Ryan Davis

Talk about how you were treated at the dealership: was it good (where to go), bad (get it off your chest), about haggling, down payment, credit, what happend etc.
Also talk about which ones are good when it comes to mods
This will be good for those looking to get a Z, as well as those needing to find a place with good maintenance service. Thanks

Ryan
Orionsky133@hotmail.com

Pusha Z

I cannot praise Browns Sterling Nissan in Sterling Virginia enough. My sales persons name is Mac and he treated me better than any sales person I have ever dealt with. Anita Lam, their customer service manager, goes out of her way to make me happy, and the service department is a pleasure to deal with! I thought that service was dead but its alive and well in their dealership. They gave me a great deal (over blue book) on my trade in and got me an incredible deal on my Z. Really professional and great dealership, I gave them great ratings in hopes that they will continue to open dealerships in Virginia. When I get my Skyline it will be from that dealership, and from the exact same sales person, he really went out of his way to make sure that I was happy. I still get calls from him to see how im doing, just a great guy. Also the other employees of the dealership wave and always make small talk, asking about the car, and THEY WERENT EVEN INVOLVED IN THE DEAL. Just an incredible dealership.... I know I sound fanatical but seriously it was something else

Anyone in VA looking for a Z call Mac: (703) 948-1100

Ryan Davis

That's awesome. Last year a report showed that around 70% of all people that go into a dealerships leave due to just service. Car salseman are the number 1 complained in customer service even more so that plumbers, and cable repairman. It's great they worked with "blue book" because it's a dealership friendly publication. I know dealerships go by "NADA Yellow Book".

A year ago my '97 civic got totaled from hail so I kept it along with my $4,500 insurance check. I go find a 2001 Civic LX 5-speed with injen intake and muffler for around $17,000 at HONDA CARS OF MCKINNEY and they take my '97 and check as a down. The car ends up being a little more than $20,000

Three days later they call me back and say "the 'bank' is asking for $3,000 more dollars, and that they could get my down payment back if I would'nt do it". I left saying I would think of something.
Next day I say to the other one "where on your computer does it say 'Ryan Davis needs to put down $3,000 more down or he can't have the car"? He just starts typing figures, which realy insulted me so I asked for my contract (that I left behind like a dumbass) and he REFUSES! Says that since I don't have the $3,000 it's not complete although my dad went with me to overlook everything to make sure this didn't happen, no co-sign.

I then ask for my '97 and check back and all of the sudden, they sold my '97. I call my friend who sales Acuras and he tells me that they can't sell my trade in without a clear title, and you can't have a clear title unless you have a full contract. After relaying the info. I look at what is now three of them and say
"I'm rather being lied to that you sold my trade in, or i'm being lied to that you need $3,000 more, which one is it!"

Next day I go in and they have me fill a new contract, apologise, but snuck in the gap insurance (yet it still came out to be the same) which was good, because one week later I get hit from behind at a red light which totaled my new car.

Anyways, when you went in did you have perfect credit, big down payment, I would like to hear your advise man. Congradulations by the way!
Orionsky133@hotmail.com

sparkman

I also bought my Z from Brown's Sterling, but my sales guy was Dennis, though I did test drive with Mac because Dennis wasn't there the day I went in to test drive.

Um.. Overall I'm satisfied with the deal.. I just had ... okay.. I guess I'll just tell the story the long way...

I wanted an '03 Z last year, but my wife thought is was impractical, so I bought an '04 Maxima from Dennis on 02 June 2003. I got what I thought was a great deal (which is all that really matters in my book).

Six months later, we bought my wife her dream car ('04 BMW 330CiC), so then she agreed that I could get my Z since she got the impractical car that she wanted.

When I bought the Maxima, I told Dennis that I'd be back to buy the Z later, so I called him, and said that I was ready to buy the Z, but I needed to know what he could do on the trade-in for the Maxima. I knew I was looking at a loss, but we're talking about the Z here, so I was prepared for that.

Dennis said that he couldn't do anything without looking at the Maxima. I told him that he sold me the car six months ago.. Take the same car, add 12K miles, and give me a number. Still no from Dennis. Well, I live an hour away from Sterling on a good day, and didn't want to drive all the way there for him to tell me he couldn't do anything for me, so I said "Fine, I'll go somewhere else."

I found the Z I was looking for ('04 LS/BL Touring Roadster w/18" Wheels & NAV) in Mechanicsburg, PA. So I called that dealership, and started talking to them about buying the car.

I told them I'd need to talk to my wife about driving up to PA to get the car. Five minutes (I swear) after I get off the phone, Dennis calls back and gives me a preliminary number on my trade. So, I say "fantastic! I found the car I want in PA, see if you can get it. Eventually Dennis calls me back and tells me that he got the car from PA, it will be delivered the next day, and that I needed to come out to sign the paperwork.

