Hello guys, I am a newbee to this board. I have been following this site for a while now, and I am now finally decided to go ahead and order a 350Z. I am in Albuquerque, New Mexico and the two Nissan Dealers seem very un-clear about the whole process, where everytime I try to start the process, I get different information, and a whole lot of run around because they just don't have their process together (you can tell they are just scrambling for information). If I wasn't so in love with this car, I would actually make it a point NOT to give either of these dealers any of my business. So what I am hoping to learn from you guys is some key details about what I should expect the ordering process to be. First, wasn't the pre-order deposit (of $1000 I believe) a fully refundable ammount ?? One dealer is telling me $2000 non-refundable, and the other one $1000 non refundable as well. Second, they are honoring MSRP, but they are saying that there is an additional $300 advertising fee that all Nissan Dealers charge on all vehicles. I know $300 isn't very much, but I just hate BS charges, and this really sounds to me like something they are making up. Finally, I am being told that once I place the order for the car, I cannot change anything about it. I thought you have up to a point to make changes to your order (this isn't that big of a concern, but I thought I'd ask anyway). Well, hopefully some of you guys can give me some answers to these questions so that I can know what the transaction should be like when I go talk to them again (hopefully this time I can actually place the order) Please feel free to add any other info which I may need to know. BTW, I want the Enthusiast Chrome Silver Model, and I currently own a 2002 Acura RSX type S. I just bought it at the beginning of the year, which is why I had such a hard time deciding to trade it in for the Z (...the money factor), but I finally couldn't take it anymore. Hopefully I will be able to get my Z in December. Thanks...

 

Hi BlackS, welcome to the board and congrats on your decision to purchase a Z.

The deposit required by a dealership (and whether it's refundable or not) varies from dealer to dealer actually. The key is to shop around if you don't find what you like - that's what a lot of us here did. I think about $1000 is an average of what most of us here paid, with it being mixed on refundable/non-refundable.

Same thing for the price of the car - dealers were asked by Nissan to honor MSRP during the pre-order phase. Some dealers of course tried to price-gouge, but better deals were to be found elsewhere. After the pre-order phase, I believe the dealers are free (somewhat) to charge what they want.

My best advice to you is to shop around to find the best deal - there are some people on this board that bought their Z thousands of miles away from where they live cause that's where they got the best deal.

As far as changing your order after you order - sure, up to a point, but remember it might push your delivery date farther into the future.

 

Welcome blackS

Other things to consider:
1. The Pre-Order program was over in June. If you order now it will just be a part of the dealers normal order process.
2. Dealers haven't been able to submit new orders since the program closed unless they were allocated additional slots.
3. Dealers can't submit new orders until mid-August I believe.
4. Depending on the dealer and how many cars he has accepted orders on your car could arrive anytime between Nov. and early next year.
5. NO! Nissan dealers don't charge a $300 advertising fee. That's just a scam. DON'T PAY ANYTHING ABOVE MSRP!

Take Wxtornado's advise and shop around and don't pay for any dealer add-ons.

Good luck.

 

There have been several posts that say non-refundable deposits are illegal. My belief is that if that is true, it would depend on the state. I have no idea what the law in New Mexico is. As far as changing your order, my guess is that the dealer is correct. You must remember you are not getting a pre-order so they probably start on your car shortly after you order it. (Unlike the pre-orders who ordered as early as January and nothing was built until July.) I can see where it would be more difficult to change a car now than during the pre-order period.

 

The "pre-order program" no longer exists. It ended on June 16.

This is probably the reason why the dealerships you went to did not know how to deal with your order.

 

The $300 advertising charge is something that Nissan does charge to the vehicles in regions that have Nissan advertising for that area. The pre-order vehicles are not having that charge attached to them (it is actualy call Marketing Assesment). That should not affect the sales price, because the car is to the invoice that the dealership pays to Nissan, not the MSRP.

In other words the pre-order vehicles will have $300 more profit than the ones that come in after the pre-sale allotments.