Nissan Armada

pfarmada

Anyone know what this costs with 0 deductible and 7 yr or 75 K miles?

coryms

Did you bother reading my original message? The dealers that I attempted to do business with only wanted to push vehicles that they had in their lot. They refused to place an order or make a deal with other lots. In the end I found a dealer who has extremely helpful and courteous but was already exasperated with the entire situation.

The attitude that you show through this board is exactly the same as what I encountered from a few other Nissan dealers. Are you guys trained to act like that or is it some type of contagious mental state?

dklanecky

I am far from a defender of car sales people in general. I do however recognize that the free market system that we all live within allows the seller to set their own price on almost all goods.

The dealer you didn't like follows one business model (refuse to deal, order and or trade) and your statement "in the end I found a dealer who has been extremely helpful and courteous" indicates that there are good dealers out there.

Patronize the good ones and run away from the bad ones. It's extremely simple and its also just the way things work.

Here's an excellent (but very long) story about the car sales person's life.

http://www.edmunds.com/advice/buying/articles/42962/article.html

I appreciate bowkes perspective and can relate to the inherent contradictions and challenges that exist in running a car dealership and working for a car dealership.

bowke28

the mental state IS contagious...its called capitalism. everyone in the world agrees that this is the best way to operate an economy...even china.

you also didnt read my whole post. seeing as the armada has only been out a month, dealers ARE NOT TRADING YET...hold on, ill type it again...dealers ARE NOT TRADING YET.

by the way, how did you buy a vehicle from a dealer that was exasperated with the whole situation...when it wasnt even a nissan dealer???

rsholland

I drove one yesterday, with the 5.7 Hemi. All-in-all, a pretty nice truck. The Armada, however while rated with less power, certainly feels a lot more responsive than the Hemi.

One surprise, the new Durango's 3rd-row seat is much more comfortable than the Armada's. The seat cushion, while looking skimpy, is actually quite comfortable, and there's much more headroom! Legroom is about the same as the Armada's. This seat, like the Armada comes standard as a 1-piece bench, but a 50/50 split fold is optional when you order the leather seating.

I consider the new Durango a full-size-lite SUV, and not a mid-size SUV. It's now wide enough to put 4x8 panels flat on the floor between the wheelwells. Still can't quite close the hatch, but at least you can lay them flat, which is something only full-size SUVs used to do.

Bob

berisimus

I am new to the confusing world of new car negotiation and purchase. I have followed this board with great enthusiasm and have learned much in the process. Now, at long last, I think I am ready to take the leap for a Smoke LE with Technology and bench seat. How do I proceed most efficiently? I have a 2000 Ford Explorer Sport (fully loaded) that is paid off. This will be my down payment. I have been pre-qualified for a loan from my credit union at 4.5%. These are my questions:

1. Should I sell my Explorer on the open market first? I will likely get a much better price but it will need some coordination as it is my only vehicle and I don't want get a rental for a long duration.

2. I understand that the LE with bench seats are scarce. Will I need to special order and, if so, does that in any way make it more difficult to negotiate a good price?

3. I plan to e-mail (or fax the fleet manager) of 3 local dealers I will let them know I am contacting other dealers and I will provide a cutoff date. I will specify a firm price ($750.00 over invoice). From reading other posts I will inform them I do not wish to pay for undercoating, automate, transfer/freight fees or any extended warranties. I am basing my "invoice price" as posted by Edmunds.com. If they have a different invoice price I will need to see it. I will not pay for any invoice "marked up" with any dealer "prep" or "advertising" charges.

4. Do I mention that I am pre-qualified for a loan at 4.5% (60 months) to see if Nissan can beat it? Do I mention the Explorer or just tell them my downpayment amount (assuming the estimated proceeds from the sale of my vehicle).

I can afford to be patient. I have an excellent contact with Infiniti and can probably get a great deal on the QX56, although I think that the Armada fits almost all of my needs at a significant price diffential.

I would appreciate any constructive comments. In the event that I do purchase I can assure everyone that I will contribute my first impressions so that others on the board can likewise receive information to assist them in evaluating the pros/cons of the vehicle, including my experience with the all important negotiation/purchase process.

rshe

In regards to ordering the Armada... I was able to obtain a better deal by ordering mine and waiting. At the time I ordered mine I had several dealers willing to do $1500 over the invoice price, which you can pull up off of Edmunds.. Make sure you do take this info in with you. I had one dealer trying to tell me that invoice was several hundred higher than what Edmunds had posted. Ultimately the dealer I ordered from came in exactly with what Edmunds had for the invoice price (+ $1500) and they got my business. Keep in mind that when you order one the dealer gets anything over invoice + and additional 3% that the manufacturer gives them to anticipate carrying the vehicle on the lot for a few months. Since you will be taking delivery the day it arrives that 3% (called a holdback) is icing on the profit cake for the dealer..

