Hey all,

I am trying to get a Z and wanted to share some of my experiences so far to see what you all think.

I have owned an 87 and a 94 300ZX prior and looking forward to "coming home" with the new 350Z. Right now I have a 328ci coming off of lease late Jan 2003. I thought ordering one this month would be close to perfect since it would take 90-120 days for the car to get in. If it does not come in until much later, this is ok since I have another vehicle to drive while I wait for it.

I had such an excellent experience ordering the Bimmer I figured I would do the same with the Z. With the Bimmer the entire deal was handled over e-mail and fax. I ordered the car with exactly the options I wanted and the salesman was great. No petty haggling, no tricks, all numbers upfront and kept me informed when the VIN was assigned, the name of the ship - etc... I got a great deal on the Bimmer especially since it was a new model for year 2000 similar to the Z.

Anyway, I know the preorder period has been over for the Z. I went to 4 dealers in my area (Southwest Ohio). Here is what they offered:
3 of the 4 allowed ordering
1 - wanted $2500 non-refundable deposit and gives MSRP for the order.
2 - wanted $3000 non-refundable deposit and says I have to purchase at market which is $3-$4K over sticker.
1 - wanted $1000 refundable deposit, but wanted $3000 over sticker.
This was a little disappointing since when I ordered the Bimmer I placed an $800 refundable deposit and I am hearing most people are able to get the 350Z at MSRP for $1K refundable dep.

I will keep shopping and willing to drive to adjacent states to get my car. I feel even though I understand market prices are set by supply and demand, these guys are being unreasonable. I think they are trying to gouge the "gotta have one now" market.

I am also willing to let the dealer keep the deposit until the car sells if anything "catastrophic" was to happen. Say, if I got hit by a truck, lost a leg... That is what it would take to break the deal. I don't see why a sales manager would not see that as fair. Maybe I am asking too much for the Nissan dealers as I got spoiled by BMW. I can see why BMW owners are very loyal also.

So has anyone had buying experiences like this? One of the dealers told me the 350Z was limited production with only 8000 a year being imported. I asked him twice, are you sure? Each year? Come on, cut me some slack dude. I just got up, shook his hand and left.

Let me know what you all think.

Thanks.

 

In the Indy area, there are a couple volume dealers - Tom Wood and Collins. I know that at least one person on this forum would probably not recommend Tom Wood after their experience. Collins Nissan sponsors the Indy Z Car club and seems to be pretty popular, but I have no personal or second-hand knowledge about dealing with them.

As far as your search in Cincy, the 1st option isn't too unreasonable. Most dealers are not willing to sign up for refundable deposits when you special order a car, but if they are going to sell it to you for MSRP, then they are selling it to you below market price and you should grab it.

Just one opinion- good luck in your search, it is an awesome car.

 

I've been to 4 dealers around my area and they ALL claim to be "the only dealer in the area ordering the Zs at MSRP". Every single salesperson I've dealt with has told me that and I've gotten a whole range of BS besides that. They are DEFINITELY trying to take advantage of the demand. There is no question about that. The biggest dilemna I've had is with my trade. I know damn well they'll try to screw me when I take delivery of the Z, so I've been trying to cut a deal. None of them will deal with me, so I'm going to try and sell my car to Carmax or something. The last dealer I dealt with offered me 2k over trade-in for my trade if I ordered from them that night. I immediately said, "ok! Take my car next week at that price!". The salesperson stammered like a stuck pig and retreated to the manager's cove for advice. In short, they didn't like that I called their bluff and came up with every excuse possible for NOT buying my car now. They were simply BSing me so that I'd put my 1k bucks down and then come dilvery, they'd really screw me on the trade.

All of them used the phrase: "you really ought to trust me on this" or "it comes down to a matter of faith about who you're dealing with here". That made me RUN...

 

Thanks for your replies and information.

Suprat94 - Thanks also for the offer to keep your eyes open around Detroit. I would not mind at all going up there and seeing what I can get, however, I really wanted to order one because my current car won't come off lease until late Jan next year. The timing of ordering one now would be perfect. I am prepared to purchase now, but I would have 3 cars for just me for 3 months. A little overkill.

Is Nissan planning to slow down production after this batch?