anyone plaining on buying a 03 maxima before the 04 comes out....how big will the dicounts be on the 03..??
is it worth it..??

 

Big discounts...
Worth it...

 

It will be worth it. I got a loaded 02 and i got 5K knocked off the sticker, i would imagaine similar deals for 03s..

 

I got 6k off my 03 6spd SE....bargaining does wonders...

 

Just remember though, the discounts will be big, BUT the value of the car as soon as you drive off will plummet...not olny with the standard depreciation on these things, but also because it will be the 'old' car. If you plan on buying, plan on hanging onto it or it won't be worth it to you.

 

Don't like style of 04 Maxima, and 10 more hp is not worth the less backseat room....

 

What were the specs of your car and did you get everything that you wanted? Also, if you don't mind me asking, what did you pay as far as the invoice goes?

I'm trying to get a 6spd SE Meridian Edition by tomorrow or Saturday and am having a hard time locating my car. Plus, these dealers are playing hard ball....

I was considering sending out faxes today to say that I will pay x-amount for a car with these specs and that I'm looking to buy in 24 to 36 hours - please reply back with serious offers only.

Any advice? I have to make this happen NOW!

 

It will be worth it if you plan on buying an auto as there are plenty of them out there. But if you want a 6spd. I'd TRY to find the one you want ASAP or you'll be getting an 04 instead.

 

Under any circumstances, I DO NOT want an auto - though, I imagine that I was in the market for one, I'd make out like a bandit.

If I don't get this car, I don't know what I'll do. I HATE the Accord (looks like a buluga whale) and the Mazda 6 is small, expensive and a mystery. Anything German is a little more than what I want to spend while the TL may handle and drive very well, it's boring to look at.


Badabing's gettin' nervous !

 

I bought my 03GLE in December by emailing 13 area dealers. I did not put a target price though - simply said that I would go with the lowest offer by Friday 5pm. My final price was $2400 off invoice, including the $1000 rebate. Taxes and registration were extra.

 

How much do you want to spend? If you were entertaining a TL, why not look at a G35 which is in the same pricing territory?

You may have to wait a while for the stick, but at least it is a new car and won't be 'the old bodystyle' almost as soon as you get it home.

 

That sounds about right to me....

Let me ask you this - did you in essence make the deal before you went in or did you do some more haggling once you got to the dealership? I know what I want to pay - I think it's a fair price - but time is critical as my negotiator has somewhere to be and car shopping is very difficult for me on weekdays. If I can swing all or most of the deal over the phone, I would like to do that.

 

I just bought my 2k3 a week ago and got this 1 day deal...unloaded auto for 20k...23k with tax.

 

NO leather, don't like it
Sunroof
Tint
Regular sound system
I payed $21,000
Play hard ball with them, there loss.....
Good idea about faxes....
I had several choices, since I am in DFW area....

 

I bought my '03 SE 2 weeks ago and paid $1,600 below invoice (including the rebate) + tax/tags.

I also got the 0.9% financing special.

 

Aside from just you, how are you guys able to talk your dealers on such a low price? I am working a dealer right now on an 03 Max SE 6-spd, no options. The said they could go a little lower than $24K. I went to Carsdiret and their price was $100 below invoice, so why could a dealer go lower than that? I need some help, I made a bad choice buying an 01 Civic 2 years ago and I think a Maxima is the car I want and need. Any help is welcomed and appreciated, thanks

 

It was pretty simple actually. Check out www.fightingchance.com . I bout the package and it reviewed everything. It lists all rebate and incentives, both factory to consumer as well as hidden factory to dealer bonuses. It also talks about how to calculate the real cost of the dealer including holdback. I quickly recouped my $30 for the Fighting Chance package.

Included in the package is an explanation as to the best methods on purchasing a car. I also sent out a fax to 20 area dealers outlining all of the hidden rebates. If they see you're an educated buyer they won't mess around. I received offers within minutes after the faxes were sent.

The bottom line is that the dealer invoice price is almost never what the dealer actually pays for the car.

