So I am looking into trading in my TSX for a 2004 Black ZR Touring Edition with 29,401 miles. It has everything except for navigation and they have it for $25,995 (obviously I won't be paying this amount).

I didn't have time to take it for a test drive, but I was able to inspect the outside and inside. Everything looks ok.

What is a reasonable offer I should give them tomorrow if the test drive works fine?

I would be trading in my 2005 Acura TSX w/ Navigation and 30,000 miles and I was hoping to get $22.5K for my car and then have them sell the ZR for $24K OTD. I have $12.5K left in the loan and 3 more years to pay it off. I would be willing to put down $1500 at most, but I will probably offer them $1000 down payment at the start. The main thing is not to extend the amount of years that I would have to pay for the loan. I want to stay with 3 years.

Do you guys think this is possible?

 

Not a bad price!

 

I'll probably be going tomorrow so any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

Get it checked by a mechanic! And I believe the 04 Tops are prone to tearing, theres a TSB on it I believe!

 

Well, its not private party. Its actually being sold at a local Nissan dealership, so I assume they would guarantee their work. Plus, it has only 29,401 miles so I think the bumper to bumper warranty is still in effect for this year...if not, I'll make sure I get some type of warranty...more than just a power train.

I did read up about the stitches on the top coming apart, so I did a quick inspection of the stitches and everything looked ok. I'll definitely take a closer look tomorrow. I will also check the latch to make sure there's no issues with that. Other than that, anything else guys? I really want to make sure I go over everything.

Also, let me know if what I'm offering to the dealership is realistic or not. Thanks!

 

Check for Tire Feathering as well. And haggle haggle haggle!

 

do it

 

I don't think you will get $22.5K for your TSX, because dealers will always try to low ball you on a trade in and only offer you the "fair" value condition. You would probably get more selling it yourself, but you may come out even if you consider the tax benefits of trading in.

I have an '04 ZR with everything but Nav and I paid $26,500 for it with around the same mileage but that was in April of 2006, so you could easily talk them down from where they are.

I later bought an extended 7yr/100K warranty (Nissan Security+Gold Preferred ) from a local dealer for $1500 so you may want to think about that too (you can negotiate on those too).

Make sure the car has the double stitched (newer) top and definitely check the tires for feathering - mine doesn't seem to have this problem yet, but it had new tires put on at 30K miles.

Good luck!

~KK

 

Haggle is definitely your best approach. Go over it with a fine-tooth comb to look for anything that may help you negotiate. For example, if you see daylight through ANY of the seams in the top... well, you should negotiate a new top. But other things like tire feathering, etc., will help your cause. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

Well, it didn't go too well today. I got to test drive it and that was the extent of my enjoyment for the day. He wouldn't go come down from $25,995...actually he did mention that he probably could do $25K, but he was only going to give me $19K for my TSX and that was not cool. I understand where he is coming from, but I think he would be able to sell my car easier than trying to sell a convertible right now. Ah well...I think I'm going to try to keep my mind off getting another car...once Spring comes and I can get back on my motorcycle, I'm sure I'll forget about it.

 

what's the blue book on the TSX? From the info you gave, with them giving 19k for the Acura and the pay-off is around 12k, that's 7k down on the ZR, for 36mo, 25K OTD, @around $500/month. Majority of people take thousands of dollars in losses on the trade-in. Its the easiest way tho'.

 

That's exactly what it would come out to.

I'm still kinda undecided about whether I would want a ZR or an Infiniti G35 coupe. They would probably be in the same price range, but the G would have rear seats...no concern about a soft top...there would still be a warranty (4 years/60,000 miles) and it has a nicer interior.

Either way, maybe I'll try to get them to pay $21K for my car, have them lower the price of the ZR to $25K OTD and then I could put down $2000. That would come out to about $388/month.

 

Yeah, you can try again at that dealership. Did you talk to the Used Car Manager or the "Boss"?
Another thing you can do is try another dealership. I tried trading in my ZR for a 06 Z coupe, but one place lowballed me at 22.5k when it was worth 27k fair condition since they usually go by that. I didn't have enough to cover the loan payoff and OTD price so I walked out. I went to another Nissan dealership and they offered 24k tops. I told them I would think about it because I would have to take the suspension, popcharger, and exhaust off.

Also, keep looking at other Non-Nissan dealerships. I found quite a bit of Z's and G35's with excellent deals on them. Places like BMW, Lexus, Mercedes have good pre-owned inventory.

 

There was another non-Nissan dealership that was selling a 2004 ZR with 41,000 miles for $22,995. That is definitely closer to my price range, but I'm always kinda sketched out about small dealerships. This one has rims and it looks like it may be lowered. It definitely wouldn't be under warranty, but I assume its still under power train warranty. I may go take a look this weekend, but I wonder if I really want to continue to stress myself over this or just suck it up and live with my automatic TSX...

 

Keep looking, IMO 25000 for a used 04 is uber expensive... But then again it is touring..... Oh well.... Look around for more ZRs and watch them call you back with a lower price!!

 

I'm hoping that guy at the Nissan Dealership realizes that he's going to have a tough time selling the ZR at that price especially during the winter and calls me back trying to make a deal. It was really fun to drive, though I felt a little cramped (not used to being so close and not having the pimp lean...hahaha)

 

I've been looking around (200 miles from my location) and I cannot find anything that is cheaper than this one dealership. I will most likely go there tomorrow and talk to them. If I can get them to take my car for $21,000 and then they sell the ZR for $25,000...I would be willing to extend my auto loan another year and make it 4 years to pay the car off. That should take me to $370 per month. I will then have some cash to put towards a double din Nav/DVD/MP3 player and have it installed or purchase some nice wheels for it.

Does my math seem correct?

 

Does the ZR have LSD in the rear wheels and also Traction Control?

And is traction control the same thing as stability control?

 

Dealer gave me $23,900 (trade-in value) for my 2004 350z touring roadster (with auto, no nav). My car had 33K miles when I traded it last month, so $25,000 is a pretty good deal.

My warranty had already expired in August 2006 because I purchased the car in August 2003.

I had all of the problems that people have reported with early models.

- tire feathering
- pinhole in top
- trouble filling up the gas tank
- squealing brakes
- and more...

Make sure you look at the build date on the one you're planning to purchase. If it was built between 8/03 and 5/04, I'd probably avoid. Nissan seemed to fix a lot of the problems in mid-2004.

 

Can you explain some more on what these specific issues were, ie. what was the pinhole in top issue? Was there actually a hole? And you said "more..." what else should I be looking out for?

Just checked the build date...looks like it was sometime before 03/11/04 (that was when it had its first odometer reading) so I guess this was built during the time it had all these issues.

Do you guys think this is a show stopper?