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He then went on to explain to me that the price was if I met all of the requirements to earn the incentives/discounts, which were not mentioned in either the autotrader ad or their site, and the kicker was that the incentives that they stacked together to reach their fictitious sales price were physically impossible to meet. They said that if you were a new Nissan customer you would earn $1000 off the MSRP of the truck, then they said if you were an existing Nissan owner you would get $1000 off the MSRP of the truck, then stacked on a number of other discounts (Military, AARP, some farming thing, etc), but the total discounts/incentives they applied to the MSRP included both the new Nissan and existing Nissan customer discounts, which is physically impossible.
I realize this post is from 6 months ago, but I had to respond because I recently learned that this is apparently a thing now, at least in some markets. After talking to my local dealer, I went on Autotrader and somehow had the search distance set to unlimited. I was seeing PRO-4X models listed for the price of a base model, or about $10k off of MSRP.

I knew this was too good to be true, but I was curious so I asked my local salesperson about it, and she explained that this is just is what some dealers do. They stack all the discounts and incentives together, even mutually exclusive ones, to come up with this totally unrealistic number. I guess it's especially prevalent down south, but one of our local Chevy dealers stacks their price with a trade-in bonus AND a lease loyalty bonus. In theory you could get that if you happened to be returning your lease and also had another late model vehicle to trade in as well, but how many people are going to find themselves in that situation? Generally it will be one or the other.

I come back and the guy is trying to sell her on an extended warranty (which their dealership already apparently offers lifetime drivetrain warranty if the service is done at the dealer on schedule) and he's telling her **** like if her alternator or starter goes bad it could cost her $2500 or more. I looked at him and asked "What world are you living in that it costs $2500 to replace an alternator.
I got burned by one of those some years back, after my car had been totaled and I was in the process of buying a replacement. I was still sore from the accident and tired from dealing with the car buying process, so I probably wasn't in the best mindset, and somehow I ended up signing up for an extended warranty on a car that already came with a 100k mile warranty. Thankfully, I realized my error a few days later and was able to get it cancelled and my money refunded, but the whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth. Moral of my story is, don't buy a car when you're injured and sleep deprived.
 
Wow....I SELL cars and those are some horrifying stories! A little insight, banks pay us when we use them for financing, some dealerships offer an incentive to do so (mine included) if you're trying to pay cash I will present you with that option and then tell you most of the loans we offer have no pre pay penalty. I just ask that you make 4 monthly payments before so we don't get a penalty from the bank.
Yes, some jackass somewhere thought it was a good idea to stack every rebate and incentive there is to advertise the lowest price possible. Why? Because everyone wants to save money, and if you can get the same thing for less, why not? So to stay competitive, everyone is doing it now (my dealership included) If your sales person has an ounce of morality, and a dash of skill, they'd ask what brought you in and asked if you saw the vehicle online. Then ask if you understand how we got to that pricing. I'd then explain how the rebates are being used and what you may or may not qualify for. Contrary to popular belief, most salespeople you encounter don't make decent money, at least not on a regular basis. Most of the time they sell on average two to three cars a week. Most are on commission and have a flat amount of $100 to $200 depending on brand and dealership. $300 a week isn't much to survive on. But occasionally, if they do the "hard" part of their job correctly, they can make a decent commission. The "hard" part of the job is demonstrating features of the vehicle you may not be familiar with or don't utilize fully. They also fail to meet you where you are in the buying process, and "selling" to you the way you want to be sold to. Yes we focus on your monthly payment most, yes it gives us a chance to maybe make an extra $50 to $100 on the sale, but most importantly (for me anyway) it let's me know if you have realistic expectations. For instance, you really really want that $45,000 vehicle, you have $1,000 down, and marginal credit. I ask you what your budget is, you tell me no more than $400 a month. Unless you have an additional $19,000 on top your $1,000 down, you're not going to see a $400 a month payment. $45,000 ÷ 60= $750 a month for 5 years at 0% interest. That's not including tax tag and fees. Pasco county Fl has 7% tax, tag fees from the dmv run $300 to $500 and then there's dealer fees and any add ons. You're going to be closer to $50,000 by the time it's all said and done. That's $833 a month before interest. Lowest rate I've seen in the past 6 months is 3.50% with a .25% shave for auto pay which makes your interest rate 3.25% up to 72 months. The rate jumps 4.25% at 84 months. If you want a decent idea of what you will be paying, use an auto loan calculator. Don't get too confused by all the boxes to fill in with them, put your total amount into the purchase price then select interest rate and term length and there's your monthly payment ballpark. Going to the right dealership with the right sales staff that actually understands how this works and having a bit of an open mind to at least hear how they're getting that number is probably the #1 thing you can do to eliminate a lot of the stress. Also remember, it's a negotiation. I want to be successful and have nice things too, I will ALWAYS ask for all the money just like you want ALL the savings. It's up to me to help you find the middle ground. Another thing to keep in mind as well, this is still a world where you get what you pay for, and if I'm more skilled and my service is of better quality than the ghetto dealership down the street, expect to pay for that. Whether I made a flat commission, or you paid for my next mod, you have made a deal with me, I don't stop serving you when you drive away. You can come to me 3 months, or 3 years down the road and I will still be there for you. That's what you pay extra for. Sorry for the long winded post, but I feel there are A LOT of bad salespeople out there and they make my job harder in the beginning of our relationship. But if you have any other sales related questions, don't hesitate to ask. My favorite type of guest is one who has done a bunch of research and know what they want.
 