My wife and I drive out to the dearship that night to sign the paperwork. I show up, Dennis gives the Maxima keys to the used car manager, and asks us to have a seat. In the mean time, I'm talking to the sales manager, about the Z, and he tells me that they hadn't gotten the car from the PA dealership, and that they were still working on it.

I had told Dennis before that I wasn't driving all the way to Sterling for nothing, so I was now pissed-off.

I (very loudly, and with some choice words) told Dennis he was a liar, that he was jerking me around, that I didn't appreciate it, and that he needed to give me my car keys back. My wife talked me out of my RAGE, and Dennis & the Sales Manager assured me they were doing everything they could to get the Z from PA.

Now, this is mostly my fault for calling the dealer in PA, and then going back to Sterling, but the PA dealer wouldn't give up the car to Sterling because they wanted me to buy the car from them. I know this because I eventually called and talked to the manager there about why he wouldn't give the car up. Now, I still have to give some of the blame to Dennis for not working with me from the get go, but oh well.

So, I found another '04 LS/BL Touring Roadster with 18" wheels, but no NAV at a dealership in Frederick, MD. I let Dennis know htat I would take that car instead of the PA car. Sterling Brown's called up to Frederick, got the car and I had it the next day.

But, despite all that, I still feel like I got a good deal on the Z, and a great deal on my Maxima. They more than paid off my balance on the Maxima, and I had put nothing down when I bought it seven months before, and it had 12K+ miles on it by the time I finally traded it in, so that was great.

I've used them for warrenty service on the Maxima, but I don't go there for oil changes, etc. 'cause its just too far to drive.

A little follow up on the PA car. I got a phone call from a dearship in Maryland about three days after I got the Z from Sterling Brown's. The dealer from MD said that he had gotten a '04 LS Touring Roadster from a dealer in PA, and that they had given him my number because I might be interested in buying the car. I was able to control my temper, and politely tell him that I was no longer interested in buying the car, but thank you.

And thank YOU if you actually managed to read all of this.. but the original poster did ask that we vent....

Ryan Davis

Man, I know how you feel. I did say "to Vent" and think it's cool you did. More people should.
Well You got the roadster and in the end that's all that matters.
I bet it wasn't that difficult when buying your maxima. Then you want a Z and people (ecspecioly the salesman) get jealous and know what a hot car it is so they think they will get such a great deal on it. Put lightly: your wife drives a BMW, you drive a Z, they wish they did.
It's great you put your foot down imediately because alot of people would "fold" coming to haggle with a Z.
This thread is good to support people not doing so and realizing these things do go on and how to handle it better.
You can also send your wife to Z-Chickz.com where women talk about their rides (Z-community but sections of other cars just like this site), theres also a section for guys.
Send some more people with stories like yours this way and congradulations!
Ryan
Orionsky133@hotmail.com

The Brickyard Rat

iTrader: (1)

Car broker.

R.J._Vancouver

The dealership I went to was Meadow Way Nissan, here in British Columbia, Canada.
The experience was very good. It is a brand new dealership, mine was the first 350 they sold.
Not pushy at all, they want to establish that they give good deals. I got $2600 of the MSRP off my Silverstone/Burnt orange performance.

Ryan Davis

Man, you robbed them! Plus being a new dealership them want to have a really good reputation and aren't really in a position to haggle being they just opend up. That's pretty cool man.

Ryan Davis

Hey "Brickyard", I've been hearing things about car brokers. What adsactly do they do and how do you go about getting/working with one for those of us (me) that don't know. Ecspecioly on a new Z?
Orionsky133@hotmail.com

smitty16

Napoli Motors, Milford Ct.

My buying experience was fine, I ordered the 1st day you could order & it came in Sept. 13 2002.
From there it's all downhill. My 1st problem was my fraying seats in my lemans track. The service manager looked at the seats & called nissan. He then called me & said they would replace the seats. I then inquired about upgrading to leather & I would pay the difference, he said no way nissan would never do it. I then called nissan myself & they said it can be done it's up to the dealer. After pleading with them & saying I would pay the difference they still would not do it, so I got the seats replaced with cloth & after 2 weeks they are already starting to fray.
Next I had the tire feathering issue. I brought it in to look at the tires, they said they would replace the tires, but the tires would take about 6-8 weeks to get here. My tires were so badly worn they would take tires off a new z they had on the lot. Here's where they really screwed up, the owner of the dealership was driving a white z for 3,000 miles & was now on the lot for sale. They took the tires off the white demo z with 3,000 miles on them & put them on mine & told me they were new. That night I went to see that white z on the lot & sure enough it had my badly feathered tires. I called the head sales man that sold me the car & told him about what happened. He tried playing it off like it was some sort of a mixup. ********!!!
Since then they have gotten me brand new tires.
This is the worst I've ever seen a service dept. The service manager just doesn't seem to care.

Sorry about ranting But I just had to vent my frustration!!

