I say give your Lawyer a call.
Best chance IMO

 

Wow dude, you got SCREWED! You gotta be KIDDING me that they pulled this one. When buying a car, or any LARGE $$ product, make sure you're getting what you payed for. Sounds like someone just signed away and didn't read the fine print, or you DEFINITELY would have seen the word "BASE"...in fact, I'm quite suprised they were able to sell a base car under your nose. Didn't they write the VIN down in front of you?
You guys need car purchasing 101.

I'd get a lawyer and contact the BBB. Totally nuts

 

A verbal contract is just as binding as a written contract. Sounds to me like you did not get the consideration you agreed to. If you are not willing to push the dealer in this situation, he is going to get off as easily as you let him. I would suggest that you push for an enthusias model and settle for the difference in cash. If he is willing to trade parts, I would ask for that agreement in writing. The base model will not hold the same value as the enthusiast. I think you need to play hardball here IMHO. Good luck.

 

Whoa you paid for the Enthu...

I would immediately take a week of vacation from work, and live at that dealership till they gave me the correct car.

Call a lawyer or the police and figure out what you can say.

Calls a local paper and get them down there.

Just apply pressure. They know they did wrong, and they have the means to fix it.

 

Seems like the first thing that needs to be done is to verify whether your dad actually paid for the enthu model or not. If he did, that would certainly give you more leverage.

 

Hate to break it to you but a verbal contract is worthless. "Never written, never said".

The dollar amount and what the contract actually says is what is gonna determine what happens here.

 

Unfortunately this is true. However, Nissan knows they made a mistake. Everyone will know just from the price that you paid for an Enthusiast.

I think if you make enough noise (which you should), you'll get what you want.

Definately, call a lawyer. He'll be salivating at the mouth for this one.

 

well thanks for everyones input, they know know what they did or they wouldnt compensate us .. but they tell us that they dont remember the deal. i dont think well sue, the lawyer fees wouldnt be worth it. we paid 25,500 for it, since 05s are on the lot and my dad is tough on making deals. that seems cheap for a enthusiast, but the fact remains what the deal was made for. were just going to get parts, we just sent them a list. im happy with the car anyways and what we paid isnt bad for a base anyways.

 

At 25.5K, you clearly paid for a base. Sounds like a case of not dotting I's and crossing T's when it came time to sign paperwork. Too bad. The enthusiast really is a better car. The bad part is that from an ethical standpoint, the dealer is getting away with the age old bait and switch without even a slap on the wrist (the parts are likely negligible to them.)

Anyway, enjoy. A Z is still a Z, no matter how you slice it.

 

take a voice recorder to the dealer. dont' show it to them. make sure they say they did make a mistake. take that to the court. don't need a lawyer. then you'll be happy with your NEW enthusiast model.

 

Yup, doesn't sound like you have any ground to stand on. 25.5 is a base for sure. It sucks but ya gotta pay attention to the fine print.

 

The window sticker always reveals the MODEL and options, I take it your Dad did not looked at that before taking delivery.
TOO BAD!! Enjoy the car, the Base Model gives you more room for mods. See there is a good side.

 

$25,500 doesn't mean "base". I got a performance for $26,750.

on ALL my paperwork, it said 2003 Nissan 350Z Performance.

Does your paperwork say 2004 Nissan 350Z Base, 2004 Nissan 350Z Enthusiast, or 2004 Nissan 350Z?

What was the MSRP on the contract you signed? The contract MUST have MSRP and if the MSRP is closer to $27K than $29,500... well they it was written up as a base. Did you not look at the window sticker?

 

i have lost all respect for car salesman...
trefittyZ, it doesn't sound like you really care about the situation, rather your distracted by their offer of $1k of Nismo parts (at their cost) and your new car... If you make enough of a scene i am willing to bet that you can get A LOT more out of the situation... maybe you should tell the dealer you want everything that comes standard on an enthusiast model on your base, including:
TCS
LSD
HIDs

there is no way your going to get those 3 things after market for $2-3k (and that's before install)... not to mention if you spend the money to get them they're not going to be covered under warranty... that's why most people choose an enthusiast over a base model... it may not seem like a big deal now, but as the months go by your probably going to wish you had done things different

p.s. i doubt the dealer would be able to install some of the things like TCS onto your base, but maybe it'll help you out a bit more

and what is this BS about them not remebering the sale??? my salesperson still remembers my name, my car, and options i had when i went in to talk to him about 2 weeks ago about the '05's (no appt.) and he sold me the car over a year ago

