Warning, this is boring to most..... except me!!!

Read at your own risk LOL.


Well I was planing on waiting until the 1st of Feburary to order/buy my Z if I do or did decide on getting one. First of Feb I was going to have at least $10,000 set aside to put down on a red '06 base model, which is what I want, either that or one of the other cars on my list:-P kidding. The funny thing is that the other 2 cars on my list don't get much attention from me. One of them I only posted about 12 times to a group asking questions about it and the other one on my List 'Mustang GT', I never even bothered to join a newsgroup. So I guess it's fairly obvious I have been somewhat in denial about what car I REALLY want and like.

The thing is, I'm asuming I will have to order what I want. Even if I don't have to order it, I'm just planning on that being the case.

In fact I am going to most likely order it anyway and fairly soon too, for this reason...

If I wait until Feb when I have the 10G's in cash for the down payment and if nobody anywhere has what I want in stock, then I will have to order one at that point and wait until May to drive/own it. If I order it the 1st of November, I will get exactlly what I wanted and I will know exactly (within a couple weeks or so) when I will be driving it (in Feb) and I will get it possibly 3 months sooner that way, than if I waited and they didn't have any in stock.

Of course I won't have 10 grand in cash in November but I will have at least $5,000 to special order one. When it gets here about 3 months later I will have the remainder of my down payment set aside.

So since it will take about 3 months for a special order delivery, very, very soon, probably the first of September, I am heading down to the dealer to start talking to them about thier policies on special ordering a new '06 Z.

Like how much of a deposit they will want and how much if any of it is refundable if I don't like it in person, though I'm not worried too much about that happening. The worst that would probably happen upon seeing it in person, is all the blood would rush out of one head and down to the other one puahaha.

Also if it's all good sounding to me and I do decide to order it, I want to get pre qualified for the loan first, as well as get the total purchase price, monthly payments and APR all in writting.

I got scr3wed over last time a little bit on my last new vehicle purchase ( A Nissan too). They made it seem like the loan was mine and told me how much my payments would be. I drove away in my then new truck only to get a phone call a day or two later telling me they couldn't find a bank to give me a loan at the APR they quoted me, so I ended up paying a little more. I felt like they lied to me and I was pi$$ed for a few days but it was only a matter of like 20 bucks a month but still it pi$$ed me off because I was under the impression that it was a done deal. I have been told that it happens quite a bit. Well it won't happen this time otherwise I will steal the damn car:-D

I hope they tell me good things. I am actually getting kind of excited now because I mean WOW in a few weeks I will actually be talking to somebody about ordering a new car. It's not quite the same as driving it or bolting on the mods but at least it's a step in that direction:-D

Now I have lots of buying homework to do.

 

Phew lol that's a lot. I was somewhat in the same boat and had a couple issues. But I think my experience can help.

First, you should go to Consumer Reports and get a listing of the '06 Z. They cost you about $12. Nothing major. These things are GODLY. They show you the MSRP and invoice price of every model without options, then it shows the dealer holdback(the amount that they get for selling the car no matter what) which pretty much shows how much they can go UNDER invoice and break even. Don't even expect to get under invoice though. Expecially in the beginning of a new year. You could probably swing that on an '05 but not '06. Also, this report shows you the MSRP and invoice on every single option. I added everything I wanted up and had an exact invoice price. This was within $2 of the invoice the dealer had. So it is VERY acccurate. This is an invaluable negotiating piece.

From there go to the dealer and let them know what you are interested but at no point let them know that this is the only car you are looking at, or the only dealer that you are looking at. Make them work for your business. Tell them you want it at invoice and let them try to negotiate up, don't start at MSRP and go down. And never go by payments. Go by principal.

As for the down payment, $500 max. My dealer would take $500 minimum for an order. It should be refundable unless you sign something saying that you forfeit the money if you do not purchase the car upon delivery.

Before you sign ANYTHING make sure you get a quote from them and tell them that you are going to think about it and leave. Make sure they sign the quote or write it on company letter head so that other dealers see it as legit. Never order the car when you first walk in they will take you for more money. Take your quote to other dealers and let them fight over it and try to beat each others price. Once you find a place that is the price yuo want and/or are willing to accept have them run a credit check(don't let them all do it, each check effects your credit in a negative way). Have them approve you for the loan and give you an APR. Have them write everything down and get a copy of your order, both signed.

This is where my problem arose. Make sure to find out if they are "alotted" any orders for the Zs currently. My plan was to sell my primary car(eclipse) and use my beater all winter while I saved up with no car payment or big insurance payment and have a good down payment by spring, about the same time my orer would show up. BUT, what I didn't take ionto account is that nissan alots the dealers so many spots for orders. They are not going to let a company that sells 3 Zs a year to order 5 Zs in PA in December because obviously it is a risk that these will sit on the lot for a LONG time. My dealership in PA was not alloted any cars because of the fact that no Zs sell in the winter. So they weren't even ABLE to order it until March and I wanted the car in April. So I had to go find one in virginia exactly like I wanted. So make sure they are able to order the car before you throw your money down. I found out about this 3 months after I ordered...I was pissed.

I ended up getting an '05 DB Enthusiast Z for $99 over invoice. And have loved every second since I got this car. Enjoy it man!!!

 

Secure your own financing ahead of time and don't use the dealership. They will build in profit on the financing and on the car and make sure you are getting the car for a fair profit (I'd say $500 over invoice at most). Just tell them you don't want them to lose money but you don't want them to kill you on it either. Good luck!

 

This part may be difficult or impossible...at least the monthly payments and APR portion. My last car I special ordered from Pontiac (I know Nissan may be a little different), and they would not quote me an APR or payment until the car arrived. This makes sense if you think about it. Loan rates change very frequently, so it would be close to impossible to guess what the rates would be 3+ months down the line when your car comes in and is ready for delivery to you.

Same goes for trade-in values too...hard to put a value on your car now, not knowing what might happen to it or its book value three months in the future.

They might be able to give you a rough estimate on these items, but you probably wouldnt get anything concrete in writing.

 

That is true. But the MOST important part is the principal. I had them run the credit and it came to like 729 and they said that I will qualify for the best rate at the time the car does get there. And I did, and they held up to it, don't remember what it was but the Z is a ***** like that. Since it is the flagship it never really is included in the discounts like 1.9% APR. Just make sure you go to a respectable dealer. I have a REALLY nice one near me that asks me to stop by as I mod it lol. And they have given me no troubles, but I have heard that that is rare with Nissan and a lot are ******. I would ask around or on this forum.