Hey guys,
so I'm finally ready to purchase a new 2003 Maxima SE. Here's what I'd like your opinion on. I would like to get it with a 6sp manual, Leather Package, Meridian Package, Titanium Package, HLSD, sunroof, and sunroof wind deflector. Do you think it's reasonable/possible, at this time of the year, to get it for around $25,000-25,500? I know some of you have been able to get crazy discounts for a similar trim Max, so I'm wondering if it's even more possible to get it now since it's later in the 2003 year. I live in MA, but will be willing to look in NH as well. Any ideas/thoughts?
Thanks ahead of time.

 

I think 26.5 would be more in the ball park for all of that.

 

That's a pretty serious discount, considering it's still the beginning of the model year. I mean, you're talking about a 20% discount. If you can get it, you're my hero.

 

check www.edmunds.com
they have a True Market Value calculator. TMV.
it tells you the average price people are paying for a car with specific options in your area.
that was a great tool when i was buying my car.


i'd also skip the sun roof wind deflector. lots of people have problems with them cracking and/or messing up the paint.

i dont have one on and wind is fine until 50+ mph, where a/c is more efficiant anyways.

 

Well, as far as this still being the beginning of the model year, I don't think that's true. Actually, it's more like the end of the model year because the 2004's are supposed to go on sale in the spring, and we're already in november.

The reason why I'm thinking this may be possible is because I've been doing research on .org and saw that some members were able to get cars with almost identical options (i.e. no HLSD for example, but everything else the same) for like $26K, and this was back in the summer or early fall months. Since it's later on in the year, I'm thinking it may be possible to bring it down even further (i.e. the 25K - 25.5K range). But then again, I'm not sure, so I'm asking all of you guys what you think.

Thanks.

P.S. It being a 20% discount is correct, but they mark those things up like crazy, so they leave a lot to be discounted

 

I have not been shopping around since I bought mine in March so I am not sure what you could get a 2K3 for with those options. I can point you to the dealer in which I bought mine from. I bought mine from Glick Nissan in Westborough, MA through the internet. Call and ask to speak with Paul K. Ask him for the internet price. If you want me to call him for you, send me a PM. I know of several people including members of the .org that have bought from Paul K. and have had a good buying experience.

 

Check your PM

 

I sent you a reply--check your PM

 

It doesn't matter what YOU perceieve the value to be. It matters what the MARKET perceives it as. You can tell yourself that the 2004s are different all you want, but if the dealer is getting $28,000 for 2003s right now, then that is what they are going to charge you.

 

I see what you're saying, but my perceptions are also based on what I've been hearing regarding what others are paying, and that's what I'm basing my price range in. If people were able to buy it for like 26,500 w/all the options that I want, but they bought like 2-3 months ago, then it's reasonable that the price would be around 1000 less right now cause the more time passes by, the more demand falls for it (especially considering the new one is around the corner).
What do you think is the "right" price though?

 

I got my '03 for $150 under dealer invoice 2 months ago, though it was on the last day they were offering .9% 36 mo. financing and they were plenty motivated, they told me later, to make another sale for quota issues.

 

Hey geneevans,
how much did you pay and what were the options on it? Did you buy on the last day of the month?
Thanks.

 

I was one of the people who got a good deal (or so I like to think ). In September I paid $26,200 for that exact model that you are looking to get (minus the wind deflector). What I did is this (through the advice of my millionaire friend):

- Go to each dealer and ask what the lowest price they will give it to you for. In my experience, they all wanted to get a "Customer Offer". That is you committing via a written document that if they agree to your price the deal is done there. If they pull that BS, give them an offer of $24,000 or some ridiculously low number.

- When they are forced to give you their "lowest" price, go the next dealer and take $500 off of that and say "Well, dealer X said they could give it to me for ....". Pretty soon you'll get to the point where people are telling you that you're out of your mind.

- By doing that a few times you can get a feeling for what the market value is, and at the same time check out the dealers' shops / locations (remember you can take it for service anywhere). When you finally reach the lowest price that anyone is willing to go, you can then base your decision on that and the reputation of the dealer (remember, cost isn't everything - if another dealer that you like is $200 more it might be worth it.

- Also don't let them cry about not making profit, trust me - they wouldn't sell the car if they weren't (ie: holdback, repairs, parts, financing, etc.). When I was shopping for mine, I cried poverty. I was like "I can only afford to spend $25,000 on this car, but I really want to get it." It worked like a charm. It was also a lot of fun to beat them at their own game!

 

Hey spta97,
so how many different dealers did you end up going to, deducting $500 at each place?
Also, at the place that you ended up buying from, what was the price that you started working with?

 

With the options you picked you are also getting the Bose. Also did you want splash guards?

