Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
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What's interesting is you said the same dealer is offering $500 over invoice for an AWD. I thought those are in much higher demand and should be more like $1500 over invoice. Can you tell us what options are on it since some members here are still hunting for an AWD 05.
007
2005 G35x
Black/Black
Premium C Pkg
XM Radio
Floor Mats
All weather mats
Trunk Mat
Splash Guards
For $34,300 (before tax, title, etc). I thought that was a darn good deal! Not too much over invoice/wholesale for a 2005 I think (invoice about $34,003). I did all my negotiations of the internet (with dealers all over the midwest and even Grubbs...this dealership gave me the best offer and courtesy). I was very happy with the service (that's why I drove so far) and am very happy with the price (no buyer's remorse...so I really should stop reading this forum or I might find I paid too much!!)
Thanks for any info
Contacted several dealers in various parts of the country through the Infiniti site. I live in Florida, so contacted many Florida dealers and others in places I could get to cheaply by plane and have friends in the area.
Infiniti of Tampa (FL): Responded promptly, treated me well, would sell any 6MT sedan at $1000 under invoice, no tricks or add-ons.
Infiniti of Raleigh (NC): Never responded. Can you believe that?
Infiniti of Charlotte (NC): a bit slower to respond, offered $500 under invoice.
Lokey Infiniti (Clearwater, FL): Received an auto response, but nothing after that. Hard to believe!
Infiniti of Huntsville (AL): Had added the full aero package to the car and offered $800 under invoice plus $3801 (!) for the aero. They were evidently asking full MSRP on the aero and it's also evidently much more expensive when added post-factory.
Infiniti of Melbourne (FL): Gave a price that was $324 under invoice. They had added splash guards and spoiler, so those probably had a higher invoice than from the factory. Therefore, I figure the offer was probably $500 under the inflated invoice. Slowest of those who actually responded.
Orlando (FL) Infinity: Offered $750 under invoice, but added a $399 dealer fee. Net $351.
Bommarito Infiniti (St. Louis) Offered $800 under invoice. I took this deal. When they first quoted the price, it seemed $317 too high. I mentioned this and they confirmed my calculations. They said that they had a $317 'marketing assessment' on that car, but would waive it to do the deal with me. Later, they mentioned that they also usually add a $149 dealer processing fee, but were not charging it to me. The sales guy was quick to confirm my calcs from the Edmunds data, and I didn't feel he had been trying to nail me, but felt that the $317 was considered part of the invoice. Except for that, I would recommend the dealership.
I really wanted to to business with Tampa Infiniti, who not only had the best deal, but is very close to me. In the end, I decided I just had to have the NAV and Tampa didn't have it and couldn't get a 6MT with NAV.
An added advantage of the car I'm getting is that it had been there for a while and was at the pre-price increase level. The base price increased midyear by $200 and the delivery charge by $45. However, the invoice price on the base increased by $609! That's not a typo.
If you can find an '04 sedan in stock that is at the lower price level and can negotiate a deal off of that lower invoice, you should do quite well. You can easily tell by the list price on the base. Early '04 was $29,850 +545 delivery. Later was $200 more, with $590 delivery. Early year invoice on the base car was $27,037, increasing to $27,646 later in the year.
For my particular car (6MT, premium, NAV), the MSRP/invoice was 35,445/32,016, and my price was $31,216. This is $800 off of the early year invoice, but $1,454 off of the invoice price for later in the year.
Now I have to buy a plane ticket and make a long drive, but can visit friends in the area anddrive home with exactly the car I wanted.
If you're near the area or can get there easily, you should check Infiniti of Tampa. They are a huge dealership and have a lot of cars in stock and offered the best deal relative to invoice of any of the several dealers I contacted. They were also the quickest to respond and didn't play any games, although they did ask for a deposit from me at a point earlier than I thought appropriate. There was an earlier report about a pushy F&I guy, but with the Infiniti money available at 1.9% for 36 months, the F&I guy is probably temporarily preempted.
