Car Deal Fell Through...

[Drew99GT]

Originally Posted By: ShiningArcanine

By the way, why do you want a six cylinder engine? They are gas guzzlers. You would be financially better off with a four cylinder engine, both in the short term and in the long term. They cost more money at the dealership, they use more gasoline and they require more spark plugs. If you want more horsepower from the car, buy the four cylinder model, install an aftermarket turbocharger/supercharger in it and pocket the difference between that and the six cylinder model.


Install an aftermarket turbo?

Yea, OK, and kiss your warranty goodbye; not to mention all the little headaches and tuning that come with that. Laughable advice I'd say.

As to 4 banger vs. 6 banger - check fuel mileage - 6 bangers these days are about 2 mpg behind their 4 banger equivalents in most vehicles. I'd for sure go with the V-6. Spark plugs? Easy as pie to change on a DOHC engine.

 

[OtisBlkR1]

Originally Posted By: ShiningArcanine
Originally Posted By: Jason2007
I would call the dealer that has the car and try to make a deal over the phone. I would ask to either speak to the sales manager or the fleet manager.


In my experience, dealerships will refuse to make any sort of deal over the phone/email. If they do say that they can sell a car at a given price over the phone/email, they will give you some excuse when you walk into their store saying that they cannot honor it.


My experiences have been very good over the phone, I NEVER buy same day, i shop, tell the sales rep i want to explore options after i find a model i like, i go home, do my homework, and generally call back the next day and talk to the sales manager. I tell them im not playing games, but im not paying inflated prices. I make a offer and let them know i will buy same day if they accept my offer. Balls in there court at that point. If they dont except my offer there are dozzens of other dealers within a fairly short driving distance. I have taken up to a month in the past shopping and making offers before i found the deal.. but i always get a good deal. i have NEVER paid more than $2000 BELOW KBB value for a new car, I usually get private party rates when i shop used cars. NEVER EVER paid MSRP for any car or even close to it.

 

[VeeDubb]

I've also had good experiences over the phone/internet. In fact, my last three deals (2 purchases and 1 lease) were done purely by email/phone. The dealers honored their agreements too. But I usually pre-screen dealers before I contact them. I won't do business with dealers that have shady reputations. I find that those are the ones that will do the bait and switch.

 

[tenderloin]

Nissan gets cars delivered weekly. If your car exists, more are on the way if not already sitting in a lot at port.

If you want the vehicle and are happy with the deal you made then wait for the vehicle to show up. You are not talking about a 2009 model which is done ...this is a current model year that is still in it's early stages.

BTW my wife's car was found 4 hours or so from our home. No problem for the dealer to get it. It was trucked down. Only had to wait two days.

I only deal over the Internet..most dealers have a Internet specific salesperson. All contacts except one or two are all emails...on my terms. Only meet the person when I pick up the car. Great way to buy IMO.

 

[tenderloin]

The car is back?

http://www.config.nissanusa.com/Dispatch.jsp?state_token=2%3A96%3Anissan%7Calt%7C2010%7C0%7CA4AAAAAAAA%7CAgAAAAAAAA%7C%3A92618&lc=true&seq_id=96&.CurrentState=MatchingVehiclesBrowse&.NewState=VehicleDetailsBrowse&selectVehicle=0

 

[ryster]

As others have said, as soon as a "good" dealer knows you are a serious buyer everything should fall into place.

When I bought my Chevy Impala back in '06, I worked through the internet sales department at the dealer. They emailed me a price. I went to the dealer the next day, test drove the car, and told them I would let them know my decision within 24 hours. Called back the same evening, and said it was a "go".

Went back the next day at lunch to have my trade-in appraised. Asked them if they wanted a deposit for the Impala. They said "not necessary". Went back later that day after work to pick up the Impala. The price for the Impala matched the price they emailed me, the trade-in price matched what they gave me earlier that day, and it all worked out. Total time at the dealer including the test drive, trade-in appraisal, and paperwork was less than 3 hours.

I always buy from dealer stock. No "dealer trades" and no special orders. If the dealer has the model I want, with the options I want, in an acceptable color, and treats me fairly they will earn my business. As soon as they start playing games, I walk out. If a dealer will not quote me a price via Email, they don't get my business either.

 

[The Critic]

I texted my salesperson today to reinitiate the search, and he was able to locate a white/blond Altima V6 with no options packages and I decided to jump on it.

Sure, I would have saved a few hundred bucks more if I had purchased the car a few days ago, but a few hundred bucks in such a big purchase is immaterial.

In the end, the price was 21,500 + TTL, out-the-door was a little under 24,000. MSRP on the car was 25,585, invoice was 23,716. The dealer has already acquired the car and I'll be picking it up tomorrow.

In the end, everyone is happy-- which is what matters.

 

[PT1]

Congratulations!

 

[The_Jeff]

So did you trade the saturn in or are you selling it yourself?

 

[PT1]

Originally Posted By: The Critic


It definitely isn't my first experience with not having it my way, but trust me, having your dad make fun of you for being an utter failure isn't fun either.

Just remind him whose DNA you are forced to run on.....that will shut his yapper...

