New guy on the block

[kamikazeH20mln]

Hello all! Long time lurker.

I just purchased my first 20k+ car on 3/28/2008 at Nissan's end of quarter and end of year with a Nissan 2008 Altima 3.5 SL CVT Sedan in Precision Gray. Got her fully loaded from the dealer:

- Premium Package (leather, fog lights, heat seats, moonroof, 264W Bose 6 speaker + sub, etc)
- Technology Package (aka Nav, XM, 6 CD changer, aux, Bluetooth Phone, full spare)
- Moonroof deflector
- Splash guards
- Rear Spoiler
- Vehicle Dynamic Control
- Aluminum Kick Plates
- Carpet Mats


Final result:
negotiated at $28,875k for the car (minus warranty, fees, rebates, title, taxes, tags) for a $33,740 @ MSRP / $30,171 @ dealer invoice
$943 for the manufacturer 72mo / 100k, $0 deductible, gold plus warranty at dealer invoice cost
Free oil changes, car wash, and tire rotation for life from the dealer
$5k for trade in of my 2001 Honda Civic EX with a busted bumper, slipping automatic transmission, and 5 panels repainted from accidents/vandalism (car max said it was $4.5 k...so I got $500 more without asking :-) )
$1250 manufacturer rebate in addition taken off final total

Ohh, and paid in cash...been saving since 4 years ago after I paid off my Civic from Honda Finance :-)

Process took a month plus a week:
-- One month of test drives of the Altima coupe and sedan vs the Honda accord coupe and sedan
-- 3 days to collect dealer info, call for interest, and background data on the sedan from FightingChance.com
-- 2 days to send bid request to 10 local dealers
-- 1.5 days to reduce to 5 local dealers and provide best price to beat
-- 2 hours to decide the final dealer to go with based on price, distance, and service department ratings
-- 6 hours of waiting and paperwork at dealership on a Saturday. negotiations all done over email and phone before stepping foot into the dealership while i watched other become the victims of sales sharks..some even double teamed!

I had only wanted the SL premium package, kickplates, and moonroof deflector, but noticed it was only $1k more for the fully loaded.

[Wespac187]

Welcome! Sounds like you did your homework and are good a negotiating.....I like the tactic of not meeting face to face and only over the phone! You plan on doing any mods or are you going to wait a little?

[kamikazeH20mln]

I may later in time rip out the nav and install a computer touch screen deal like I use to have in my Civic, but I'm in the honeymoon phase right now :-)

I already ordered new mats from Weathertech for the cabin and trunk. Probably will sell off my carpet maps on Ebay. Just don't like carpet mats, especially with the wacky Maryland weather.

For mods in the next month, I'm looking to tint the windows (Maryland law requires 35%...I'm thinking maybe 25% or 30%) and smoke the back tails...just too much clear plastic with them on the body. I know from reading here what kind of $$ to expect for such work, but unsure of what tint to get the tails smoked with. Any good recommendations?

The other thing I desire is the ipod adapter for my old 20GB ipod for the car. I know from reading a thread on here about a 3rd party adapter through the XM slot, and have good and bad about the Nissan one working with certain Nav units.

Once the crappy Continentals wear out, probably be in the market for some new rims and tires. :-)

[maximaprincess]

Hey welcome....nice ride!

[Arod0079]

Welcome to the boards!

[2qk4um8]

So you wrote them a very nice check? Welcome to boards. I guess you took your time and it paid off.

[kamikazeH20mln]

Yes, I wrote them a VERY big check and have no car payments :-)

Btw, I used the fightingchance.com packet. Worth every penny!

[Wespac187]

Originally Posted by kamikazeH20mln

Yes, I wrote them a VERY big check and have no car payments :-)

Btw, I used the fightingchance.com packet. Worth every penny!

The fightingchance.com packet looks like it could really help in purchasing a new vehicle. I will have to pass on the information to my GF's parents who seem to buy a new car every two years.

Thanks!

[kamikazeH20mln]

No problem man! It will save them tons. Never could understand why people would buy a new car every 2 years.

Crosslink to document the discounts from my purchase:
http://www.nissanclub.com/forums/new...ml#post3495274