A little background: I'm 24, and I graduated and started working for a very well known company in Indianapolis (anybody from Indy?) about 9 months ago. I'm ready to pull the trigger on a Z in the next 2 weeks and thanks to this board I have all my research done. I'm pretty much settled on an '05 Enthusiast in SB or PPW.

Today I made a trip to price a car out at one of the four dealerships around town. The salesman was a total tool and barely knew anything about the car. He kept insisting that they didn't carry the Base Z's there because "If someone wants that, we just send them to an Altima" or some crap...total moron. Then he starts trying to sell me on this used '04 and his big sale point was "Mike Vanderjagt bought that car for his wife and he wanted a new one"...dumbass. So I take one (actually Drunky Vanderjagt's) for a test drive because I've never actually driven in one. The guy kept making terrible comments and took me to a street with a 30 mph limit and "Danger Blind Children Playing" signs and told me to "open her up"...yea right dude.

So we got back to the dealership and sat down to talk numbers. He gave me the "I'll go work this out with my manager" routine. He comes back and has a total price for an '05 SB Enthusiast at $31,400 out the door. I started laughing because I knew the invoice price and had it printed out in front of me. I was planning to pay around 29,000 including taxes for the car. Then he goes into wanting 8500 down and $572 a month for 60 months....that's a freaking terrible interest rate to add to it. I showed him the invoice price I had and he took it "back to the manager" He comes back about 10 minutes later and says "well yea, I think we're going to pass." Pass? I didn't know that the dealership could "pass" on a person...hilarious. I laughed again and said thanks and as I was walking out the "manager" tried to ask me what it would take to make me happy....I just kept walking...*****.

My question is: Are there any solid dealers on this board? I don't mind driving a few hours one way or the other to help out someone who's honest and cool. Also, is 29k a reasonable price (including taxes) to expect to pay for the car? This experience has me considering other cars...bmw or mercedes probably.

Thanks for everyone's help, sorry for the length.

 

You should be able to get an 05 Enthusiast 29k OTD, since the Z market has been soft the last 2 months of 05 compared to 04. However, it might require some bargaining effort.

Bimmers are pretty nice, but the new 3 series will cost you well into the high 30's (if not, low 40's OTD). Don't buy a 325, UNLESS you are ABSOLUTELY sure you know what you are doing. In addition, you'll have to stomach their so-called "service" My brother likes his bimmer, but not the service peeps.

Mercedes ...... I'm too young to think about it atm. If you have the money to drop, pick whatever makes you happy. I hear their service is excellent, but like any luxury brand - you pay dearly.

Welcome to the world of car ownership.

 

i really had to fight for my price.... i got an 05 SB base for 25,500 + tax... sticker price was like 28,500 cause it had a frikken billet grille, which was 999 added to the sticker!

anyway, the day i was serious i wanted the car, i went to the dealer and got them from that 28,500 price down to just above invoice, 25,500... but as i said, i really had to fight for that price... i went through three managers to get that price, and and some points i was almost yelling at the managers asking them why they didnt want to sell me a car, and how 25,500 would be the price they had to give me to sell me the car.... anyway, needless to say i got the price i wanted and a bunch of free oil changes.. just let them know you're serious and that you mean business they'll take you seriously and then they'll work with you on getting the price you want

 

Thanks...thinking back I think they pretty much wanted me out of the dealership....I calculated out the financing he offered me and it came to 17%....lol. What a joke. You're right that I need to figure out what I want to pay for the thing, then head out and get it!

I found two different sources for the invoice on an enthusiast...one said 26.5, the other said 27. Does anyone know this for sure?

 

Dealerships are pretty much all stupid...Last time I was in for an oil change, one of the salesmen was trying to sell me a Z LOL.. I told him I already had one and he started asking me questions..long story short, I told him the only thing that I don't like is that the tranny doesn't feel very smooth until it's warmed up...He proceded to tell me they could adjust it to however I wanted LOL <--idiot

 

I got my 2004 Enthu with all options OTD for around 29k.

 

JThrilla:
First off congrats on the job. I am 23 and I graduated last May I work for a big company in Hartford. I know how lucky you feel.

That experience you had - sucks!
I have been to 3 dealerships to test the waters and practice my negotiating Never had an experience like yours.

Anyway the last dealership i went to was so easy! Sales guy didn't BS me, at least he admitted if he didn't know something. I respect that more than guessing. I went with my wife and we found one we liked. They let us drive it w/o the sales guy. (Never in a million would i think they would let me and my wife go alone) We get back and the manager called us right into his office. He shows me the invoice! He said i'll chage you ~ $200 above that. He put in 27,500 in his computer. (angled the screen so we could both see it) said 4.99% does that sound good?

At that point I was talking with another forum member about a slightly used 04' so I told them that. They were so cool not pushy at all. Very laid back.

I was impressed to say the least. So i will buy from them

Anyway I hope this helps.

Rob

 

Its threads like this that make me not care that I walked up to my dealership told them what I wanted, made them find it and get it for me, and then dropped down a check for MSRP price plus taxes and such. I might be the only guy that paid MSRP, but I got the car I wanted, and I didn't have to play games with the sales manager.

 

rxtrom: Thanks for the advice and story...it's definitely inspiring that there are good dealerships out there. I've since been calling to other dealerships around town and got one guy just on the phone to tell me he'd go $750 over invoice. It's still not what I'm satisfied with, but it's a step in the right direction. I also mentioned the name of my company at the end of our conversation, so I think that might have some weight in lowering the price.

As for the job, I'm not sure "lucky" is the term I'd use, haha.

KingTut, you're the first person besides a rapper that's paid MSRP....bling bling.

 

When they sit down with you and try to see "what payments you're comfortable with" just say "It doesn't matter. All I care about is the total amount I will be financing." It throws off their game big-time.

We did that and even got up and started to leave....they caved and we got the car for the exact price we wanted (it was used though). AND they paid licensing and registration when we said "Don't be cheap. It's only $200 and we won't get the car if you don't pay it since it changes our finance amount."

This was the first car purchase where we didn't trade-in and for the first time we came out ahead.

BTW, I really really dislike car salesmen.

 

I think you'd be surprised. I don't mind paying what an item is supposed to cost. I don't go to Wal-Mart and haggle with the cashier over the price of a gallon of milk, but sometimes I feel that some of the people on this site would.

 

haha, and I probably would too if it were socially acceptable, lol.

I think it's a pretty big miscomparison to talk about a gallon of milk and a sportscar. "What an item is supposed to cost" in this case is basically just what some dealerships want you to pay them.

 

I hate haggling, One reason I like Mossy Dealerships, they already mark down there cars anywhere from $1500 to $2500 below MRSP, I can live with that and I don't have to play any games to get my new car... lot less stress...

 

When we ordered our 05 the manager and I were discussing something totaly different like our Z club sponsorship and he just threw out the price he'd give me on the 35th and I told him to order it. The figure we came up with ended up being $62 less than what the invoice came out and I wasn't going to argue over $62.

 

1) Walked in.
2) Bullsheit about the Z.
3) Test drove.
4) Talked numbers; offered $500 over Invoice.
5) Ordered car three weeks later (approx. 10 days ago).

Should be getting an '05 PPW Track for under $36k OTD. If the taxes weren't so high where I register the car (8.25%) thenI could've probably got it for close to $35k OTD.