 

slickric check your PM's if you already haven't, thanks

 

Who cares if its the "old" body in a new car if that is what he wants get it. Everyone isnt going to like the new look and the 02/03 looks great and will for some time to come and resale who cares all cars depreciate and arent good investments (unless its a saught after classic). Look how well the 3rd and early 4th gens are holding up in looks etc. Just plan on keeping it for 4 to 5 years so you want be stupid like a lot of people that constantly trade and owe 37,000 on 25,000 car for instance!

 

My biggest problem is trying to find the car that I want. It's getting very hard.

One dealer who called me back today (after I sent faxes) told me they wanted a $500 deposit just to find the car otherwise they won't look. Also, they state that they will "give" me the car for $1000 (rebate) under invoice.

At this point, I'm almost ready to fight for an extra $500 less than that and call it a day. But should I even consider buying a car that the dealer doesn't even have yet?

These guys are making me nuts !

 

If you go to the main Nissan web site you can search dealer inventory in your area. It's been a while since I've done it, but I think you select the type of car and options and then put in your zip code. Then badabing you have dealer inventories in your area..

 

I found that dealers weren't always honest about what they had. I found that using the nissanusa.com website to locate dealer inventory was a great method of finding the exact vehicle you want.

 

I did search dealers' inventories prior to sending out these faxes and I think that the web inventories are just not up to date. Think about it - these guys aren't going to be sitting on the web and updating this stuff. Furthermore, earlier in the week, I just made simple phone calls to about 6 dealers in my immediate area and asked if they had any 6 speed SEs on hand - most told me yes or no and only one had the exact car I wanted on hand - but I think he got it from somewhere because the salesman "checked with his manager" and only returned my call after about 3 hours.

Also, a lot of the web inventories reflected very few cars like a loaded 6 spd SE.

Badabing is getting frustrated !

 

When I bought my car the inventory search was right on. Especially for the 6 speeds. They don't seem to move as fast, at least on the left coast. It never ceases to amaze me how far a dealer won't go to make a sale. They make it impossible to get what you want.

 

The trick is - you *don't* talk to the dealers! You either send faxes, or send emails like I did. Basically you don't talk to the dealer until you have a quote in hand. I emailed 13 dealers, out of which I got 2 dealers willing to talk and negotiate, and 2 that gave me good prices on their first reply. The first 2 were not willing to go as low as the other 2. The 2 dealers that gave me a low price - I did not even negotiate with them.

The Fighting Chance package that somebody mentioned has tips on this tactic, but there are other sites that talk about the "fax method" for free. The only thing I feel is worth paying money for in the fighting chance package is the CarDeals newsletter which can be obtained for $7 at www.cardeals.org.

Monish.

 

The first dealer called me (I let the call go to vmail) and he said that he has a car that I wanted w/o Meridian but that they can put in the heated seats. I thought "no big deal, I can live without the heated mirrors and steering wheel - even the seats for that matter." When I called him back, I found out that this car does not even have the Titanium package - which means it doesn't have leather, either. How would he "put" the heated seats in??? And why does he NOT know that? Well, I gave the guy my specs and he said that he would search for me. No word yet.

The next dealer tells me they have to look for the car and will not give me car at invoice even if they have to get it from somewhere else. Then they say that I will get the car at 1K under invoice only after securing a $500 deposit. That's BS.

I understand what you are saying - I don't want to talk to them at all. I just want the numbers and get it over with because I know what I want to pay and it is a fair price. Problem is that I really do think the cars are getting hard to find. Just this evening I was talking to my sister (who lives in Ohio) and she said "Want me to check this Nissan dealership near my house? That guy has TONS of cars." Well I checked his inventory - 51 Maximas, 1 six speed.

 

Use nissan's web site and find your car then go to the dealership and work them over....they gotta move them.....if you can go to the car unless you can get a dealer to deliever it for free

 

Is time running out to get a 03 6spd? Yes!
You can still get the car you want though. You will need to enter different zips into Nissans search page and set it to 100 miles and go through all of the dealers. You may have to go much further than you want to. It may take some time and in the end you may not get an exact match but you can get close.