But occasionally, if they do the "hard" part of their job correctly, they can make a decent commission. The "hard" part of the job is demonstrating features of the vehicle you may not be familiar with or don't utilize fully.
That's what I liked about the first salesperson I spoke with. The first thing she showed me was the "secret compartment" aka the upper glove box. Also the storage bins under the seats, and where the jack was located. Even though I already knew about those things from my research, I appreciated that she knew the product well enough to show those things to me instead of just rattling off the specs from the window sticker like the average sales drone.
 
That's what I liked about the first salesperson I spoke with. The first thing she showed me was the "secret compartment" aka the upper glove box. Also the storage bins under the seats, and where the jack was located. Even though I already knew about those things from my research, I appreciated that she knew the product well enough to show those things to me instead of just rattling off the specs from the window sticker like the average sales drone.
Yes Yes YES... I know sales people can’t know everything about every vehicle, but it’s my #1 pet peeve of car buying when some slickster car sales guy knows very little about what they are selling.
By the time I get down to actually looking at vehicles in person, I’ve spent inordinate hours becoming an “expert” on the particular car I want and know where “all the Easter eggs” are in terms of options, features, etc. On the Frontier, the upper glove box is my favorite Easter egg!
 
I've been buying new and used cars for a long time (I've owned 60+ cars and trucks in my 68 years). Most Dealers are OK...I can count on one hand the bad ones I've come across. It's all in how you approach the deal and if you keep going back to support them. Gotta admit that buying my Fontier is one of my best experiences here in Florida. Another one was my first DATSUN at Bob Sharp Motor's in Wilton, Conn. in 1977. Harley Davidson Dealers are worse than any Car/Truck Dealers I've met. JMHO.
 
I got my Frontier at Crown Nissan in St Pete and the transaction was super easy. Talked to the sales guy over the phone, explained the situation, explained the truck I wanted, sent him some pictures and info on my trade, they had it up front and detailed for me when I showed up and I traded in my car, signed papers, and was out of there in about 25 minutes total.

That being said, before I did that I went to a dealer in Delray Beach, they had a Frontier listed on their site for either 19,995 or 20,995, I can't recall, the ad had no mention of any applied discounts, incentives, etc. They had the same truck on Autotrader, the same thing, no incentives, no discounts, etc, and priced the same.

