Newbie and Needing Advice

[ZSP]

I initially posted in the General Section but am cross posting here...

Greetings from the desert southwest...My name is Patti and I am a "young" grandmother of five, wife to a traveling salesman, dogmother of four and now devote much of my time to Boston Terrier/French Bulldog Rescue, reading and gardening.I found this forum last night and knew it would be the right place to get my questions answered. Short back story and quick question...

My DH and I have driven Honda's for 30 years - Civics, Accords, Pilots - but I am ready for something new. I've always selected 2 door coupes, but now I want a crossover/urban SUV. After looking at and test driving the Nissan Murano, Acura MDX & RDX, Lexus RX10, Toyota Venza, Mazda CX-7 and the Infiniti EX35, it was easy to come up with a very short list - the Infiniti EX35 won hands down.

I read the Infiniti Forum for hours and hours last night and feel confident with my choice....but I still have to buy it. LOL I read many, many posts about great deals being made on this particular vehicle and I want to make a great deal too. Trouble is, this is a military city and most dealers don't and won't negotiate. Their typical buyer is more interested in the monthly payment....I want to pay cash.

If I should have taken this to the Infiniti Forum, please let me know. I've read most of the rules but not all. So, I am looking at the basic 2009 EX35 with backup camera, full leather, rear drive - no other bells and whistles and the MSRP is $34 something and the dealer sticker at $35 and some change. There are no added packages but may be other small amenities I am not remembering at the moment. Based on what I read last night, this is way more than I should pay and want to pay.

I am asking for and welcome your advice in helping me buy this most delicious SUV. I love it already and would like to seal the deal tomorrow.

I'll work on my siggy and avatar later - thank goodness for online forums. LOL

[TrippiN]

Since I'm Canadian Eh, I can only say what I know about Canadian pricing.

On the 2009 EX's there is a $5,000 cash rebate off MSRP. Best advice, find out the dealer cost (us Canadians use http://www.carcostcanada.com) and rebates/incentives that are available, and start from there. Also, do a quick google on negotiating new car price (which I'm sure you already have .

Best of luck, let us know how it works out.

[rayc325]

Hi Newbie,

When I bought mine I used the pricing guidelines on Edmunds and got my EX for about $7500 off of sticker. Start with the invoice price and deduct the $5k cash back. The dealers will try and hold out for more but I made my offer and waited. Eventually they called and accepted. I also got some quotes from out of town and let them know it. Good Luck!

[AWGD8]

I got my 08 AWD JOURNEY no package for 4k below MSRP plus a 72 months 0% interest.

I think you can still get more than 7k off MSRP . Yes negotiate from the

invoice price...

[scottt]

When I was shopping for my 09, the dealer offered me a price of $29,000 even for a new 2009 EX35 RWD, base model with Leather, back-up camera and 6 disc CD. I assume you can do a little better, Just figured it would give you a good idea. The 2010 model is going to come with more standard features, the down side would be a higher price, at least during the first couple of months.

I think the hardest thing is going to be finding a base RWD EX, not a lot of them around.

Good luck

Scott

[ZSP]

We didn't get anywhere today. As I mentioned, my DH is a salesman and is hard to "sell" if you get my drift. He didn't like paying for the dealer add-ons, destination fee, etc. and I protested the $200 documentation fee - I can run to the tax office myself for a gallon of gas.The sales manager also wouldn't ease up on the salesman's commission rate of 5%. My research reflected a normal rate of 3 to 5%. This salesperson didn't have to "sell" us - we walked in knowing what we wanted.I tried accepting his offer if he would throw in mud /splash guards or something - no way.

So, either we will get together and try again, or I may try to find a better deal out of town. That is IF I can even find one. If not, I'll still be driving my 00 Honda Accord...LOL Win some - lose some, eh?

ETA- thanks for all the replies.

[rayc325]

Be patient..they will give in. It took a week for the sales manager to get back to me accepting my offer. You shouldn't have to pay sticker.

[scottt]

I once lived in Arizona. You are correct, it is a tough state when it comes to buying a car. Arizona car dealerships are owned by a couple of people, less competition alows them to hold prices.

On the other hand, I have never felt any dealer should sell me a car for nothin. They need to make a profit to stay in business. To me, the key is a resonable profit. In my view, that number is around $750 over cost after all incentives. I bought my last Infiniti, a 2001 i30 in Scottsdale, I offered them $750 over cost and made the deal. It took a couple of days, but they did it. The charge for freight is passed on to the dealer from Nissan, no way out of it. If you buy out of state you might be able to save a bit, you will need to pay the sales taxes in Arizona when you return.

Good luck, as I said, Arizona car dealers can be tough.

Scott

[rayc325]

Scott,

You are right, a reasonable profit, but car dealers make plenty of money and not from selling new cars on which they do get many types of rebates, reimbursements and hold-backs over and above the "invoice" cost so even if you paid them invoice less the incentives they are making something. Their main income comes from used car sales, service and parts. They also receive incentive $$ from the manufacturers for good surveys and customer responses.

Patty, you may be able to find a slightly used one for alot less with more of the "goodies".


Modified by rayc325 at 11:38 AM 9/29/2009

[sg77]

What I did (when I bought my 2008 near the end of 2008) was use the Edmunds web site to send price quote requests to several dealers, and looked up the invoice price on Edmunds. The dealers emailed me with generic messages introducing themselves. I emailed them with a list of features I wanted and asked what their best price was. One of them quoted me a price that I think was $500 above invoice. I went to that dealer, asked if he'd give me invoice price. He asked his manager and said yes. (There was also a $5000 manufacturer-to-dealer incentive that he would've passed on to me as a discount, but I did the 0% financing for 72 months instead.)

I think even at the invoice price the dealer is making money and maybe I could've gotten a lower price, but I didn't want to haggle that much, and the invoice price seems reasonable. I guess it's part luck / depends on the dealer though; the other dealers gave me higher quotes.

[ZSP]

I got my EX35 one week ago today. It appears the dealer/sales manager was more willing to "deal" on the last day of the month and made me an offer I couldn't refuse.

I'm happy with it and am still learning how to use all the features. It's fun to drive and gets lots of 2nd looks.

Again, I appreciate all the informative posts and advice given. All were a definite help to me.