And as always, you will typically make considerably more by selling your trade outright. The advantage of trading it in is you don't have to hang around the house on the weekends taking people for test drives trying to sell the thing. And can you live without a vehicle for several days between when you sell yours and take delivery of the Armada?? Just food for thought..

lennoxbeals

Steve,

Loving this Armada, was able to take 7 co-workers to lunch the other day and no one complained about the accomdations for the ride. With the 3row seat folded down the cargo area swallowed all my telescope gear with room to spare, used to fill the Xterra cargo area and the rear seats up.

Thanks for the suggestions. Looking at a touring/rec kayak vice a whitewater one. Checked both Yakima and Thule and both say they are working on the issue with no due date but at least Thule had a notification service I signed up for. Just going to take a bit before the accessory market catches up.

Bear

--------------
#775 of 799 by steve_ HOST Nov 05, 2003 (11:50 pm)

Lennoxbeals, congrats on the new ride. You mentioned buying in Hampton - does that mean you're trying to get a sea kayak up there instead of a little short river yak? Foam blocks would work ok for a river kayak until you could get a real rack.
Check with Yakima and Thule for racks too. At the least they should be able to give you some idea of when their tower clips, etc. will hit the market.

dodger22

I own a smoke 4x4 LE. I was wondering if anyone knew if Nissan would be offering chrome rims for the Armada. When I saw the QX56, I thought I saw it had chrome rims. Will those transfer to the Armada? Also, FYI, vehicle goes to the shop Tues for minor issues. Broken seat latch on the top passenger bucket seat (horrible design), air pressue sensor says I have flat tires, HVAC controls only light up at night occasionally. BUT, the car rocks. No regrets. Handles like a dream. Still getting used to the gas mileage, but it's not a surprise.

bowke28

yes, any smoke LE will be very scarce...more scarce with the tech. package, and the bench seat will make it the proverbial needle in the haystack. a dealer shouldnt have a problem ordering it, as even if you do not take it, they can use it for trade fodder. however...

i wouldnt be surprised if you are about $2000 off in your price expectations. the smoke model is the most sought after. im not saying you shouldnt try for less, but dont be surprised if its more, and by all means...dont take it personally if you cant buy it for $750 over. the people that post these examples are the exception rather than the rule. i wish you luck.

dklanecky

Your plan is correct, in general. Since you know your going to have to order the Armada, I would put a small anount ($500-1000) as a down payment to secure your order and convince the dealer your a serious customer. I would tell the dealer you have your own financing set up but are open to their offerings. Nissan probably won't beat your stated deal on the new Armada.

One thing I'd suggest is to widen your circle of travel to include more dealers in your search.

Another option is to contact the Nissan dealerships in the Carmax group (SC and DC) and submit a request for a special order price from them.

Even is your far away from them, you can certainly use that as leverage to start your deal locally. (I've done it twice, once onm my 00 Maxima SE, ordered in August 1999 and again on my 03 Murano SE, ordered in February 03).

In both cases I was able to get significant dollars off the MSRP on NEW vehicles which were not being discounted easily by local dealers.

Good luck in your search.

pfarmada

Can you address Messages # 792 & 793 for me. Thanks, PFA

popinjay

Anybody had any luck finding a locking gas cap for the Armada? The parts department at my dealer recommended a NAPA 'universal' gas cap, saying that Nissan will eventually take this same cap, print 'Nissan' on it, add the 'desert protection package' and lojack device and charge you $995 for the thing. Add a $300 'document' fee if you want a receipt.

bowke28

you can get everything on the SE except the radiator, shocks, and skid plate...thats why they arent being touched.

as far as the warranties, i've got no clue.

popinjay

At the time of purchase, my dealer offered a 0 deductable, 7 yr/100,000 warranty for $2800. After I picked myself up off the floor from laughing, the price was reduced to $1500. They claim this was only $25 over their actual cost..but then they also claimed that they invented the internet. Whether this was the 'platinum' plan, or something else, I couldn't tell you.
Anybody checked into pricing on aftermarket warranties?

rshe

How has your paint issues played out? Any resolution yet?

