Trying to get a Versa

[Ever Victorious]

Honestly, I would take the ABS over the Convenience package if it was a choice between one or the other. the iKey is a painful thing to lose (LOVED it on my old V, especially since I always had my hands really full). The bluetooth is nice, but there are other ways around it.

The ABS simply cannot be refit after the fact, and it changes the braking dynamics of the car so much for the better.

[KimberKenobi]

I'll just say this...

I wish that I had waited for the car I wanted the first time around.

that's my 2 cents.

[andrew_aj1]

Well I have some better news now. I found the exact car that I have been looking for. There is only one problem though. It is 1300 miles and two states away. I was planning on financing through the dealer, but I was told if I finance through a dealer out of state I would be paying tax twice. So tomorrow or Thursday I will be going out with a family member trying to get an auto or personal loan for the remaining that I don't have. If everything goes well I will give that dealership another call and put down a reserve payment for the car. Within a week I will fly out there and get it.

I am so excited right now. I have everything planed out from the trip home, to what airline I'm taking, to what I'm taking with me, everything.

Everyone wish me luck.

[KimberKenobi]

aww! That's awesome! I did something similar with my Sidekick... good luck!!

[Ever Victorious]

My fingers are crossed for you!

[BillyBeaneBall]

Same here. I made alot of concessions when I bought my first V...fate decided to give me an "do over" by causing an accident and this time I got EXACTLY what I wanted (though after reading this forum...I'm beginning to wish I'd gotten the ABS, doh) I LOOOOOVE my Versa even more now.

I didn't know that was possible

And I find it funny that dealers don't want to "go and get" cars for someone that wants one a certain way. They're just costing themselves sales and when you work on comission that's just plain silly. Besides, people remember when they've been treated well (and fairly) by a dealership. WHen I bougvht my first V, I hated the process SO MUCH, I decided when I bought my second V (5 months later) to go elsewhere...and I'm happy I did...they were wonderful!

But think about it...had the first dealer done what I asked in the first place...that salesman would have gotten 2 commissions in 5 months!!!!!
Modified by BillyBeaneBall at 12:50 AM 9/19/2007

[Woogie]

Glad that you were able to find the car you wanted at last. Good luck on getting it.

[srellim234]

Andrew- WARNING!!!!

Try to have a local dealer transfer the car for you. That out of state dealer has NO responsibility to ensure that the car you buy from him meets California emission standards. You may wind up with a car you can't register here without adding California emissions equipment at your own expense and time..

If your local dealer sells it to you, it's his responsibility. Go to the dealer, tell him you found the car you want, where it is, and if he's interested in a long-term repeat customer he'll do what he can to transfer it in for you.

[BillyBeaneBall]

WOW!!!!! I don't live in CA, but what a WONDERFUL post, srellim234. I hope Andrew reads this...

[KimberKenobi]

Well, I saw somewhere on my V that it said it was emissions approved for California... I don't think that there's any fear of that particular problem...

[Clipsed]

yea they should be able to transfer the car for cheaper than what it is going to cost you to fly out there and drive back and all that good stuff.

[Bubs daddy]

Quote »NOTE: California law prohibits importing and/or registering a new vehicle (one with less than 7,500 miles at the time of purchase) unless it meets or is exempt from California emission standards. If you acquire a 49 state vehicle (vehicle manufactured for all states except California) from another state or country and do not qualify for one of the exemptions, you cannot register your vehicle and must immediately remove it from this state. You may purchase a One-Trip Permit to do so.

Reference: Health & Safety Code Section 43151(A)

[/quote]

[Ever Victorious]

Well, I saw somewhere on my V that it said it was emissions approved for California... I don't think that there's any fear of that particular problem...

\

Agreed. The V shows no separate "California emissions" package. But it would be best to put in a call to Nissan to find out whether it IS 50 state legal, or if it has to be a CA car that you buy.

[andrew_aj1]

I have already checked in on all this. The Versa is a 50 state smog certified car; so it will pass anywhere in the United States. I did talk to the dealer that I have been working with for the past months how much it would cost to get it shipped out here. They stated it would be about $700; which is a lot, but cheaper than places I was looking at online.

So then I started thinking about how much it would cost to go out there and get the car myself. I came up with the following:

Plane Ticket: ~$140Gas for drive back: ~$150Food: ~$40

This adds up to about $330. That is a lot better than $700. Also on top of that it would be a fun journey. I would get to fly, which to me is fun. The dealership there said they would pick me up. A few hours later the car would be mine. Then what better way for me to enjoy this car I have been trying to get for the past six months then to drive it home from there. I would drive home to California through three other states. I plan to drive mostly strait back, but I'm sure I will find a few fun places to stop along the way. To me it would be a fun trip.

The only thing I need to do is get a loan, which will hopefully happen tomorrow. I have very little credit, but of what I do have is great. So I don't really know how that will go. If that fails I have a close family member I'm sure will let me borrow the money I need and pay back at a later time.

As soon as I get the extra money I will call the dealership and put down the $1000 they require to hold the car. Then the following weekend I will most likely be flying out there.

Oh, I can't wait.

[RedWhale]

Just wondering if you were looking at all in the Las Vegas area. It's a fairly quick flight and you could make a little vacation out of it. If you go through the internet departments of Douglas Nissan, Planet Nissan, Desert Nissan or United Nissan (didn't like them much but they might have what you need) they should be able to nail down what you need in a hurry.

When I bought mine at Douglas Nissan through their internet sales dept the couple that was being serviced ahead of me flew in from Oakland just to buy a Quest. If you find something from Desert or Douglas, let me know. I get a $200 referral and I'll split it with you to help with the travel costs, hehe. Don't know what your sales tax is in your neck of the woods but here it's 7.75% if that helps you at all.