R.J._Vancouver

I have to give all the credit to my Brother Inlaw. He negotiated the deal for me.
He is one of these "wheeler dealer" types who actually enjoys a good tussle with sales people
Wasnt much of a tussle here though. Went back and forth a few times, but there was none of the usual salesman lines or B.S. He was prepared to do battle, but there was`nt one.
A buddy of mine is buying a new VW GTI, and his experience with Volkswagon salesmen has been a nightmare!

Ryan Davis

"Rant" all you must man! That's what this thread is for. Feels good to get it off your chest. Feels even better owning a Z, huh. Think about what you said: "the owner was driving a DEMO Z" You really think he would want anyone else getting such a great deal if he didn't own one himself. And he's the freakin' owner! He already made a sale, he doesn't need to do anything else is his frame of thought.

That's awesome you actualy called Nissan Motors and told them about it. Of course they would do it, the dealership was just lazy. Well, you got better tires and didn't deserve that service but deserved the Z man.

I believe that Discount Tires takes trade-ins on your used tires towards ones that they sell along whith rims. Just a thought.

I have a question however: Since you were one of the lucky ones to get one pre-orderd (that put Nissan a QUARTER BEHIND production on the Z because it's such an awesome car), did they do deposite as you would a reagular down payment or what not? I figure by the time I have down on a Z roadster they will all be sold out seeing as how the roadsters are limited, so I would probably do deposite on a 2005 if they will have roadstars for that year which I'm sure they will.
Congradulations by the way!
Orionsky133@hotmail.com

smitty16

I didn't have to put a deposit down. I know the owner. I'm in the embroidery business & do a lot of work for the dealership. Thats another reason why I'm so dissappointed. After the service manager told me i couldn't upgrade my seats to leather I talked to the owner. He also shot me down.
I thought he would work with me a little bit, I was willing to pay the difference & any other cost.
Live & Learn

Ryan Davis

Maybe in the end it's best you didn't pay for other seats from them because you can now orde any seats you from from Sparco or MOMO, or something unless that's whatt you were talking about. Oh, well. It always sucks when you do hard work for people and they just take advantage, but yea, live & learn.
Tell us if anything like this happens again at the dealership.
Drive Fast!

Amnesiac19

Reed Nissan in Orlando, terrible. We went in to test drive (looking to purchase) and first off they would only let us drive a used. Now, that's not a big problem. But, it's an automatic and I am buying a manual and they would not let us drive anythign else. Not to mention the fact they couldn't find the keys to the car. Beware of the dealer. Universal Nissan was much friendlier and just a much better enviroment.

Ryan Davis

Excuse my speed typing

Ryan Davis

They wouldn't even let you test drive a manual! I hate when I went to dealerships and I would ask for a manual of an eclipse (long time ago) I would sit there and wait and go outside excited to find it's an automatic. There are reasons people want a certain type of car. They would then "pitch" it like "well Ryan I know manual is your thing but you got to think about insurance and traffic..." I know my budget better then they do and i'm not going to pay bills on a car I didn't origanaly want just because they were to lazy to order it.
Hey Amnesiac19, you a big Radiohead fan. I had to ask because of your username.

The Brickyard Rat

iTrader: (1)

A good car broker buys 300 or so cars a year; I buy one, maybe, every three years. Who do you think knows more about buying a car & has better contacts?

Brokers have to deliver good prices/deals to buyers or they don't stay in biz. Mine has been around for 20 years. She got our Highlander at $2500 below MSRP when market was $1000 to $2500 below MSRP. She found my Brick for MSRP when dealers around here had mark-ups from 1G to 4 Gs over MSRP.

Generally, I figure she gets about the same deal I would if I worked hard with a dealer...................but with zero hassle. Car dealer pay her fee.

Here is my routine:

I go to a dealer to figure out exactly what I want & take a test drive.

After that I call the broker and tell her what I want. She tells me roughly what I can expect in terms of price. After she finds the car she calls me back with specifics. I say yes/no. If yes the car shows up in my driveway 3 to 7 days later. I sign for the car & write a check (loan prearranged if I'm borrowing). Total time involved: maybe 30 minutes. Total hassle: zippo. Neithor time have I even been asked for my drivers license number for the check.

Can't beat it with a stick!

Amnesiac19

you know it

Ryan Davis

Hey man, I saw you talking about this at the Z-chicks forums. There i'm ORION (and at Zfrenzy) and started the "Dealership Experience" thread there, too (if you didn't notice). I tried to use my nickname here but it was too late.

Anyways, so do brokers look at your credit vs. what you will need down and all that just like a dealer, only doesn't haggle? You said you should have your finance taken care of before hand but I would think you wouldn't know unless the broker looked at it. So dealerships pay her to do this also?
My uncle is in Sacramento and my Marines boot camp will be in San Diego so I would rather use this broker or the dealership SmoothDome was telling me about for the roadster in about a year or so. I bet down payment is less with a broker anyways.
Did you ever catch the Deftones while in Sacramento?
Orionsky133@hotmail.com