i went to a Nissan dealer at atlantic blvd, it was the worst experience trying to look at a car .....service was very unhelpful..and even though they had 3 350z with 1 for test drive ..they woudnt let me test drive one until after i bought th ecar....... i waited 20 mins for them to eve come talk to me.. then after 30 mins of trying to get me to buy the car .... they still woudnt let me test drive one without a down payment.... the story is alot worst and longer but i didnt feel like getting into all the details... it was just the worst experience i had witha car dealer......just had to vent

 

Go to Atlantic Blvd. Infiniti and get a G35 Coupe like I did

 

I did right after. but theysaid that they didnt have any g35c for sale.... they had 2 on the which they showed me but the guy said it was already sold......i love how the muscular look of the 350z but also need that backseat and how the g35c comes with pretty much everthing i want standard

 

Good point, Jessie....who wants to buy a NEW 350Z that every Tom Dick and Harry has sat in and driven up and down Atlantic Boulevard?

The buyers of this car are true car afficionados and don't want strangers "playing" with their car. I think it is admirable that the dealership protects potential buyers from the "thrillseekers" who have no intention of buying a Z.

Maybe Jaxxxx would like to drive to Ultimate AutoWorks in Longwood and ask to drive a Lamborghini.........

 

like i said.... they had 1, i say again 1 350z for a test drive car.. the Z was dirty and has a sticker on the front labeled..... Test Car

 

also like i said.... thats just haof the story..test driving the car wasnt that big of a deal, its how they treated me and handled thier so called "customer service" ....... and yea i just woudnt buy a car without driving one 1st... either a test drive from a dealer or friend, i woud never buy a vehicle with driving one, i dont give a **** if its a Ferrari.. or a nissan

 

I'll sell you my G35C with every option available, for the right price.

By the way, what a joke comparing the 350Z to a Lamborghini

 

hehe yea i know..... ooooooo I dont think i'm gonna go test drive the Toyota echo I wanna buy since we cant test drive a lambo

 

Perhaps your demeanor/appearance convinced the salespeople that you were more of a Toyota Echo guy than a serious potential purchaser of a Z. Why would they let any yahoo who walks in drive a Z and reduce its value to a serious purchaser?

 

What needs to be kept in mind is that the dealership PAYS for the cars it has on the lot. It obviously wants to make as much profit as possible from its investment. As was clear from the early posts on this website, the pre-order people did not want anyone even TOUCHING their cars when they came in. The reason behind this is we all wanted our cars as pristine as possible (even if they weren't Lamborghinis).

The only purpose (from the dealer standpoint) of allowing someone to test drive a car is to increase the likelihood that person will complete the purchase of the vehicle. Dealers don't pay for cars to just have them hanging around the dealership so people who read car magazines can get an opportunity to drive the cars displayed in the magazine.

If you go to a quality dealership and give the impression you are just there to see what it feels like to drive a particular car, don't expect a responsible salesperson to give you the keys.

Those of us who have been here from the start know that real Z enthusiasts do NOT want anyone driving our potential purchase JUST FOR GRINS.

I purchased my Z from the referenced dealership and can say that the dealership was the most professional, responsible bunch of car people I have dealt with (and I have purchased 8 new vehicles, including 3 BMWs). I think the others on this site who PURCHASED their Zs from the dealership agree.

 

yea, so you dont even know me and talking about my appearance??? shows how ignorant you are.. I wasnt going beat the **** out of the car I wanted to to test drive it...... back in 97, I went to a benz dealer.... looked at a 97 E55 AMG on the showroom. before even saying I was interested , they opened up the showrrom and let me test drive the car.... the next day I bought it.

 

I said that maybe you GAVE the appearance you weren't interested in buying the car (which apparently WAS the case, as you only mentioned wanting to maybe buy a Toyota Echo).

If you look at my next post, I explained why dealers shouldn't let people not interested in buying cars of this type test drive them. Zs are still scarce, and dealers are not going to compomise a sale to someone who requires a pristine car just to let passersby drive a Z.

 

MSOsr,

But he said they had a test car for test drives. It is already no longer in the PRISTINE condition you speak of. SO if it already had 500 miles, what's 10 more miles to maybe get a sale? Now they are out 4000 profit that they could have made, because he walked. When I went to the Infiniti dealership, ( I am only 29) I dressed in ripped shorts a Tee shirt and Vans. I do that on purpose anytime I go anywhere that there are Yuppies. I love them to think I don't have any money, to see who they really are by how they really treat you. Anyway, I went looking like a bumm to the Infiniti dealship, which you have to admitt is more upscale than Nissan dealerships, and they still treated me like gold. Let me test drive the nicest G35 Coupe they had on the lot. After the drive, no high pressure sales, just a "Go home and think about it and let me know". The next day I bought that very car. So if Nissan dealers want to treat people a certain way based on looks, then I hope they go out of business, and I think jaxxx is justified in his anger at the Nissan dealer. Treat everyone that walks through the door the same, and you'll get a lot more sales and happier customers. Baggy shorts or a suit.

By the way, I am not demeaning Nissan, obviously it is the same manufacturer as Infiniti, but the dealships themselves are superior.

 

SalT:

I wasn't referring to Jaxxx' physical appearance...I was referring to the fact that he may have given the appearance that he was only interested in driving a Z, not buying one.

I agree it is beneficial to the sales process if the customer gets to drive the car. In fact, it is a recognized sales technique to get the customer to take the car home "and think about it." A lot of people have trouble bringing a car back after they have taken it home.

My thought process (having waited for 250 days for my preorder to arrive) is that the last thing I would have wanted would be for the dealership to let someone sit in or drive my car. I think all of the preorders wanted their cars to be as "virgin" (if you will) as possible.

If the dealership only has 3 cars, I don't fault them for not letting people test drive one if the person doesn't at least act like he or she is interested in buying the car.

My .02 worth. I have found that dealership to be top-notch.

 

By the way MOSer, are you a member of any car clubs or anything here in Jax? I just started Autocrossing, I went to my first one in Dec and it was a lot of fun. Do you do anything else regarding your new car?

 

Saltnutz, you should come to the A1A Hooters cruisein on Jan 25th, and meet al of us. We want to take a look at your G. I will put a post up announcing it.
Btw, I went to borders on southside this last weekend, and found a silver G35C parked there, away from the rest of the cars ofcourse. So I parked right next to it. It looked pretty strange. Two cars, similar looking, I bet it confused some folks.

 

DAMN, I would love to, but I am going to Lake Tahoe the 18-25. Guess I am missing out on anothermeet. Maybe Feb. I live down by the beach, so I don't want to travel to OP for the other meets.

 

Go to Mike Shad of Orange Park. They really took care of me from the very beginning and my 350z Brickyard Touring Frost/AT/NAV will be here on 2/9. I bought my 1998 200sx SE-R from Coggin Nissan on Atlantic and I was pretty happy then(9/98)..... Well as you can see I've gone to Mike Shad and have since got a bad feeling from Coggin on Atlantic and at the Avenues when I stopped by to talk about ordering a 350z as a back-up to Mike Shad (just in case).

PS: Is there a Z club in Jax? I'll be looking to join in 30days

Thanx,
kbsig106

 

SalT:

I hang around with ShagZ and Troutfishin02 at these car meets. Don't really do anything more with my car.

We really do have a good time hanging out and would love to have you join us as soon as you can.

Kbsig: Please join us also on the 25th, even if you don't have your car.