Good luck, I love my versa (base silver SL 6sp man with kick plates and splash guards).

[andrew_aj1]

Yes, I did happen to check out Las Vegas. I checked all of California, and most of Oregon, Washington, Nevada, and Arizona. It was a random thing that I checked Salt Lake City and Denver. Those last two were to just prove to myself that this car does not exist yet and that I will just have to keep ordering it till it is made. But to my surprise I found it there in Colorado.

[BillyBeaneBall]

That's a fun drive..I've done it once, very pretty. And what better way to fall in even MORE love with a car than to make a small road trip with it!

[srellim234]

I've driven the I-70 & I-15 route through western Colorado and eastern Utah many times. Absolutely amazing beauty. I marvel at the scenery every time.

I have not tried the northern route (I-80) through Salt Lake City to northern California so I can't testify as to how great that drive is.

[andrew_aj1]

Okay everyone. Great news.

I'M FINALLY GETTING MY VERSA!!!

In the car market for over a year and trying to find my exact Versa for six months. All my hard work has finally paid off.

On Thursday afternoon my grandfather and I signed up for a personal loan for myself. I had him co-sign because of his great credit and my lack of credit. We got the loan and was told we will have a check delivered within 10 business days. This was great. The only bad thing was the 22.99 percent interest rate. I was told that the loan is not final until I sign and cash the check. So I made a few other calls and this was actually the lowest I could get from anywhere. It is a high rate, but I was not going to let that car get away.

On Friday my grandfather showed up at my house around noon. He told me that he was not going to let me accept that loan; that the interest was too high. He then stated that he would loan me the money and I can pay him back at 5 percent. I love that guy; we might not see each other very often because of our schedules, but we have always been there for each other when needed.

While he was there I called up the dealership in Colorado Springs, CO and talked to the sales man I did a earlier that week. I asked for the exact price of the car and he stated about 19,200; much higher than the 17,600 that Nissan's website states. He went on to add that they added this clear bra to the front of the car and a few other items. This was throwing up red flags all around me. I told him this is not the price he stated earlier this week and I did not want those items installed. I stated that I did not want them and was not going to pay for them.

He said he would have to talk to his boss and call me back. When he called he said they would only charge me the price they paid for those add-ons without the markup. This brought the price to about 18,750. I told him I need to think about then and ended the call.

About 30 minutes later I called back and told him I would give him only 18,000 and no more. I talked for about 2 or 3 minutes stating why, talking about the invoice price versus the MSRP. He tried to get a few words in but I just kept talking. I was in control of this conversation . I stated something like "I'm sure you have to talk to your boss or manager about this price. How about you do that and give me a call back." He said about 8 words in that conversation and said okay at the end.

15 minutes later he called me with the price of 18,055.20. I repeated the price aloud with my grandfather and mom in the room. They shook their heads and I told him no; that I'm not paying more than 18,000. He then said lets split the difference and told me 18,027.60. Once more I stated I'm only going to pay 18,000 and if needed can't he pull out the 27 bucks out of his pocket to make the sale. The sales man then went on to say that he barely makes any commission off these cars and some other junk. I took a few seconds and apologized stating that I don't know how their business totally works and how they get paid.

But I went on. I told him 18,000. After about 8 seconds, which seemed like minutes, he said okay.

We did some faxing of paperwork and that car is over there waiting for me.Today I called and put down the requested $1,000 payment to reserve the car. I have a plane booked for Saturday the 29th. Now I just have to wait till then.

I have the guy picking me up at the airport which is about 30 minutes away from the dealership in my car. I told him I will drive it back to the dealership to make sure the car is in good running order. I will be brining with me a dozen or so mp3 CDs with me so if he starts talking sales stuff I will just pop in some System of a Down, Marilyn Manson, or some other rock and listen to that instead, hehe.

I have everything planed out. I can't wait. I'm so excited.

It's about a 1300 mile drive from the dealership back to my home in Northern California. I live about 45 minutes north of Sacramento. This will give me a good drive to get to know my brand new car. I estimate about 18 hours of driving, so I will have to stop and sleep for a few hours during the trip.

I can continue to go into details about everything, but I don't want to bore anyone.

I would like to thank everyone who gave me their support and wished me luck. Now I will finally be able to give back to this community.

[KimberKenobi]

Don't know what your sales tax is in your neck of the woods but here it's 7.75% if that helps you at all.

This may also help... When I bought my 'Kik in Ohio, I didn't get charged sales tax. When I came home and got it registered, I paid sales tax on it at the time of registration. Made things much easier.

AAHHH!! (I just read your last post) That is so awesome!! You rock my socks!

Have an awesome trip!! It will definitely be worth it!!

[andrew_aj1]

That is exactly what I'm doing. I'm going to buy the car there in Colorado and bring it back here to California. When I register i'll have to pay for tax and license at that time.

[Ever Victorious]

Sounds like an adventure.

Good luck with your trip!

For the future, you should probably get yourself a basic, low-limit credit card and make one transaction a month (doesn't have to be much, a tank of gas or a CD will do) and then pay it off each month. This will build up your credit for you so you don't run into the 23% car loan ever again.

[andrew_aj1]

I've actually been doing that for the past two years. When I talked to the bank they stated if I had three years of history I would get a better rate.

What I'm planning to do is get another credit card when I get back from my trip. Ill have two then and using those and paying them off will build up my credit.

When I have less than $2,000 to pay my grandfather back I will see if I can get a personal loan for that amount at a low rate. Ill be able to pay that off in just a few months and build up even more credit.

Does anyone here have any recommendations for places to check out, good rest stops to stay the night, or anything else on Interstate 80 between Wyoming and California?

Does anyone here have any rec