Several years ago, I purchased an I30 from Bommarito and found their sales & service staff to be excellent. The service there is really great - too bad you live a bit far to take advantage of it, but it sounds like you've got a good alternative in Tampa.
kirstie_h
Roving Host & Future Vehicles Host
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Find me at kirstie_h@edmunds.com - or send a private message by clicking on my name.
2015 Kia Soul, 2021 Subaru Forester (kirstie_h), 2024 GMC Sierra 1500 (mr. kirstie_h)
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From this process I've learned:
* This forum is wonderfully valuable, as is the info from Edmunds that tells us what dealer incentives are available.
* It is easy to go to infiniti.com to search for dealers by zip code and to view their inventory. One of the dealers told me that the Internet inventory probably lags the actual by about a week. You can look for 2004 inventory, even though it seems you can't. You have to go to the section on the right side of the page after clicking 'build and locate'. It is cumbersome, but it works.
* By checking with several dealers this way, and checking this forum, you will know what's a pretty good deal. I also believe there's great value in buying your car locally, and would have given up a couple hundred bucks to buy locally if I could have gotten the configuration I wanted.
* It seems there are few six-speed sedans with NAV around, but it also seems that they were very slow sellers. A high percentage of the few I came across were at the early year MSRP, indicating they had been at the dealership for a while.
I'm thinking I could do better if I go back to the dealer with my wife and we are actually ready to sign. Anyone have other lease amounts that they are paying or were quoted in the Long Island area?
Thanks - Matt
cap cost $33,356
residual $19,976
due at signing: $1405 ($0 down payment-those are the bank fees, licensing fees and first months payment)
monthly payment $434
Seems like a good deal.
Two questions: (1) Is it a good deal?
If it is a good deal, why are there so many left over 04s? In NJ, PA the dealer supplies seem large.
I was completely sold and ready to sign until I started to read the "problems" letters. I have some pause now. Any one have an 04 for 6-12 months and completely satisfied?
they give you using the leasing tools on this site.
going to down payment - where is the rest going?
rwd not so great.
Just posted a reply to you on the other site. I got your details here. Thanks for the help. Enjoy the care.
Would you be able to tell me what dealer you were working with in Northern NJ ?
Thanks
Dealers are still stocked up on the 04's.
===============
The Offer
Through the Vehicle Purchase Program (VPP), Business Associates pay a pre-negotiated price for a Nissan or Infiniti vehicle: dealer invoice less any applicable incentives, plus delivery fee, plus a destination and handling charge and, if applicable, an advertising assessment fee.
For Business Associates, the VPP price is calculated as follows:
Dealer invoice
Minus VPP discount (Nissan 2.87% : Infiniti 1.65%)
Plus dealer added options, Security Plus, etc.
Plus 2.5% delivery fee of dealer invoice after VPP discount has been subtracted
Plus destination and handling charge
Plus marketing assessment as applicable
Minus applicable incentives
Equals paticipant's purchase price
=====================
They knock 1.65% off the invoice but add 2.5% back in for the "delivery fee" so it works out to being slightly over invoice.
I don't know if they'll pick up the car for service, but I know that they are willing to pick up the car this week (and leave me a loaner car) while I get the Llumar paint protection applied. They were also willing to bring me the car to my work or home after I negotiated the purchase price on the internet. I decided to pick it up myself because I want to break it in gently and didn't want anyone else to drive it the 100 miles at high speeds.
Good luck.
I'm curious how you got VPP through a friend. I asked Grubbs if I could do that and they said that my friend would have to be on title.
Thanks.
saw your price quote for dealership in Long Island...hope this helps: I Leased a new '04 G35X w/ splash guards, trunk mat, cargo net (no wood) from Ramsey Infiniti in North Jersey about a month ago: Total out of pocket was $3,000.00
Cap cost was about $30,000.00
Mileage allowance: 12k/yr. for a term of 42 Mos.
Total Monthly including tax: $315.00/Month
The folks at Ramsey are decent, although its probably atleast 90 minutes from you. Also, I know that NY residents have a higher lease payment. Good Luck.