Per carsdirect.com the invoice on this car is $27653. You can get it from them for $26478 which includes a $1000 rebate. If your a good at negotiating then you could probably get a little better price at a dealership. The above prices also include the destination charge. Add $91 dollars for splash guards and $41 for a trunk matt. I don't think I've seen a Max without splash guards.

Good Luck

 

Get the invoice. Don't let them add on any crap to it. Pay that price. That's a good deal.

 

Ok, so here's the update...

I just got a quote from Clay Nissan in Dedham (for those of you familiar with the area...),and they're willing to let it go for $25,700 after trade and rebate. My only concern at this point is that they're going to screw me over with the trade. I'm trading in a 1995 Honda Accord LX V6 Automatic, 113,000 miles, power everything, Alpine CD player, excellent condition, etc etc. Kelley Blue Book values it at $5960 average retail, and around $4200 for trade-in. I figure he's still going to screw me by giving me like $2000 for it, which means I would need to finance more of the price. Any thoughts on this issue? Seems like an excellent price to me, what do you guys think?
Thanks for the help.

 

If you like the price, go ahead and do it. If you are going to agonize over it, don't.

 

Are you in a rush? If not, sell the car privately. Also something that Edmunds.com recommends is that you negotiate a price first and then bring up a trade in. They have tons of advice on buying and leasing cars on that site. It's a great site for info. Check it out.

 

Would negotiating the price first before talking about the trade-in help though? If they know you're going to trade in, then they'll prolly give you a good price on the new car, with hopes of screwing you over on the trade-in. Anyone have experience with negotiating price deals, and trade-in at the same time?

 

I only went to 3. I started with $28,500 (from an internet dealer) and realized that price was high after the first dealer was so quick to beat it with like $27,200. I may have been able to do better than $26,200 but my chick was telling me I was out of my mind for not taking that deal ($1,100 under invoice). Also, it was at the dealer that I wanted to buy at and get service from.

Also remember that there is no pride in this game. Don't get emotional, just act like you are really stretching yourself to go as high as $25,000 or what ever number you want to use. When they tell you that they can't beat that be like "Ok, well unfortunatly I have to shop around but I'll come back if this is the lowest price". Don't worry if someone screws you with the deal (ie: throwing in "extra $"). Just go backward on the list to the dealer with the next lowest price.

How well this works all depends on the car that you want. The Maxima (in Long Island anyway) was all over the place configured the way I wanted it. My buddy just got a Honda Pilot and basically didn't get much of a deal at all. Everybody wants that truck now so the supply is less than the demand. The Maxima seemed to be the opposite. You are in a great position, you are getting a commodity that you can by at any number of dealerships!

Good luck!

 

DON'T PAY INVOICE!!!! I paid $1,100 under. Do a search on "Dealer Holdback" and you'll see why. Also, don't negotiate the trade in on your car. They are just going to move the price accordingly. Negotiate the deal on the car get set like you are already to buy it and then say "Hey, how much will you give me for my Accord?". Check kbb.com and edmunds.com. They give you some good advice on there.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by spta97
[B]

I only went to 3. I started with $28,500 (from an internet dealer) and realized that price was high after the first dealer was so quick to beat it with like $27,200. I may have been able to do better than $26,200 but my chick was telling me I was out of my mind for not taking that deal ($1,100 under invoice). Also, it was at the dealer that I wanted to buy at and get service from.


Hey spta97,
first, thanks a lot for your help and advice. I just wanted to know what YOU personally think should be the price of this car? It just seems like you can go on forever asking for lower and lower prices, and you can end up shopping around till the cows come home. Shouldn't I have some price that I think is the best at the time? I chose $25,000, which is a little over $5000 off the sticker price, which in my book, I think is pretty good. What you think?
Thanks

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by vito1281
[B]
Personally, I think a good price would be anything on or under $26,000. But remember, my opinion means s*hit. It all depends on supply and demand. If in your area they had the Maxima delivery truck crash and there are only 2, that price will go up.

By using the way my buddy showed me, you get a real world price of what the car is selling for. Check out the lots and see how many Maximas they have. In my scenario, they had a surprising amount with the Titanium, HLSD, Leather, Sunroof, Meridian, Bose, etc. Also, you might find a better deal by a dealer that has the car you want in the lot. With the dealer holdback, the longer it is on the lot the more money they lose on it.

Whatever you do, just make sure you go to more than one dealer. I thought that $28,200 (or whatever the first quote I got) was a good deal because it was ONLY $800 over invoice (My last purchase was a T/A that was $600 over invoice). I didn't think I could get it for UNDER invoice I was wrong!

Remember though, what you want to pay and what the car is selling for can be different. Just realize that you may have to come up a little on the $25,000 (NOT INCLUDING YOUR TRADE IN!!!). But if you are including the trade in with the $25k, you can do much better than that (assuming that your car is really worth a couple K.

