Woman Takes Her Nissan to the Dealership for Oil Change. Then She Sees How Much It Costs to Replace Lug Nuts

A mom was shocked by the quote she got from a dealership after bringing her Nissan Pathfinder in for an oil change and tire rotation.

Christie Crosslin-W’s (@christiiiiieee) experience has prompted a discussion about dealership prices.

“So, I literally despise going to get my oil changed … at the dealership,” she says in a TikTok. According to her, this is due to service center employees giving her incorrect estimates as to when she should return to change her oil again. Crosslin-Wi explains that she almost always disregards their suggestions, opting to bring her vehicle in every 5,000 miles.

She also doesn’t opt in for any ancillary services offered by the dealership, she says. Instead, she says she only ever brings her car in for tire rotations and oil changes.

Her husband historically does any other work that needs to be done on her car, Crosslin-Wi says.

She adds that the only reason she even brings her car in for service at the dealership is due to its warranty. She doesn’t want the dealer to try and argue that any previous services weren’t performed correctly, hence why she opts to have them done at a dealership.

How Much Did the Lug Nuts Cost?

During a recent visit to the dealership, she says she was sent a text message recommending five separate services. She declined all of them, but took note of one recommendation she found particularly egregious: a $400 lug nut replacement.

“Never hit decline so fast. I’m already spending a hundred and thirty some odd dollars just to get my oil changed and my tires rotated. I am not spending four hundred dollars on some lug nuts,” Crosslin-Wi told her viewers.

When she was paying, she says an employee brought up the $400 lug nut charge, and said the same parts could be found on Amazon for $25.

Crosslin-Wi speculates that the upcharge may be because she’s a woman.

This could be true. Edmunds cited a study that shows women are, on average, hit with higher automotive service and repair quotes more when compared to men.

Others have also tested this theory with undercover shoppers.

Other studies have also found that repair pricing seems to be affected by perceptions of consumer knowledge. Those who are more aware of market prices have been found to generally be quoted lower rates.

‘Seems a Little Excessive’

Crosslin-Wi notes that swapping lug nuts is generally an easy task anyone with a tire iron can perform.

“I’m already being overpriced for the oil change, okay? So quit trying to add on, quit trying to add extra things because guess what? Me? Decline. I’m declining it every time. If Chris thinks we need it, he can take it back and get it. But until then, I’m just there for the oil change and tire rotation, don’t be giving me anything extra,” she says.

Others shared their disbelief at the lug nut swap expenditure. One penned, “I could see nuts and studs being a little pricey but dayum! I wouldn't pay more than 100 bucks installed for lug nuts since they take them off anyway for a rotation.”

Another said that dealership employees have to make these recommendations and rejected the assertion that women are easy targets for unreasonable up charges.

“As a female service advisor, we don’t try to con women,” she wrote. “We also hate the prices ourselves. However, this is part of our job. We HAVE to send your inspections. If we don’t we get in trouble. Also if we don’t tell you you need things and you break down or a tire blows etc, we are liable.”

Motor1 has reached out to Crosslin-Wi via TikTok comment for further information. We’ll update this if she responds.