Passenger side, inside door panel needed

[Oldpirate]

Does anyone have a gray-colored passenger side, inside door panel from a 1995 Pathfinder to sell -- preferably in west michigan? I find it unbelievable, but my local Nissan dealer says that to tear out and replace the locking mechanism in that door, they must somehow destroy the whole panel and replace it with a brand new one. We're talkin $500 for that assembly alone!

I've opened and re-closed the door panels in 2 other cars (older bmws) over the past two years and never had to do this.

Am I being cheated here?

No wonder everyone hates their dealer.... (generalization, I know...)

Help please!

Craig

[Oldpirate]

Clarification. Door panel must be destroyed because door cannot be opened, therefore panel cannot be pulled off in the usual fashion. Anyone know a goood car thief in West Michigan? I'm going to try to jimmy the lock and save $500!

Craig

[Oldpirate]

I'm getting a complex replying to my own posts.

FYI: Don't let anyone tell you that the inside door trim can't be removed without being able to open the door. I just saved myself $500 by removing it while the door was closed. The dealership wanted to destroy it to get to the broken locking mechanism.

Hopefully they can repair the locking mechanism and re-install the door panel. The only thing I broke was the cliips, which are cheap.

(Too bad I just spent $100 on a used door panel! Anyone need one?)

Craig