Hope this helps

 

I'd say, if your not in a rush to get your max, wait it out a bit. You're probably more likely to get that fully loaded 03 for $25K sometime in March next year rather then now. Altho, with Christmas not too far away, there probably are exceptions to this rule.

Also, like people have said in the post, it does go by the market conditions. And also by the weather conditions depending on where you live; the sport utility craze will take effect when snow starts to drop and everyone has to get a 4X4, so that could be a good time to hit up a few dealerships.

Good Luck!

 

Oh yea, another thing is going to the dealership at the end of the month (when they want to meet their sales quota). You really want to get a deal? Go x-mas eve. Who the hell is gonna buy a car then?

I know it sounds like a lot of work, but if you can save a couple of K than that's just more money for mods

 

damn, you were more persistant on when, where and who to buy from then I was!

 

I was having a blast playing "the game" with them.

 

I thought their sales quotas were quaterly? But I guess they're monthly, so maybe I'll go try getting one by the end of this month. I really just don't want to spend all my free time going to like 15 dealerships, and going over the same bargaining routine, but I guess I'll have to do that to get the best price. I'll let you guys know how it goes, but I think I'll aim for the $25,000 price as the target, I really doubt I can get that car with those options for anything less. Anyways, thanks for the replies.

 

I don't know about that deal. Sounds like he has already figured out your trade price and factored it into their $25,700. If you said that price is after trade and rebate.

Watch out for those guys... I went in there and they were not dealing with invoice. They were working from the sticker price. They have ripped people off before and they will continue to do so as long as they can.

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?threadid=164585

 

I think you're right, and that's why I just told him I'll be selling the car on my own, and asked him for his final, lowest quote that he's offering to give me. I'll see what he says. I don't think I can get it for any lower than $25,000(considering sticker is $30,450), what do you think?
Thanks

 

I definately would leave the trade out of it. I had a trade at the time I was getting ready to buy my Max. I would have lost my shirt if I traded. I sold my car for $4,200 more than the dealer was willing to give me for it. Try to sell the car on your own. For the car that you described, you should be able to sell it for at least $4,500 to $5,000.

 

Try Merchants Nissan in Concord New Hampshire..i got an amazing deal on my 03 SE. yes its pretty base but paying $20000 for a maxima with 6-speed no bose side skirts sunroof and cloth seats isnt too bad in my opinion..try there..i was pleased

 

Yeh, I already got a "preliminary" offer from them for $26,799 (including all fees). I think I'm going to go over there in the next week or so and see if they can lower that price. It's probably about 1 to 1.5 hrs away driving, but maybe it's worth it, we'll see.
thanks

 

The end of the auto year is Aug. The 2004 models roll out the last week of Aug. There are several models that are termed 2004 that get early releases in the Spring. Usually brand new models - i.e. the Z3, Volks Beetle, Ford Thunderbird. Not updated versions of current models.

 

From what I've read, 03Max production will be cut short and the 04 will be available in the spring. I've read this in more than one place but right now I could only positively remember that Edmunds states the 04 will be available in the spring.

 

Ok guys, so here's the update on my search...
It seems that most of the dealers around here are willing to sell this car w/these options in the low $26 range. The best I've gotten so far is $26,000 even from Quirk Nissan in Braintree, but this was over the phone, so I'm going to go down there and see if they can bring it down further. As you may recall, my target number is $25,000, which I think I will hit eventually. Clay Nissan in Dedham quoted me at $26,344 as their "best" price, but I just emailed them again and told them about the $26,000 offer--let's see if they bring it down. I'll keep updating as this thing unravels. In the meantime, if anyone has any suggestions/recommendations, let me know.
Thanks

 

Sounds like you are getting pretty close. You are more persistant than I was! You should see if they will give you a discount for the 15 HP that is missing. LOL It would be interesting to see how they tap dance around that one.
But seriously, all of your research on this will pay off.

 

Yeh, it'd be interesting to see how they dance around it. I'm sure they would say that they don't know anything about that, just like they don't know that their paint on the cars is complete sh*t! I actually just got an offer from Port City Nissan in NH for $25,778. I'm going to see if anyone can beat that locally. I don't know about the rest of you, but I feel like the $25,000 target will work out!

 

Hey kronnman,
I just got an email from Paul K. at Glick, and he even told me to take the Clay Nissan's price (mind you, he doesn't even know that I got an offer from Quirk for 26,000 even, and Port City Nissan in NH for $25,778). Unfortunately, Port City doesn't have the color I want (Sheer Silver)--only Sterling Mist.

But, I think that's mad cool of Paul K. to just tell me up front to take Clay's price w/out giving me BS about having me come down there, and then wasting my time. That's how all dealers would be in a perfect world = HONEST!