You might try the $1,500 under, but that may be a bit optimistic, especially for a coupe.
Check my posts 1843 and 1847 where I described my experience. Note particularly that I bought a car at the early year price level. The MSRP increased by $200 during the year, but the invoice to the dealer increased by $609! I got a car at the earlier price level, and since I was dealing from invoice, I got an effective discount of an extra $653, including an increase in the delivery charge.
I wasn't looking for a coupe, so don't know if the coupe had the same pricing phenomenon mid-year. If someone knows where to go back to get the historical coupe invoice prices, that would be helpful.
Be sure to let the dealer know that you know about the invoice price and that you know the incentive is available. That will save some time. Also, when they quote a certain amount off invoice, calculate the final price yourself and respond with that amount to let them confirm it, to make sure they aren't going to add any extras, like a 'dealer processing fee'.
Finally, my experience with Bommarito Infiniti in the St. Louis area met my highest expectations, as Kirstie had sort of predicted. I would recommend them and Tampa Infiniti highly, as described in the posts I referred to earlier.
I got mine through a friend. The VPP program has basically two categories, 1) For employees of NNA and Affiliate-companies and their immediate family members and 2) For NNA and affiliate employee sponsored friends and extended family members.
I'm not sure about what Grubbs told you but not of the dealers I have talked to had said that.
I just checked, and the incentive is evidently available only on the sedan. For various reasons, my thought process leading up to purchase never included the coupe.
To get to the incentives and rebates, click on the 'New Cars' tab at the top of this page. Then, near the top of the page that comes up, you'll see a thing you can click on called 'incentives and rebates'. Click there, and then do the obvious. Or this link may get you straight to it: http://tinyurl.com/4rwfg
Your note indicates you've probably already been there, since it is the Edmund's info, but I'm posting that just in case.
Since the incentive is not there on the coupe, I'd say your chances of getting $1500 under invoice are fairly slim. You could try for $500 under, or perhaps wait until January, when some coupe incentives may appear. They state the current dealer incentive on the sedan as expiring on 1/3/05. At that point, they may add some kind of incentive on the '04 coupe. Unless you're after a particular coupe configuration that may leave the lot prior to then, it probably wouldn't hurt to wait for a possible coupe incentive. Good luck!
I can pay cash, but am thinking of taking advantage of Infiniti's 1.9%/36 mo. financing offer: since in my area [midwest] it is easy to get money market accounts at 2.75 - 3%, and these rates will certainly go higher as interest rates increase over the next 36 months, borrowing at 1.9% and investing my ~ 30K at the higher MM rates would effectively save me at least $500 and likely more on the price of the car.
But does Infiniti charge an origination fee, or are there other fees to be considered apart from the actual 1.9%?
I am very leery of borrowing through the dealer. Any comments or things I should be aware of or be very careful about?? Or maybe it's best to just pay cash and avoid loan hassles??
Many thanks!
thanks
Since I was buying the car from out of town, they faxed me the credit application, which took less than ten minutes to complete, and required no supporting documentation. I faxed the completed application back to them and received the approval call a couple of hours later.
I was even given an option of having the payment due 30 or 45 days from the loan date. That required a corresponding adjustment in the payment, but it was all at a true annual rate of 1.9% Unless you take the money and blow it unwisely, it's a no-brainer.
I'm not a tax advisor, but I think you'll have to make better than 1.9% AFTER taxes to make out on the deal. In a 25% bracket, you'd need to make 2.533%.
But the deal is as it appears on the surface. No tricks, and the 1.9% for 36 months is true.
How much does the 2005 model already out discount the new value of the '04 model? I would think quite a bit. Once 1/1/05 rolls around that car is a year old in the NADA books.
I was thinking invoice minus $2,000 or so. Is that crazy or possible?
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
I am looking at old posts but don't see any that apply to my specific market area.
See my prior posts on my buying experience. I think $2000 under invoice is very optimistic. The holdback on the car is less than $1000.