I show up, test drive the truck, then the sales guy says "So what do you want to pay for the truck" and I respond "Your full asking price, plus tax tag and title" and he looked at me kind of dumbfounded and responded "well MSRP on that truck is 28xxx dollars, we can't sell it at that price" so I responded "well, no-one buys at MSRP, and if you can't sell it at that price why did you list it at that price?"

He then went on to explain to me that the price was if I met all of the requirements to earn the incentives/discounts, which were not mentioned in either the autotrader ad or their site, and the kicker was that the incentives that they stacked together to reach their fictitious sales price were physically impossible to meet. They said that if you were a new Nissan customer you would earn $1000 off the MSRP of the truck, then they said if you were an existing Nissan owner you would get $1000 off the MSRP of the truck, then stacked on a number of other discounts (Military, AARP, some farming thing, etc), but the total discounts/incentives they applied to the MSRP included both the new Nissan and existing Nissan customer discounts, which is physically impossible.

So after attempting to explain away that bullshit and wasting about 45 minutes of my time he asks what I do for a living, I explain to him I sell car parts and operate a retail part website, so he goes "ahh so you know what I mean, the price online isn't what you actually pay its all marketing and gimmicks" and I respond "my companies website moves over 10 million dollars of parts a year, the price you see when you hit check out is the exact price you are billed. Thats how it works." and walked out.

Also, just to keep my rant going, the ** some sales guys spew at the dealerships is outright insane. I got my girlfriend a new Scion iM a few years back, I walked to go look at a Tacoma, I come back and the guy is trying to sell her on an extended warranty (which their dealership already apparently offers lifetime drivetrain warranty if the service is done at the dealer on schedule) and he's telling her ** like if her alternator or starter goes bad it could cost her $2500 or more. I looked at him and asked "What world are you living in that it costs $2500 to replace an alternator. Cost on that part is maybe $250 for OEM, and it MIGHT bill out 2 to 4 labor hours MAYBE, at what, $95 an hour, plus shop fees and tax, so were at $700 on a REALLY bad day, but realistically its probably more like $500" and he just kind of stopped talking.
I can also recommend Crown Nissan In St. Petersburg, FL. Smooth and easy sale for me. And their service dept. is run well.
 
Anybody down here in Florida...Nissan of St. Augustine is giving $5K over on trade-ins for the end of the year, plus discounts on in-stock. I bought my 2019 Frontier CC Midnight there in September. They will deal...Window sticker $32K...Out the door TOTAL $23,500. Yes, Total.
 
Funny you mentioned Jenkins. People I work with down here in south Florida rant about their deals they've gotten there.

We have autonation nissan down here in pembroke pines florida and when I went to ask about a advertised price for a lease for my wife to get her a rogue. They could NOT come up with that advertised deal.... the guy kept coming back to me with off the wall numbers. I then asked WTF is this? This isn't the advertised special. He the manager claimed they "couldn't do that deal. It's impossible." I asked him so why advertise it then other than the old bait and switch routine car dealerships pull.

Needless to say I walked out and ended up doing a deal at another nissan dealership.
 
The only dealership I haven't had to fight with is the Nissan dealership in College Station. I have to bust out the fine print at the dealerships in Houston. Hopefully I'm done with them for forever.
 
I will never again go into or call a dealer. Get a firm out-the-door price from the internet service manager. If you have a trade get an offer from Carvana and tell them they can match it if they want. Do those two things and the only way they can screw you is on the financing.
 
lol,YES...i was a car sales man late 90's through 2008 up in philly area.,,,even sold early KIA's(man what pos's they were) and the crap we did to get people in the door and basically had saturdays where id w/ help of a "mgr" kidnap em for 6/8 hrs...and ironically i only ever once bought my own new car...a 2000 neon,,proly 1 of my fav cars ever,plus at the time chrysler financial were offering 0% for 72 months and a crazy discount if you were a employee
 
