Any Mod Friendly Dealers in MD Area?
 

So I found out that my car has the trunk hatch issue so I have to take it to a dealership to get it fixed. I have heard that some dealerships are more mod friendly than others. I don't have any performance mods at the moment, but I figured I might as well start building a relationship with one that is. It might help me down the line when I do decide to get them. Any thoughts/experience would be very appreciated. :tup:

Whats the trunk hatch issue, is that a recall or something?

It was a technical service bulletin (TSB). The trunk hatch is supposed to open with one push of the button that's underneath it, but mine doesn't. I have to push it twice and hold it while I lift the hatch myself. I always just thought it was a stupid design choice by Nissan, but I found out from another thread that it was an issue a lot of people were having. I guess it's kind of like a recall, but less severe of an issue. The dealership should fix it for free though :)

Yeah, TSB is a little different than a warranty issue, as it is a known factory defect. Essentially when Nissan issues a TSB for a car, it's them saying, 'we screwed up somewhere, and if your car does this, it's our fault and we'll fix it.' Regardless of your modifications, any Nissan dealer should repair this for you for free, without question. Sorry if that may have come across the wrong way; I'm not trying to diminish what you've done to your car, just pointing out the fact that you have not done any extreme modifications to the engine, drivetrain, or electronics or any modification that would cause factory parts to fail.

For warranty work, you'd want to find a mod-friendly dealer. Sheehy Nissan in Annapolis have been pretty good with our GT-R guys. Keep them in mind, along with any other dealers recommended by other Mid-A members.

-J

Thanks Jon! Yeah I haven't done any performance mods yet, but plan on doing some in the future. I thought it would be more beneficial to me if I find a mod-friendly dealership now and start building a relationship with them. This way, when I do eventually get the mods they will be cool with it and more likely to help me out than if I was just some random guy with a modded 370Z looking to get some work done.

BTW the plan for my performance mods include: hfc, intake, exhaust, and maybe a pulley kit. Nothing too extreme, but I want to avoid experiences like Tony's when a dealership told him to never come back there because he wanted to get hfc's installed.

Lol, yeah I remember that. Brown's Nissan I think; I'm sure Tony will chime in and let us know. Basically, a dealer's worst nightmare the following scenario; If they have a modified car in their repair facility one of the dealer employees ends up damaging a part that THEY can't replace(i.e., factory Nissan part they can grab off the shelf), they have to come out of pocket to replace the aftermarket part. And building a good relationship with the service writer/technician is a really good idea. One of our GT-R customers has a such a good relationship with his dealership, he avoided being 'blacklisted' when he was having trouble with his GR6 transmission. They repaired the problems he was having under warranty, even though his car is far from stock. Nissan have, and will blacklist GT-Rs VIN numbers nationwide if they feel the owner is in violation of 'engine safe' modifications.

Most dealers shy away from lowered cars, cars with body kits, titanium exhausts, etc. for this exact reason. It's much cheaper to replace a factory Nissan part than it is to replace a Powerhouse Amuse VESTITO kit on a show car. Some dealers are an exception, but most will exercise their right to refuse service to you. You should be ok with your basic intake, hfc, and exhaust, but just to be on the safe side, look over everything before you pull off the lot. If you can, keep an eye out for 'joy-riders' as well with your Z. Lots of 17-18 year old lot attendants or service apprenticeships looking to take advantage of the opportunity to drive a Z for the first time. I've no problem with that, just do it on one of the dealers cars, not mine. :tup:

Just my .02

-J

Dude, you guys RULE, I enjoyed reading the prior posts, very good information!

Thanks again for all the great info Jon! I'm gonna give it a few more days for some other Mid-A people to give any suggestions, if not then Nissan of Annapolis is the way to go. Will definitely stop by to check out the shop if I end up there. :tup:

I had one salesman at Tischer Nissan in Laurel take me on a test drive in a manual 370Z just so he could drive it. I had told him that I can't drive manual and am only looking for an auto, but he insisted on showing me the SRM feature and the capabilities of the LSD. Of course by this I mean he went to a nearby empty parking lot to do donuts. :icon17:

Passport Nissan of Alexandria was the shop that told me to get out. And yet all the salesmen love my car.....go figure!

Good thing I'm in MD and not VA :icon17:

So Tony, when are you gonna make it out to one of the Mid-A meets? I think you're the only one I haven't met in person yet. I also want to check out the Smurf in person :tup:

Soon......shes getting the last little bit of the upgrades done. Hoping it won't take too long but I'm guessing I'm looking at about 2 weeks. The hood is going to take awhile because this body shop doesn't want to paint it and install it just willy nilly......they are going to do a lot of fitment and fabrication, if needed before finally painting and installing it. And there's going to be a total dash tear down to swap the amber dash lighting out with blue. I hope to have the Z back on the road before the end of the month....at least that's the goal. :tup:

:excited:

......oh, and the Central 20 side skirts are going on, too. From what 370ZTune told me, I'm the only one to purchase those side skirts in the US and also the same goes for the AbFlug rear bumper. The bumper is expected to arrive in California on the next container ship! :woot:

Tony.. why arent you coming down for march 19th...