 

[JustinH]

So a dealership really told you that they know that they have the only WHITE nissan v6 blah blah, and they want a premium for it.

In this economy?

That is nuts.

Its like saying I have the only red cobalt, who cares?

Its probably a nice car, but I wouldn't say that white is a limited edition or anything.

Dealers like that go out of business. Holding on to product is losing money every day.

Secondly, why did you want to do a dealer trade? Why not drive to the other dealer and get the car directly?

 

[bretfraz]

It wasn't just a white Altima, it was a loaded white Altima priced way back of invoice. Can't blame a dealer for not wanting to take the deal cut by another dealer. Nobody wanted a "premium" for it, they just wanted more than a super-tight deal. The V6 probably could have been done for another $500 or so, but the buyer was not willing to move, so no car.

Instead of compromising a little on the deal, the buyer compromised on the car. Not the strategy I'd use but it worked for them (sorta).

 

[qship1996]

wait til he goes to pick it up and finds they "forgot" to mention the car has $1500 worth of useless dealer add-ons {pinstriping.door edge guards,wheel locks,mud gards,sunroof deflector,pain/fabric protection,etc} and then knock that $1500 down to ONLY $800-900 making the customer think they"got a deal".....happens all the time with "over the phone" and "internet quotes"

 

[Chris142]

Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
if you bring a car over from Nevada there are minimum mileage restrictions. you have to pay CA sales tax and have the vehicle smogged to get it registered.
Ya Ca caught onto that trick years ago. Normally the car must have 7500 miles on it before you could register it in the state.

There is a loophole that says that if your car is damaged beyond repair you can buy a car in another state to replace the wreck but I'm sure that the proper paperwork including a police report of the out of state accident must be included.

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/brochures/fast_facts/ffvr29.htm

 

[asiancivicmaniac]

Originally Posted By: The Critic
I texted my salesperson today to reinitiate the search, and he was able to locate a white/blond Altima V6 with no options packages and I decided to jump on it.

Sure, I would have saved a few hundred bucks more if I had purchased the car a few days ago, but a few hundred bucks in such a big purchase is immaterial.

In the end, the price was 21,500 + TTL, out-the-door was a little under 24,000. MSRP on the car was 25,585, invoice was 23,716. The dealer has already acquired the car and I'll be picking it up tomorrow.

In the end, everyone is happy-- which is what matters.


Congrats. How do you guys like it so far?

 

[CROWNVIC4LIFE]

Originally Posted By: PT1

It definitely isn't my first experience with not having it my way, but trust me, having your dad make fun of you for being an utter failure isn't fun either.



That is a awful thing to say...Most parents can not get their kids to do anything for them much less help them buy a car or help them buy a house for them...Sounds like you have been helping them all along so that comment was uncalled for...Does not sound like you have much free time for yourself.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
So did you trade the saturn in or are you selling it yourself?


I am keeping the Saturn.

Originally Posted By: JustinH
Secondly, why did you want to do a dealer trade? Why not drive to the other dealer and get the car directly?


Yes, the dealer that has the loaded white Altima V6 is nuts.

As for why I did not deal directly with them, I tried. They weren't interested in selling the car to me. They wanted $300 over invoice for the car when every other dealer was selling Altimas for well below invoice.

Originally Posted By: qship1996
wait til he goes to pick it up and finds they "forgot" to mention the car has $1500 worth of useless dealer add-ons {pinstriping.door edge guards,wheel locks,mud gards,sunroof deflector,pain/fabric protection,etc} and then knock that $1500 down to ONLY $800-900 making the customer think they"got a deal".....happens all the time with "over the phone" and "internet quotes"


Well, with this particular car, the deal was only $659 under invoice since it is beginning of the month.

I went and picked up the car today and they did not try to hassle me around. When I went in, they were detailing the car. We did the paperwork, the car was brought out, they did the features demo, and we were on our way. No hassle at all-- very smooth transaction.

Oh, and here's a picture for all of you:

Originally Posted By: asiancivicmaniac
Congrats. How do you guys like it so far?


The car is great. Lots of low-end torque.

The fuel economy isn't very good so far. I personally filled up the tank, drove back to the dealer and had the features demo (30 min of idling), then drove for about 20 miles on the highway at 55-60mph. Even with the tires inflated to about 38psi cold, the onboard computer only showed 25.6 mpg.

 

[Shannow]

So you got your Saturn Critic.

Congrats on working the deal through.

 

[TooManyWheels]

I haven't been keeping up with Altimas, so I'm a little surprised to say that that's a pretty good looking car.

 

[demarpaint]

Nice car, good luck with it. I laugh when dealers have the ballz to try and sell a car over sticker. Sometimes they play that game when other dealers try to trade cars with them. They think they have some rare collector car sitting on their lot. A local Jeep dealer tried that trick with me, I went one town over got exactly what I wanted at a great price. Funny thing is the local guy playing tricks was shut down by Chrysler. My bet is they are now wishing they didn't play so many games. Toyota tried it too, I had another good laugh that day. Smart people get up and walk out.

Enjoy the car!