jwilli420

you should have a clue on the warranty, because i thought that you knew everything, MR KNOW-IT-ALL

bowke28

jwilli420 is a new salesperson in my dealership who has a MUCH too smart mouth on him...lol. just ignore him! ;-)

jwilli420

i just want to sound as smart as bowke28, because i haven't had the privledge of going around the world twice, in my dreams

pfarmada

rshe, Thanks for asking. I had some paint imperfections and a small dent around the inside of my front doors. They were marked with a grease pencil. I noticed them one day while I was setting my radio. I met with the Nissan SE Rep and he said it should have never made it out of the plant or dealership like that. He docked the dealer their PDI fee. He also offered me a Nissan Security+Plus Silver Vehicle Protection Plan 0 Deductible 7 yr/75K.

bowke28

glad that got taken care of.

jwilli420

maybe you should of noticed them before you left the dealership, You probably were asked if the appearence of the vehicle was fine

bowke28

to PFA for my "colleague"...he is unaware of the punishment that can be doled out for talking out of his proverbial '@55'. ill take care of this! ;-)

pfarmada

jwilli420, My Armada was delivered in the shade under a small tent like structure and you could not even open the doors all the way. I guess the Dealer was used to delivering smaller vehicles under that thing. The SE Rep told me that the Dealership is paid a fee to check the vehicles over before delivery. Believe me, if I buy an 04 Maxima I will give it a 3rd line inspection.

pfarmada

I believe it is beneficial to have him on the board. He gives us a different perpective other than just from owners, critics, & shoppers. In my opinion it would be wise for the manufacturers to also monitor these boards. They could see how customers perceive their products, their service, and to make needed improvements.

bowke28

i appreciate it, but he's a green-pea, and will likely wash out sooner or later...lol.

jwilli420

yes i will probably wash out you and your sales to the sewers.................lol, lol, lol, lol

bowke28

now that both our sets of posts will get deleted, im happier.

rshe

Glad everything worked out 4 u. Mine got ordered this week.. Can't wait to get it.. They are saying by the end of the year, but we'll see. I haven't heard anything more about the resonance issue so I am hoping it was just a few vehicles and they have quietly fixed the problem..

tiggerguy

Has anyone out there seen an Armada in Sedona? I have seen one in every color but that. It's hard to tell from the brochures, and my local dealer doesn't have anything on the lot this color. It looks to me like a metallic copper or brown, but like I said, hard to tell from the brochure. I'm one of the few who actually doesn't like the Smoke, too many grey vehicles in my area, and so far the Galaxy has my vote- just want to see them all before I go ahead with an order. Too bad there is no deep red or cobalt. Can't wait to get behind the wheel of one of these beasts again, I have driven literally everything else in the mid-full size class these past few weeks, and simply NOTHING compares with the ride and feel!Not even the Lexus GX or LX.

rshe

What is the mechanics behind the auto-leveling suspension? It it a pnuematic system or just a heavier spring like on the Sequoia??\

Good to see some healthy competition there, maybe you will all start dealing on those Armadas

rshe

I can't believe you haven't been able to find a Sedona Armada. All of the dealers in my area still have the first one they got. My dealer is afraid he will have his till 2010.. In my opinion it is the ugliest color I have ever seen on a vehicle.. It is about the color of a burnt pumpkin.

tiggerguy

That's probably as accurate a description I could ask for- Colors tend to be a regional thing,as far as popularity. My local dealer still has their Smoke LE (the one I test drove the day it came off the truck)If it had the tech package I could probably be swayed. I'm just looking for a color that everyone else doesn't have- guess "burnt pumpkin" won't be too popular, except around Halloween lol

teddybear3

Thanks for all the info on Armada. Have been following forum for months. We traded in my wife's 2000 mb ml 320 in on an Armada LE Sat. She loved that ml 320 and almost cried as I left the yard. She ended up with our 2001 MDX which the smoothest car we ever had. This Armada is fantastic and is a full size bigger than the MDX. Its a real truck and smoother than the ML320 with one mile per gallon less than the ML320 and about 5 less than the MDX. None the less the ML 320 has a better image than MDX or Armada. Thanks again.

jschober

I have found a Sea Blue PFA with all of the features I want - difficult to find. My only concern is the color. Would anybody who has purchased or closely observed a SEA BLUE pfa please comment? Thank-you, Justin

popinjay

The color is very cool. I've got a 4wd SE in deep water blue. It's actually more of a green than a blue, as it is almost identical to the metallic forest green color of my '94 Toyota truck. I actually wish they offered a more traditional blue color, but I couldn't be happier with this one. If I had to choose between the smoke and the blue, I'd take the blue.

boat10

WHAT A TANK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

armada2

It's now been two weeks since my brand new Armada LE with Tec has been in the shop! The Nissan rep came to the dealer last week to help replace the problems with the electral system, when I went to the shop to pick it up I took a test ride only to find that all was not repaired!