Most of the time they sell on average two to three cars a week. Most are on commission and have a flat amount of $100 to $200 depending on brand and dealership. $300 a week isn't much to survive on. But occasionally, if they do the "hard" part of their job correctly, they can make a decent commission. The "hard" part of the job is demonstrating features of the vehicle you may not be familiar with or don't utilize fully. They also fail to meet you where you are in the buying process, and "selling" to you the way you want to be sold to. Yes we focus on your monthly payment most, yes it gives us a chance to maybe make an extra $50 to $100 on the sale
if your only making 300 a week your at the wrong dealership.throw in oh 1 used car a week holding $2/3000 ish plus holding a nickel($500) on the trade in,,aftermarket sales ie:bedliner,undercoating,window etching,ect..?oh and saturday cash spiffs?
I just ask that you make 4 monthly payments before so we don't get a penalty from the bank
the second reason no dealer will tell,, you is once that 4th payment is made if the vehicle gets repoed the "bank"cant charge back the dealership'
 
4, 5 years ago, I'd completely agree with your statement. Add in uninformed buyers, that $2,$3k you're talking about is true. Not so much anymore, with the internet, it's a race to the bottom and whoever gets there first wins,(sorta). A lot of dealerships do hand out Saturday spiffs. Pull a hat trick, get an extra bonus. All depends on the G.M. how much and when. Back end products pay out a percentage of profit. Usually somewhere between 3% to 5%. And on slower months, yeah, you're lookin at $300 a week, or when "the world is about to end!!!" People tend to stop buying cars. The point that I was trying to send home was, there really isn't a whole lot of margin for profit in there. Especially when you're looking at online pricing. Most of that is already a couple to several thousands below invoice. There goes your holdback, and then some. The days of consistently having 4+ pound deals are gone. Usually you're 2+ pounds front end looser. Used cars is a little different depending on the source of the car. Auction cars, forget it. Buying retired rentals, you could pay full retail and still make a mini. I'm pretty sure I covered getting a charge back with the pay a penalty bit if the loan is settled within the first 4 months. Whether it's a repo, or you pay the loan off. But yes, there are "other" ways a salesperson can make money other than just profit on the car. I in no way meant to insinuate that we're all starving no matter what. If that was the case, you'd be buying your cars from kids in high school and college just looking to make some money on the side.
 
lol,YES...i was a car sales man late 90's through 2008 up in philly area.,,,even sold early KIA's(man what pos's they were) and the crap we did to get people in the door and basically had saturdays where id w/ help of a "mgr" kidnap em for 6/8 hrs...and ironically i only ever once bought my own new car...a 2000 neon,,proly 1 of my fav cars ever,plus at the time chrysler financial were offering 0% for 72 months and a crazy discount if you were a employee
Kia's are still garbage. Those and the crooked H. We joke about them being paid off and still have negative equity. But, if you have challenged credit and need a car, they'll slam you into something, along with a firm grip package. LOL! And yeah, in those days, you could get away with those kinds on shenanigans. Now, if I'm spending 6/8 hours with you, you're buying a car. Otherwise, you don't have time for that. You NEED to move units, your average front end commission now a days is a mini.
 
If a 2000 Neon is one of your favorite cars ever ..... I really feel for ya .... seriously sad.
lol,i beat the crap outa that car for 150k ,never left me stranded,was a 5spd btw ,never took more than regular maintenance,when i got rid of her the n east road salt did her in
 
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Kia's are still garbage. Those and the crooked H. We joke about them being paid off and still have negative equity. But, if you have challenged credit and need a car, they'll slam you into something, along with a firm grip package. LOL! And yeah, in those days, you could get away with those kinds on shenanigans. Now, if I'm spending 6/8 hours with you, you're buying a car. Otherwise, you don't have time for that. You NEED to move units, your average front end commission now a days is a mini.
when i 1st started the net was in its infancy and i saw how it took 75k a yr down to 45k and less in a few short years,still kinda miss it ,ya know that feeling when ya hammered some one on say a conversion/custom van for a 6/7k front end,,lol
 
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