Hey Guys,
Some of you may or may not recognize me, but I've been lurking on the forum for quite some time now. I've been looking for a 15+ manual silver nismo for about 2 years. I've never needed it as I have a tacoma as a DD which is probably why I've been taking my time and haven't been in a rush. I figured it would be nice to have a sports car as a weekend/garage car, but again it was a want, not a need.
I've always loved the nismos, and Zs in general. There's nothing else like it. You guys/gals are all members, so you know where I'm coming from. This next part is more of a public announcement and a story for whoever wants one.
I've been eyeing this specific nismo for a little over a month:
https://www.prioritynissanchantilly....AZ4EH5HM955383
I went to go check it out today and examined it thoroughly. Interior and exterior is very clean and the recaros have no damage to them. There are a few rock chips here and there, especially on the red lip area (even though the salesman was telling me there wasn't a single rock chip on the car). There are several scratches under the front bumper and the plastic thing under the bumper (I forgot what it's called) is significantly scraped. These things are to be expected from a used car and overall I thought it was in good condition.
What worried me was the carfax. It's a corporate fleet vehicle. Everyone has opinions on this. I believe I made another thread on this matter. Anyways, I decided to take it for a test drive. The car ran well and drove fine. I didn't push it or anything; just a little bit of spirited driving. My brother had an older model nismo, so I already know what it's like. When I parked the car back at the dealership I noticed a burning smell. Possibly the brakes or clutch. I believe it was the clutch, but of course, the salesman was assuring it was just the brakes. I never braked hard though. The car has been sitting in the showroom for a while - perhaps something with that. For those who are thinking I burned the clutch - well maybe, but my DD is manual and I've been driving manual for a while and I'm a smooth criminal, I mean, shifter* (RIP MJ). The salesman himself said I was really good at driving stick. Anyways, I just thought it was weird. The smell eventually went away, but I felt suspicious.
Before any of this began, I want you all to know I had no intention of playing games. When I walked in and linked up with a salesman I was polite and upfront about the specific nismo. Of course he was trying very hard to sell it. I brought up the carfax and my concern that it was a corporate fleet vehicle. He face looked like I insulted him and he started talking about how it was a demo car and that it was never registered to anyone (of course, it has to be registered to someone) and that it has been taken care of meticulously. He even went as far as to say it's better than new since "it goes through a rigorous multi-point inspection." You see....my whole point of being upfront from the beginning was to avoid this crap lol and to make sure they knew I knew what I was interested in. Somehow they still took me for being uneducated. Anyways, he just really wanted to sell the car and continuously kept iterating how the condition of the car was perfect. This is when I test drove the vehicle and I came back to talk #s.
So my plan was to trade the truck in. My wife has a 4Runner (which I absolutely love) and it'll do everything I need in terms of outdoor use. The tacoma has the highest resale value in the country. I have a 16' manual, full-cab, 4x4, TRD Sport with the tow package and some other goodies. It's in great condition and has about 40k miles. I figured I couldn't do an even trade, but at max would have to pay another 4-5k on top of my truck. You guys want to laugh? First off, they wouldn't budge on the price of the nismo. Secondly, they low-balled me on my truck's offer. They wanted my truck plus another 14k. Needless to say the conversation didn't go much longer after that, however, it did get a little nasty. I simply said it's way too far off from where I was expecting. The salesman said, "I knew you weren't a serious buyer." I didn't even want to get into it with him, but his whole attitude changed, but I proceeded to shake his hands and walk out. Some other things were said, but I've already written too much. I went to the manager since I had to get my keys back, and he was telling me how my logic was crazy. I just said have a good day and left.
I don't know...I just feel like Nissan is on a downhill spiral. Apart from their Z pricing being ludicrous and not budging at all (I'm basing this on other experiences as well), their customer service sucks. I know I'm not alone as there are many other members who can speak to this. I almost don't want a Z anymore and may just continue to wait for another Japanese manufacturer to come out with a more modern and fun car. I don't know what Nissan is smoking these days, but there's no way they're doing well in today's market.