Is there anyone else out there with a shot antanator and no power going to the wheels?

I am trying to see if this is a item that should have a national recall?

Thanks

bowke28

nah...no competition. he's a greenpea. also, we work for the same guy, so deals are the same with either of us. ;-)

stever

Mini's all around then? :-)

Greenpea advice:

Confessions of a Car Salesman

Steve, Host

bowke28

yeah, i read it about a year ago.

"Mini's all around then? :-)"

pshaw!!! ;-)

tiggerguy

I like this color myself, not loud or radical, but different enough to stand out..definately more green than blue, kinda like a blue spruce only darker

achadha

how are the armadas selling i haven't seen hardly any on the road yet in NOrthern VA. Dealer near my place still has the same stock for over 3 weeks now. I did see one on the road yesterday i didn't recognize it at first boy is this truck huge!!!

dave5tsi

I had a 95 PF SE 4x4 and if I get a PFA it will be the Off Road Version.

What kind of discounts are you seeing? I am in Austin, TX and went to a dealer where the manager had a 4x4 SE OR Black/Sand.

2004 Nissan Pathfinder Armada SE Off Road
Total MSRP† $40,720.00
VIN: 5N1AA08B14N701819

How low are the dealers going on these?

Also that Blue Green color is not for me. In person it looks aqua. But my preference would not have me own any of the "brown family" colors. Whoever brough "pumkin" as a car color back is deserving of torture, imho.

Any help on the pricing appreciated.

What kind of residuals are they getting for leasing?

momofthree1

I got my new Armada 2 weeks ago. I can't tell you how much I love it! I had a Ford Explorer for 11 years and 23 days (but who's counting...) It was TIME for something new. Plus we have 3 children (all boys 8, 9, and 11)and my husband is 6' 7", we needed something with room.

My husband can sit in the back seat with out any trouble. The kids can all bring a friend with them. I love it!

Yesterday we drove to Santa Barbra. The kids watched Indiana Jones and I enjoyed the ride. It was pure heaven on earth.

I was looking for the Sedona color as well as a previous poster. I could not find one anywhere. The dealer told me that he had found one but was just playing games with us. When we got there he told us that we had just missed it. It had been sold. We wound up buying the Canteen color. (which is beautiful!, I didn't want white, black or silver) The funny thing is, when we were in finance, the man told us that we were the first people to buy the new Armada from them. The salesman was playing games but it worked out. I think I like the canteen color better now.

olisito

Hello,
I just purchased a Armada last week and I love it. I got a fully loaded (LE, Tech Pakg, DVD, 4WD).
Any of you would like to start a Armada club. I looked around and I coun't find a club or a forum for Armada owners. Any of you have come across one?
Thanks

peter_in_atl

Congratulations,
According to bowke28, you have the only one in the country in that configuration.

olisito

Thanks !
Well, the DVD is not a factory DVD, its an aftermarket DVD with two screens that the dealer agreed to install for the price that I wanted
since the DVD was installed by the dealer its condiered as "factory" quipment by them and its covered by their warranty. Not bad considering that I had to wait months if I wanted a truck with the configuration I wanted. The only option I didn't get in my Armada was the DVD, all the other options I got.. its fully loaded. Besides the aftermarket DVD has a 14inch wide screen for the rear and a 7 inch screen for the passanger visor. Really nice

peter_in_atl

I'm looking to have the same setup in my garage.

rshe

Agreed.. I have only seen one so far and I am on the road alot with my job. Saw a Black LE in Merrifield, but that is it... I have one ordered for Dec. delivery, so that will make 2. LOL..Don't think these are selling as well as the dealers are trying to make us think.. My prediction is the price will get a lot closer to invoice by the end of the year. Once these dealers are sitting on about 20 of these (about 3/4 mil $ in inv.) they are going to be doing some serious dealing or watch their holdbacks fly out the window. I think it is a timing issue as well, not a lot of people want to drop $40-50 grand right before the holidays.

Carmax is 1200+ off msrp already and the SC one is $1200 off + a coupon for another $1000 off as well..