normal coolant temps on my bully dog show 190F but trans shows 150F. it's only when you start approaching the critical trans fluid temp of 220F that the radiator would provide any help.

from what i've read and what i've been told by shade tree mechanics, it's sustained high revs (like 4k+) and/or high loads (like towing/hauling an extra 2-3k lbs+) that generate excess trans heat. but again you should have a factory external cooler. i'll try to get a shot of it in a couple days, wife is taking my pathy tomorrow so i can take her volvo in for scheduled maint.

radiator varies from ~$120 for "cheap" aftermarket to $400 for nissan branded version, + probably 1-2 hours of labor (at what, $60/h?), + radiator refill + misc shop charges.

DanJetta
Posts: 478
Joined: Wed Oct 03, 2012 6:47 am

Postby DanJetta » Mon Oct 21, 2013 9:52 pm

The radiator/transmission issue is warrantied with no customer co-pay for 8 years/80,000 miles (http://www.nissanassist.com/web/Radiato ... hp?menu=22). 80K - 90K has a $2,500 co-pay; 90K-100K has a $3,500 co-pay.

I've been told that any coolant system modification (like the bypass) may void the extended warranty of both the transmission and radiator.

The radiator internal components failure seems to be linked to heat/cool cycles, which means the seal will fail even when it's bypassed. It'd be a shame to have a radiator fail at, say, 60,000 miles and miss out on a free replacement to an updated factory radiator.

cabinpath
Posts: 48
Joined: Thu Oct 17, 2013 12:53 pm

Postby cabinpath » Tue Oct 22, 2013 4:58 am

DanJetta wrote:The radiator/transmission issue is warrantied with no customer co-pay for 8 years/80,000 miles (http://www.nissanassist.com/web/Radiato ... hp?menu=22). 80K - 90K has a $2,500 co-pay; 90K-100K has a $3,500 co-pay.

I've been told that any coolant system modification (like the bypass) may void the extended warranty of both the transmission and radiator.

The radiator internal components failure seems to be linked to heat/cool cycles, which means the seal will fail even when it's bypassed. It'd be a shame to have a radiator fail at, say, 60,000 miles and miss out on a free replacement to an updated factory radiator.
That is right and will be a shame.

How do I confirm the 8 yr/80k is really for both radiator AND tranny? The reason I wanted to do the bypass immediately is because I thought it is JUST for the radiator.

User avatar
doctahjones
Posts: 844
Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2010 11:08 am
Location: aurora, co

Postby doctahjones » Tue Oct 22, 2013 5:24 am

DanJetta wrote:The radiator/transmission issue is warrantied with no customer co-pay for 8 years/80,000 miles (http://www.nissanassist.com/web/Radiato ... hp?menu=22). 80K - 90K has a $2,500 co-pay; 90K-100K has a $3,500 co-pay.

I've been told that any coolant system modification (like the bypass) may void the extended warranty of both the transmission and radiator.

The radiator internal components failure seems to be linked to heat/cool cycles, which means the seal will fail even when it's bypassed. It'd be a shame to have a radiator fail at, say, 60,000 miles and miss out on a free replacement to an updated factory radiator.

hum....i'll have to see if i can find that letter i got from nissan...i swear it was zero help after 80k miles.....


Return to “R51 General Chat”