FX Ownership without Dealer support

F

fxter

Member
Location
State College, PA
Hi All, I've had my heart set on owning a FX since I first saw one. I'm finally ready to make it happen! I have my eyes on a 2009 FX35 with 50k miles for ~$20k.

I've been lurking for quite some time, and while clearly the FX's are reliable vehicles, I have read some threads that have given concern that owning a FX may not be the best for me as I live in a area without a Infinity dealer.

There is a local Nissan dealer, so I imagine getting the engine itself worked on shouldn't be an issue, but what about stuff like flashing/resetting firmware/computers/etc? Towing to the closest Infinity dealer is out of the question... it's 100 miles away! Top that with the fact that when I asked the Nissan Service Manager about working on a FX she suggested I buy a Rogue instead noting "They are the same car". Ugh!

Any advise? I'm all ears! :)

Thanks!
 
You shouldn't have issues with using Nissan at all. Have never had any major problems with my FX or my M35. Just normal maintenance stuff which Nissan should be more than capable of doing. I actually prefer using one of my local Nissan dealerships over the local Infiniti dealer. My local Infiniti dealer has a moronic service department and a scumbag for ownership.
 
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I had an 08 fx35 brand new till last year when I traded it for a2012. Never had any major problem with the FX. I took my 2008 fx to Nissan for certain jobs specially since they are basically half the prize and are using Nissan parts like Infiniti is.
 
I'd be wary of taking to THAT particular Nissan dealer if the service manager thinks the rogue and the FX are "the same vehicle"
 
I have my FX since 2013, and my town doesn't have an Infiniti shop. I haven't had any major problems so far. I visit bigger cities once every couple of months, so I just schedule anything Infiniti related. I also do my own maintenance, so that does cut down a lot of trips to the dealerships.
 
if the car is out of warranty, I never go to the dealership. Why would you pay premiums when you don't have to. I fix the car myself or get a shop to do it for cheaper.
 
worse part is if the FX needs parts or something needs to be done at that nissan dealership, the service manager will install rogue parts instead lol
 
Your closest dealer I think is in Wilkes Barre which is only about a 1hr drive from state college.... worth it to go to an actual infiniti dealer.

I drive ~1hr to go to a specific one near me while there are 3 others closer....

Try to contact them about work... if you're in a bind the Nissan dealer should be fine (I have gone to one when I was at school near Lewisburg PA) but you have an Infiniti Dealer 1hr away - not a big deal.
 
Mechanicsburg Infinity (outside Harrisburg) is 104 miles from my house. Wilkes Barre is 150 miles away. Either one would be fine if the car is in good running order. My concern is that the FX would develop an issue where it is not in good running order, and for some reason the Nissan dealer would not be able to repair.

The main fear in my head is that the 7 speed transmission would develop some weird issue where the fix would be to flash or reprogram the ECU, however, and please correct me if I'm wrong, I don't think Nissan has the 7 speed trany in any of their fleet... they are all CVT... so I'm imagining a situation where I would basically have to tow the car to an Infinity dealer.

I'm feeling better with everyone's responses - I think it would be a very rare situation indeed where the FX would leave me in a bind that neither my competent mechanic (only took 20 years to find one!!) nor the Nissan dealer could get me out of... and I could always rent a U-Haul with a tow bar and drag the FX back to momma myself if need be.

Going to go (hopefully!) buy the FX tomorrow. Wish me luck!
 
np20412 said:
I'd be wary of taking to THAT particular Nissan dealer if the service manager thinks the rogue and the FX are "the same vehicle"
Click to expand...

Exactly. Rogue is front wheel drive or AWD. FX is rear or AWD. Very different drivetrain configurations. Not at all the same and very few shared parts.

The type of work done at dealerships can be done anywhere you find a trusted shop. The key is simply finding one, which isn't always simple.

If it came down to absolutely needing a dealership and it was 100 miles away, I wouldn't blink. That's not far at all for a trusted shop. WAY too far for a shop you don't trust.

And if you are going to be an owner, you MUST stop misspelling the brand! INFINITI
 
If it's for regular maintenance then I don't see a problem going to the Nissan dealership. I've went to them myself since the Armada and QX are basically the same under the hood.
 
I have been taking my car to my local Nissan dealership who does a darn pretty good job than those clowns in West Houston Infiniti who messed up the first three of my visits. You should be fine. Nissan and Infiniti share many common parts. You will get the same level of service expertise for a lot less.
 
Lol. You just discovered one of the two universal mortal sins committed in iS. No 2 is calling the FX / QX a truck.

All is good. Our way of showing our love towards our vehicles.


Sent from my iPhone
 
A trusted and capable mechanic is more valuable than a dealership.
And a great dealership is definitely worth the drive. I also pass 2 closer Infiniti dealers to drive 45-60 minutes to my preferred Infiniti dealer. And well worth it!
I've never had any service done at a Nissan dealer. I don't think they have the premium cookies and coffee that I'm accustomed to at Infiniti. :bulgy-eyes:
 
I usually would purchase the part myself and bring it to them. Autonation Nissan of Katy Service team are very good. They are top rated in the country and one of the few Nissan's that has a qualified master mechanic that services GTRs.

West Houston Infiniti who ironically is the first Infiniti dealer in the country had a bunch of morons in their service department. I posted a thread here about bad experiences I've had with them when I moved to Houston. They screw up all 3 consecutive service visits. I hear Clear Lake Infiniti is good but just too far from me. Sewell Infiniti also provides one of the best service I've had, again, too far about 40miles from where I'm at.
 
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I actually have driven close to 40 minutes to go the an Infiniti dealer bc they have better deals then two other Infiniti dealers that are like 15 minutes away from where I live. I also have gone to the Nissan dealer just to avoid paying double the price for basic stuff being done to the fx at my local Infiniti dealer.
 
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