Good luck!

 

hi, I am new to this list, I recently got my 2003 Nissan Maxima Se Titanium Edition, I ordered this car back in sept of 02, I had to order it from japan to be special built due to no maxima's were in america that was fully loaded with a 6-speed. Also if you remembered that the west coast ports workers where on strike, so that delayed my car and that sucked, it was on a freight boat for months till it got imported in december. Anyways I had it for a month now, and I can say it my favorite. I went with the titanium edition cause it was the last year and I wanted a maxima that was different from every other SE's, so I got the titanium edition inside and out, every option that is offered by nissan for 2003 maxima se, including a 6-spd and my favorite for the winter months the heated steering wheel, and I also got the navigation unit too with the cd changer in the trunk, Splash guards (matching same color paint as exterior "titanium") Oh yeah drilled racing pedals too, it was called the medterain package. I will put pics up asap I get my camera from my friend. The car was listed at 34 Grand, I got the hook up at 29 Grand without taxes and title. I also got the 1000 rebate. I cant wait to see what this thing has, I havent broke it in yet, I still got 700 miles on it. I got it with 7 Miles. I cant wait till the time comes, cause my brother has a 2002 acura tl type s and hes just talking smack. I will show him.. Oh no an acura, .3 liters less, 350 pounds heavier, oh ya not to mention his automatic tranny might break if he tried to compete, Wonder why they recalled there trannys including trip tronic autos, and extending the warrentys of powertrain, seems honda is trying to shut there customers up, but yeah see you guys later and i will post pics soon...


Kevin

 

Yeah. That's how I acquired my 2003 Sheer Silver SE TE. It's a pretty nice feature on their website. All you do is click,click,click then your off to the dealership(s) that have your specific Maxima you wanted.

 

Ok, a few things here!
(1) Not having Titanium package doesn't directly mean it doesn't have leather, although that's almost always the case. Leather comes with the Leather package, which also brings memory seats. Titanium edition just adds on polished wheels, BOSE, side air bags, and a bunch of titanium accents on the inside/outside.

(2) I used strictly the email method to narrow down the dealerships that I had to visit. Most likely, a lot of us here don't have the time, nor the will, to physically go to each dealer around our area, and spend hours haggling. It's better to narrow down your choices to maybe 2-3 lowest-priced dealerships, and work from there.

(3) You'll most likely be able to get a better deal if the dealer has the car in stock, since he needs to move it to free up lot space, and he's also paying interest on the car while it's sitting there. So, like a lot of us mentioned, use Nissan's vehicle locator to find the car (it's usually pretty accurate with 6sp, since they don't indeed move as fast).

(4) The dealership that I bought the car from had to swap to get it, and they required a $1000 REFUNDABLE deposit. This was incentive for them to go and get the car, and also made it look like I was a serious buyer. Just make sure you get it in writing that the deposit is refundable upon inspection of the car. In other words, when they get the car, go and inspect it with a magnifying lens, and look for ANYTHING that could possible be wrong (dents, scratches, etc etc). Just make sure you give it a good once-over.

(5) In your emails, don't tell them you want $X under/over invoice--just tell them the actual price that you want. Be as precise as possible to the options that you need. Working with invoice price just gives them more BS to work with. Just state the price that you want to pay (give them a slightly lower than realistic price to give yourself bargaining room).

(6) If they see you are educated about the car, and know what incentives they have, and basically show that you're not going to get screwed with BS, they'll usually tell you outright whether they can come close to the price or not. In my case, I made it VERY clear that I knew what the heck I was doing, so most of the dealerships just told me "we can't come close to the price".

Good luck, and act quick, cause you don't have a lot of time left.

 

Are you serious? When I went to get my 03 all the dealers had loaded 6speeds (except Navi and CD Changer). I ended up paying $26,200 for mine with everything but navi and CD changer. Where are you located? I'm in NY and there were a ton of them!