Build Your Own 09 Maxima NOW AVAILABLE
 

"build your own" link
 

:cool:Thanks for letting us know about the "build your own" link... at least now, we will know what the dealer stickers should read. I am feeling a little better about what we "should" be able to get the new max for in a couple of months! It will be my "4DSP" (4 door very sporty car)!:cool:

Played around with it a little this morning and you get bounced a bit out of preplanned packages when you start adding a few options. I did not do the whole gamut of packages, but getting the sport version with a lot of the options seemed tricky. Of course, that could just be poor interface design on their part.

Another one of my posts in another thread.

this sucks. you can't have the dual roof with the sport package.

First attempt at dealer negotiation
 

I attempted to negotiate off of MSRP and dealer refused saying "buyers are willing to pay a premium for this car". Bye-Bye Maxima, at least from this dealership.

My premium 3.5SV came to $38,270 online. That does seem very pricey. At that price you would think many would start looking at an Infiniti. The new Genesis, which comes out next month, supposedly can be bought for $36k fully loaded, although not too sure how many people will be interested in buying a Hyundai.

I am going to stop at a Nissan dealer this afternoon and check one out in person. If I do get a Maxima I will be waiting next year for the diesel version.

Hyundai is actually one of the biggest manufacturer's in the world. I'm sure their quality has gone up considerably. People just don't want to look into it because they have heard years ago that it was poor.

I bought my '08 SE 4 months ago... loaded... for $27,500. Sounds like a much better deal to me now after seeing the new prices.

when u compare the 09 price to another car, make sure you compare the available features. i agree the prices are high especially what we're used to, but A LOT comes in those packages. anyone wanting to haggle will have to wait. it JUST became available today. why would they want to sell them for less? there are plenty of 08s and altimas to haggle on.

you can get the base S for under 30k.

Am I correct that the base S doesn't come with fog lights?! To get fog lights, I have to move up to an SV model for $31K?!

You don't get fog lights, heated leather, bose, navi, all kinds of other things.

so basically a 30k gxe?

Yup.

um a $29,290 GXE with

290-hp 3.5-liter V6 engine
Power sliding moonroof
Nissan Intelligent Key™ with Push Button Ignition
Dual Zone Automatic Temperature Control
Vehicle Dynamic Control [1] with Traction Control System
18x8 wheels
12.60" x 1.10" front and 12.13" x 0.63" rear vented discs
Rear: Independent multi-link
Front strut tower reinforcement
LED taillights
Dual mufflers with chrome-tipped finishers
6-CD changer audio system
Eight speakers
MP3/WMA CD playback capability
Illuminated steering wheel-mounted audio controls
Auxiliary audio input jack

:gotme:

No HID = FAIL.

Now that I have projectors I am NEVER driving a car with halogen bulbs.

This guys, they were lazy enough to leave the select transmission option on there:laugh:

I'm sorry, I like the new Max; but it is too expensive!!!

The Maxima's biggest competition is the Altima, and the price point is not going to help. I bought a loaded 3.5 SE Altima about 8 months ago, and while it may not have a dual moon roof it is still a great car. Also, my Altima was 32K sticker and the new Maxima loaded is six thousand more at around 38K. I think the Max will see improved sales, BUT it has kind of wandered into no-mans land for cars here...

32k for an altima is far too expensive for many people. that's more than i paid for my 6th gen new fully loaded.

Yea wow I di mine 34500$ way to much for me. My 04 is good enough.

Most Altimas are sold in the mid twenties. What I did was get the 3.5 engine, leather, Nav, backup camera, etc... so that is why mine was 32 sticker. I paid invoice which was 30,000 even. I love it and all my friends like it too. Like I said earlier, it does not have a dual moonroof or some of the more advanced features. However, its sporty, fun to drive, has a lot of technology, and is thousands less than the Maxima...