One key is not to limit yourself to your general area. In some areas, the 6MT may be a hot commodity, but in others, they may be languishing on the lot. Go to the Infiniti site and look at the inventory of various dealers. If you're dealing from invoice, note that the invoice price went up by $654 during the year, so if you find one at the early year MSRP of $29,850, the invoice on that car is $27,037. That compares to $27,646 for later in the year. The other $45 of the $654 is made up by a midyear increase in the delivery charge.
So, if you are lucky enough to get $1,346 off of invoice on an early '04, it would be like getting $2,000 off of a late '04.
There is currently a $1,000 dealer incentive on the sedan. It ends 1/1/05, I believe. I'd say it's a better than even bet it will continue, but it could either stop or increase. Also, you can get the 1.9% financing for up to 36 months until early January.
As of last week, Tampa Infiniti had a Desert Platinum, Graphite 6MT with the premium package, splash guards and trunk mat that was at the early year invoice level, but had the higher delivery charge of $590. They offered me $1,000 under invoice, which would have been $29,402. If you can find that deal or better closer to home, you could either grab it, or wait to see what January brings.
Thanks for the reply. I think you are probably right but it doesn't really matter now. I called an Infiniti dealer about 65 miles away yesterday. It is the closest dealer to where I live in Virginia. They had a '04 Sedan 6MT w/ premium, aero, and chrome wheels starting at $36,570. They got to $32,500. I don't want the aero package or the chrome wheels so I don't see how that makes any sense to pay for it. Anyway, he got real short and said that they couldn't service the car from that far away anyway. They don't offer loaners to out of towners. You have to be local. Also, he said you couldn't lease the '04 at that $32,500 price either. You had to buy it. That didn't make sense. He also said when I asked if they had any '05 6MT sedans that they will only sell those for MSRP. Not less. I didn't even ask him what they would sell them for, but rather if they had any.
So, this being the closest dealer to me I just don't see how it makes any sense to buy a G35. I don't want to have to deal with that dealership or sales dept. Also, that would be extremely difficult to get that car serviced from that far away with no loaner car.
Any ideas that I am not thinking of?
You're probably out of luck if you can't get service from a dealer reasonably close by. If that bothers you, you'll need to go to a different brand. I bought from a great distance from my home, but do have a local Infiniti dealer.
I considered an Acura TL. It is nicer in almost every way than a G35, in my opinion, but had two characteristics that ruled it out. The first was front wheel drive and the attendant torque steer and larger turning radius. Depending on the direction I go, I have to make a U-turn into traffic either leaving or returning home, so a short turning radius was important to me. The other thing against the TL was that it wouldn't hold my disassembled ultralight aircraft in the trunk, as would the G35.
It is doubtful that either of those things is important to you, so if there's an Acura dealership nearby, I'd say go for a TL, or maybe even a Cadillac STS with manual. I think they are the only other cars in the class that offer manual transmissions, excluding German makes. After suffering great reliability and maintenance pains with a Porsche, a couple of VWs, and a couple of BMWs, I excluded all German makes from my personal consideration this time, and maybe forever, even though I love the way they drive when they're working.
I drove the TL and the STS and thought they were both nice cars, but suppose the TL might prove a little more reliable and have somewhat better resale, even though the Cadillac looks really cool.
I'm picking up my new lease on g35x this saturday.
Here's what I got:
Premium package,
Spoiler (not aero)
Wood trim
Sunroof
6cd bose changer
splash/mudguards
Spare tire in trunk (whatever that package is called)
Basically all the toys except the Navigation.
42 month lease, 12K miles a year.
$420 a month (this is with taxes)
$0 down...but i did pay for the first month.
So all I paid on the sale day was $500
( $420 + all the paperwork fees + dmv )
Did I get a good deal? Please let me know.
Thanks.
Danny.
I am looking for G35 coupe in florida and i see that the dealership in tampa did offer u a good deal.can u tell me who did u talk to .I am going no where with this guy at the same delaership.