MallocFailure

So I went to Stanford Nissan in Palo Alto today with my bass (looks like a big cello, in case you missed my previous post on this subject!) to see if it would fit in the passenger seat... anyway, if you take the headrest off, slide the seat all the way back, and recline it as far as possible, a bass will barely wedge in So that's great news, cause now I know I can get a Z =)

Anyway, the saleswoman told me "If it fits, we'll have to talk numbers." I was so happy that it fit, I (foolishly) agreed. (I really need to wait a few more months before I buy a Z, but I just needed to know if my bass would fit -- if it wouldn't have, I'd have really started looking at other cars.)

Anyway, long story short, but I ended up leaving pretty unhappily because of the sort of sales tactics I was running into:
- I (stupidly) gave them my keys so they could 'appraise' my trade-in (a 98 integra). When I started getting fed up and wanting to leave, I had to ask 3 times to get my keys back! Each time I'd ask, the saleswoman would leave and bring back a different salesman to try to figure out "what they could do to get me in a vehicle today." I really felt trapped and just wanted to GO.
- She wouldn't listen to my numbers. She kept asking what payments I was shooting for. I've run the numbers, I know what payments I'll get. I wanted to know the cost of everything.
- When she finally showed me numbers, it included LoJack for $999, some kind of truecoat for $999, gap insurance for $500, and the extended warrantee for $1999! I want *none* of that, especially at those prices!
- They tried to run credit checks and get me to sign or initial things MANY times. I was able to avoid all of it. (I know my credit score, and I'm going to avoid dealer financing.)

Anyway, it was much more frustrating than I was able to express here. I really felt that I was being played.

Now, they ARE selling at MSRP. Magnussun's Nissan in Fremont (about 20 miles away from Stanford) is selling for > $5k over MSRP still!

Anyway, I gotta wait a few more months to see if my finances are really in order. I'm also hoping stock levels will rise and I'll be able to get a decent amount under MSRP -- as it stands, there's not much room to negotiate it seems.

I just thought I'd share that with ya guys.

George

D'oh

I preordered my Z at Freeman Nissan in Santa Rosa. They were MSRP straight up, no haggling, no extra crap, and we agreed on the final price without them trying to run all the financing BS. The finance person pushed the clearcoat crap and the extended warranty a little heavily, but that was about it. The sales people were all very nice and professional. I don't know if it was like that for pre-orders only, but you may want to check them out.

-D'oh!

The Brickyard Rat

iTrader: (1)

Car Broker.

Brando222

iTrader: (4)

Call Russell Gesher at Boardwalk Nissan in Redwood City. Got my Z from him, just mention my name (Brandon) and he'll hook you up. No bullcrap, and he could put your order in now to your specs, and you would get the car in 3 months. Perfect timing to get your finances in order.

Intrepid

MallocFailure,
Do yourself a favor and go to another dealer. Maybe I'm spoiled (my dealer Habberstad Nissan on Long Insland, NY is the #1 rated dealer in the US for customer satisfaction), but you deserve better!

rouxeny

Go to another dealer. If you're interested in a Z now, you should be able to find one at MSRP, possibly even a little below by shopping around. Find a dealer who doesn't screw around, there are plenty in CA.

Try PM'ing some of the CA people here and ask them how their dealership experiences were. I think you'll find somewhere to go that way.

reen

You probably can find a better deal than we get down here in LA, but I had a good experience. I paid MSRP, no extra crap, non-pushy salesman. I got what I wanted for my trade, but really had to fight for that.

I bought through Simon Aron, the Internet/Fleet Manager at Downtown LA Nissan. It has been my experience that the internet guy is less of a pushy salesman type and can give better prices in order to gain internet reputation for the future.

People were paying 3-5k over MSRP on the floor, and I got MSRP in the next room

Besides, driving your Z home up the PCH would be worth all the trouble of coming down to this hell-hole.

spf4000

You can get a Z in the bay area right now for under MSRP. Several members, including myself, have done so already. Check out this post:

https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....threadid=18097

NissaNZ

Sorry to hear about your experience MallocFailure, I have also ran into a few of those jack *** dealers. Just go to a different dealership, don't give up hope. BTW are you a programmer?

MallocFailure

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I'm definitely going to take my business elsewhere. Thanks for all the recommendations on where else to look. This will be the first car I'm buying completely on my own, so it's a bit of uncharted territory for me!

And I definitely have a programming background, NissaNZ -- like my name could imply anything else

bluefish

https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....threadid=17871

Please visit this thread..

so sorry on behalf of professional dealers...
Their is abetter way to buy a sports car..

Dan

Shame on them..

duc996

If you want to drive to KC, the salesman I worked with up here was very knowledgeable and helped me out great.

I just stoped in to see if I would fit in the car.

fosterspecial

I cant believe they still charge MSRP in CA. I live in AZ and got a Z for 1000 below MSRP with no additional dealer fees except a 289 doc fee. Go throught the fleet manager. much better than sales department.

phreezee

GAP insurance is a good idea. I bought it immediately after getting my car. Think about it, if you write the car off within 2 years, you get the full value of the car back. No Depreciation!

WayneTN

I bet if you had said, "I want my keys back within 60 seconds or I'm calling the police" would have worked.

There are better dealers.

WayneTN

aelius

As others have said, walk away from these people.

There are too many professional dealerships in the Bay Area for you to have to contend with the equivalent of a salesman's foot in the door.

DmitryZ

Actually, about 7 yrs ago my parents were looking for a car and the dealership did the same "lets get the keys so we can appraise it" deal. After a couple polite requests for his keys back, my dad got so fed up he said the same exact thing (see above quote). He had the keys back in about 10 sec.

lol.

I am very happy with my dealership but for all other instances I go straight for the throat untill I get everything that is mine back. Then I leave and never come back.

Go to a different dealer.


Dmitry

extenz

Man, I would run from those people. Seriously, when you go to buy a Z you are going to get ripped off, but your story is out of this world. I seriously would have threatened to call the police on them if I was in that situation.

I went to my dealer here in NC and ordered a 350Z Touring for MSRP this January. They called me up last Friday and said that they had one similar to the one I ordered. I went down and they gave it to me at the original price that I had been quoted! The kicker is that it had the NAV and aero package that was NOT on my order as I could not see the value in paying over 2k for any of the two. They gave me the same spiel about – GAP insurance, etching, and the extended warranty. I declined all of them. However, they did not push it at all when I declined. I am still wondering what the catch is. 3.99% APR too!

For an in-demand vehicle like the Z, you are going to get ripped off by at least 2k when you order it. However, when I take the curves on the country road at 80mph on my way to work, it is well worth it.