P.S. not trying to step on anyones toes here

You should be allowed to put the HID Xenon option on regular SV's WITHOUT having to add the $2,400 Technology Package :(.

they call that marketing in the US :nod:

we call it opportunity to mod for less on the org. :chuckle:

I feel some folks here are not being reasonable about the pricing of the '09. They are pricing their '09 with every option, then expecting a price the same as vehicles (6th gen) designed before some of those options even existed.

MSRP on the 6th gen for a fairly (not fully) loaded car was between $32K and $33K (and sometimers higher). MSRP on an '09 SV with 'Premium' package is between $35K and $36K. Forget adding things like the tech package; that includes things not even available on the 6th gen. Geeze! This is the first significant price hike on the Maxima in five years, which means the average cost increase per year is around 2%; less than the increase in the cost of living. And this new price will probably go essentially unchanged until the eighth generation arrives five years from now.

This '09 is a beautiful, athletic-looking car with many improvements, as well as new features. To compare the DISCOUNTED price we were paying for a 6th gen many months, or even years after its intro, with what the dealer will want the first few months for a redesigned new generation Maxima is totally unrealistic.

By the time the '09 has been out for several months, the dealer will begin discounting it. By next spring, we will be buying from around invoice, and that will last until the 8th generation arrives. The price the dealer will be charging a year from now is the number we should be comparing with what we paid for our 6th gens these last few years. The dealer (not Nissan) controls how that works, and that routine never changes. I'm very surprised there are so many here who appear to be unaware of how that has always been handled. I ran into that when buying my 1949 Studebaker.

------------

As for not being able to get the double panel roof with the Sports package, Nissan told us a month ago that the double roof adds considerable weight at a point high above the center of gravity of the car, which is acceptable for the 'luxury' version of a car, but a very bad thing for the 'sports oriented' version of a vehicle. They (wisely) made the decision to keep the high weight off the sports version.

------------

I can't buy gas or food or much else these days for the price I paid for it several years ago. Nissan, however, has come close to accomplishing that feat; probably closer than we had any right to expect. But then I suppose Nissan knew it would have to deal with the toughest audience around - Maxima owners.

i think most of the pricing ignorance comes from many members that bought a used maxima. now they are finally looking at a new one and can't believe how much it costs.

I just looked at an 08 accord online. "fully loaded" comes to $35,700. And it doesn't offer hardly any of the features in the Maxima.

Unfortunate, but true. People need to get over their preconceived notions of Hyundai. I challenge anyone to go out and drive a new Sonata, Sante Fe, Veracruz, or Azera and tell me they aren't well-built, nicely finished vehicles as a good price. Their rankings in both CR and J.D. Powers are now approaching Toyota/Honda level (in some cases better actually).

As for the Genesis compared to the Maxima. The Genesis should be a bit more refined, but the Maxima should be sportier, based on everything I've read. The Genesis V6 Starts at $33k and tops out at $40k. The V8 starts at $38k and tops out at $42k. At that price you are getting a larger RWD vehicle, with similar feature content, and a much better warranty than what Nissan offers. On the flip side, it will likely have poorer resale value as well.

I personally think the Maxima pricing is right on the money. You have to pay to play folks! The Maxima offers many features not even available on the G35 (cooled drivers seat, heated steering wheel, panoramic sunroof, rear seat audio/climate controls, etc.). Similarly equipped the Maxima is at least $4k less than the G.

What they heck did you do, add a bunch of overpriced OEM accessories? The Accord tops out at $31k.

i chose the highest one and even left some options out. you can't compare a bare bones honda to the new loaded Maxima. seems Nissan's options are a far better value than Honda's.

your $31k will have none of the options in a comparable Maxima.

One could argue that you shouldn't be comparing the Maxima to the Accord in the first place. That's the Altima's job. My only point is that the Accord isn't nearly as expensive as you quoted unless you're being silly and adding a bunch of overpriced OEM crap like $3k 19" alloy wheels (why not just buy aftermarket?), etc. An $31k Honda Accord EX-L V6 w/ Nav is NOT bare bones by any stretch of the imagination. If you are insistent on comparing the two, a Maxima SV w/ only the Tech Package is most akin to the Honda Accord EX-L V6 w/ Nav and stickers for roughly $4700 more than the Accord. Of course the Maxima has one or two things the Accord doesn't, but the Maxima doesn't have heated seats at this price which the Accord has so it's a pretty fair comparison IMO.