 

alright, dealer just denied even spending that 1000 dollars worth of parts on the car. my parents friends that live across the street own a law firm and my dad is going to talk to them about the situation, maybe to make the dealer think were serious, possibly we might sue them.
we did wish that we used a voice recorder, when we called our salesman about the messup, my dad said "remember that enthusiast we bought last week"? the salesman said yes and asked how it was drivin and my dad said it was a base model. then the salesman said we better come in and sort this out.
About the window sticker, all it says is 350Z. no base or enthusiast and i checked all fine print on that and all paperwork we have.
heres the thing, the dealer had 3 silverstone 350zs, 2 that were 6 spd, one enthusiast and one base. we had drivin Zs at other dealers so there was no need to really go test drive. my dad told them he wanted a 6 spd enthusiast, in several colors, he liked the silverstone, so he told them he wanted the en. silstone. they mustve messed up on the order/form or whatever wether it was on accident or purpose. As for paying for a base, no we didnt, 04s were on sale since 05s were on the lot, my dad dealed them down further. msrp on a base is 26.5K so why would we pay 25.5 for a 04 base when 05s are on the lot, usually last years cars on lot drop 1.5-3K when the new ones come out and you make a deal. anyways, i dont know whatll happen, i guess my dad will talk to our lawyer friend tomorrow.
grrrrrrrruuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhh why me?

 

i say be happy with what you got and thank your parents everyday...

i was in your situation 3yrs ago, well somewhat...

when i turned 17 i had my eye on the brand new 3.5altimas, i was working full time for my downpayment and when graduation day came my mom surprised me with a 2.5s base altima.

I was happy that i got a new car without having to pay anything but i was also mad that i got the wrong car... even then i thanked my mom everyday for the car as if it was the exact one i wanted...

Be gratefull of what you already have...

 

He's grateful for what his father did for him. He's said so several times. No need to beat that horse any longer. As I see it, the only real issue is what do you want to do? If you just want to let it lie, it's your choice. If you want to think up a laundry list of parts to be supplied and installed by them, then I would suggest valuing those parts as best you can at dealer cost. Don't let them dump over-priced Nismo on you when they are only paying 60% or so to buy the part in the first place. Also, there are a lot of other parts out there that are better or at least as good as Nismo, don't forget them. (Read the issue of Sport Compact where they installed all of Nismo's parts and dynoed for a whoping 20hp or so. Sorry I can't remember the month, but I'm sure with a little searching you could find that article.) Finally, if in fact the deal was for an enthusiast, and you have evidence to that affect, I would insist that they give you what you dealt for. If what you have said is true, and you think that you can come up with sufficient evidence to prove your case, you have them by the ***** for breach of contract. However, before you get to court, in my state at least, we have a motor vehicle arbitration board which hears disputes such as this. Many times you can get exactly what you want out of the arbitration without going through the time and expense of bringing suit. Feel free to pm me if you have any questions you'd like to ask.

 

After reading all this, I will say this.

You are lucky that your parents have the financial means and desire to buy you a Z but that DOESN'T mean you should get f#$ked over and call it a day.

FIGHT this to the very end. I suggest you stop driving it all over the place... get you and your dad down to the Nissan dealership ASAP with ALL your paperwork and get it figured out tomorrow. The more it drags on, the harder it will be to find resolution.

Good luck - and really, the TCS, HID, LSD, Cruise Control, increase resale value are ALL worth the hassle. Don't settle on the base if that is not that you bargained for.

Unless they are willing to give you: Nismo wheels + sweet tires, Nismo exhaust, NISMO shifter ****, NISMO floor mats, NISMO bodykit. Yep, that'd be worth it then!

And you are right about the price of the Enthusiast. In 2004, someone I know got a 2003 Enthusisast for 24,500... so I am pretty sure your $25,500K was for a 2004 at the beginning of 2005 model rollout.

Don't let these guys push you into thinking you "deserve" your fate or should "settle for the base"!

PS. To all you base owners out there, no love lost. I'm not trying to talk down to the base - I'm just saying the man went for the emthusiast. If you were going for a 911 Carrera 4S and they gave you a 911 Carrera S, you'd be pissed... not to say the Carrera S isn't an amazing car.

 

But you are missing The LIMITED SLIP DIFFERENTIAL. A sports car without a LSD is kinda a downer. Bigtime.

It's safer to drive the roads with a LSD.

TCS almost got me killed one time. I pulled out in front of a truck, stomped it and got nothing. except "SLIP" "SLIP" "SLIP". Scared the S outa me and my wife. You can't turn off TCS within about 5 seconds of a "SLIP" event. IF you are slipping and want to kill the TCS in the middle of the slip, the button does NOTHING!

 

Then you either read the wrong window sticker or read it incorrectly. The window sticker on the car that shows all the options, MSRP, dealer installed options, etc. also indicates the trim (base, enthusiast, performance, touring, and track).

Actually, now that I think about it, a BASE 350z would not have the trim identified since it is the BASE model. Only the Enthusiast and above would indicate the trim.