As for feature content, I completely agree with you that most Nissan's oushine their Honda counterparts in terms of feature content.

I just build my dream Maxima:
3.5 SV with Premium and Tech Packages

It came out to $37,950 which is not bad at all concidering everything that you get with it.

Hopefully within a year I can get the price down to at most $35,000 and then I would pick one up.

The only thing that dissapointed me a little was the fact that I could not get the cooling driver seat with the sport package. Now I have to dish out a little more money to get the Premium Package which I wasnt planning on doing because I did not need the dual moonroof, rear HVAC/audio controls, and wood trim. Its not too bad though since its only about $600 extra and it comes with a lot of nice stuff even though I could have done without some of it.

Light, with you having owned all previous Maxima's, and I'm assuming purchased them within the year each gen came out in, what is your advice as far as when to purchase this new model? Originally I read that you were saying maybe around Thanksgiving the prices would be dealt from invoice. I priced an SV sport + technology package, carpeted floor & trunk mats, trunk sub-floor organizer with first-aid kit and emergency kit, and splash guards at $37,700. To me that isn't that bad of price for a brand new car with all those features, but I wouldn't mind waiting till maybe December or January to see if maybe I can get it at around $32,000-$33,000. What does a seasoned vet such as yourself think? :)

Thanks for the link!

MAXIMAK99 - So I am a 'seasoned vet'? I think that may be a very polite way of saying 'chronologically experienced'.

These things have to be handled on a case-by-case basis. So many factors can enter into the equation. Little things like a dealer may be trying to sell enough vehicles to win a trip to Hawaii, or a salesperson may be trying to sell enough vehicles to win 'salesman of the month/year', or the dealer may be at a point where, for whatever reason (expansion? gambling debts? divorce?), he needs to convert a bunch of cars to cash quickly, even at the cost of making very little profit on them.

We could list dozens of possibilities such as this, but, for most situations, we will simply be trying to haggle the price down toward invoice, and most of the time, the salesperson will be dragging their feet all the way down.

In the case of the '09 Maxima, we will have several factors working. A new generation is not the same as a new model year of the same generation. When the '05 or '06 Maximas arrived, they sold below MSRP from day two, because they looked exactly like the '04. Within a month or two, they were being negotiated from invoice.

But a new generation is a different animal. The '09 is a radically new and exciting design with many improvements, and the dealers know this. They will sell this beast at or fairly near MSRP for as long as they can find buyers. That might continue for several months.

Another factor is the economy. Many folks are not in a financial situation that would allow them to consider buying a Maxima at this time. Others, who have the money available, are being very careful where they spend it. Many folks are looking at very high MPG vehicles, even though they would not normally be considered 'econobox' type of people. But this situation will very definitely affect Maxima (and all car) sales.

Of course this cuts two ways; I know of two local real estate agents who sold behemoths (a Lincoln Navigator and a Ford expedition) and bought Maximas last month. The Maxima gets much better gas mileage, and is popular here because there is a very large Nissan dealer close by.

But back to your question. Assuming Nissan continues to get a decent supply of '09s to the dealers, I suspect prices will gradually begin coming down from MSRP within two or three weeks. Of course you have to bargain with the sales people; they won't quote their best price early-on. By mid-September, the price should be halfway down to invoice (with some astute and determined folks maybe doing even better). This would save you a couple thousand. By mid-November, it may be possible for a 'regular person' to get the price three-fourths of the way down to invoice. By the cold, dark weekday evenings of January and February, when the car lots are almost deserted, a good bargainer should be able to be at or very near invoice. Depending on the level of options, etc, this could be over four thousand dollars below MSRP. When the '10s arrive next summer, we should be dealing strictly below invoice on leftover '09s, and quickly be well below MSRP on the '10s, which will look just like the '09s. The exception will be the diesels, which will be treated by salespersons as a redesign because of the major power plant change.

But then my 'seasoning' has taken place over a 59 year period, and things change. The above diatribe is my best guess, but there are a hundred little factors that vary by dealer and region, and the economy is huge at this point.

Thanks for asking, and best luck with whatever you decide.

Honestly, I think if you have a little knowledge of the system it helps too. I'm 29 and have bought two vehicles. The first was a 2004 Toyota 4runner, and the 2nd was a 2008 Altima. On both of these vehicles I went through the internet sales department which seems to focus more on volume than price. I just priced things our on Edmunds.com and showed them I was well prepared....as a result I got both cars for invoice...

You can also wait until the end of the month b/c that is when their quotas are due. I would say hybrids are the cars that probably are the hardest to bargain with.

omelet1978 - You are absolutely correct about being prepared. I would NEVER make an offer on a vehicle without knowing the INVOICE price of the car I want, including exactly the options on it. This info is available on most car internet sites like Edmunds.

Like you, I deal ONLY with the internet manager. I email her a synopsis (including VIN and options) of the car I want, and which will always be one that has just appeared on that dealer's inventory as shown on nissanusa.com, hence will be arriving at the dealer within the week. I list the invoice price of the basic vehicle and each option. I then adjust that invoice price by any current dealer or Nissan discount, the current holdback, and any other incentive in effect. I make my final adjustment (may be up or down) based on what I think will have a chance to be accepted. That will be determined by many of the factors I listed in my previous post.

Yes, I have also gotten my last two Maximas at very slightly below invoice. But each was the first year of a new generation, and it was not possible to get my dealer down to invoice early in the first year of a new generation. It was late June of '04 before I was able to get below invoice on my '04, and the '05s were arriving just a month later. If buying the '09 Maxima, patience will be a virtue for several months. Let those with untold riches empty their pockets first. Then, when the crowds have thinned, and sales get tough, you can get a nibble on a deal nearer invoice. Some folks may be willing to pay a little over invoice, and that could work with some dealers by late fall.

I think your right about Hyundai. I used to think all of their cars were the ugliest cars, but some of them are really nice looking cars. From what I see online I like the look of the new Genesis. It's suppose to be comparable in size to the Lexus LS, and if that's true then buying one in the upper $30k price range will be a great price. It's a RWD sedan too, for those that want a RWD. I'm at least going to check them out when they arrive at dealers next month. I think from a marketing perspective Hyundai should drop their logo from the car and put a new one on it, like Toyota did with Lexus.

lightonthehill,

Is there a way to find out what the dealer holdback is?
Thanks,

Hurricane434 - Unfortunately, being fairly close with my dealer's Internet Manager, I'll simply get the holdback amount from her when the day comes that I feel it is time to buy. I could dig out my offer sheets from the '04 and '00 negotiations, but the holdback amount will have changed since then.

I'm sure there are those here who have had to search out this number in recent years. It is on the net, as that is where I used to get it back in the mid-1990s. I just don't remember exactly where.

Anybody here that can help?


Of course Edmunds has a full discussion of holdbacks and how they work. Holdbacks are not considered to be negotiable in ****ering for a sales price on a car, but the reality is that they exist, and are typically between 2% and 3% of the invoice price, not including destination charge. So they would probably be between $560 and $800 for a $30,000 Maxima.

I know I've seen this on the net too, as I found it when I bought my 04... but my car-buying negotiation skills were still very green, so I didn't use it.

But anyway, I just Google'd for "Nissan Maxima holdback amount" and the first link (carseek.com) has the info for the 08 but not the 09 (it's $859 for the 08). I wonder if there will be a lag before this info is available on the net for the 09?

Monotaur - The holdback will probably appear on the net very soon. Nissan only released the '09 prices earlier this week. Someone who know the percentage Nissan uses for holdback will be able to cquickly calculate the new holdback.

Based on the holdback you found for the '08, it appears Nissan may be using 3%. Based on that, I would expect the holdback for the '09 to be between $860 and $900. Nice pocket change for our dealer.