Quote:
Originally Posted by steveg78
...I have been checking dealer inventories via the nissan website and am having trouble locating the configuration I want.
PG
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A salesman at a dealership has better search ability than you do going thru nissanusa.com. For example, he can also see incoming shipments.
But you can use nissanusa.com in a different way than they intended -- it's more designed for mass-produced cars like Sentras. Select "Find new dealership", and pick a city where you have good fly-in capabilities. Some examples might be Chicago, Dallas, Miami, Jacksonville FL (where a lot of Z's come off the ship), Boston, and of course, NY/NJ.
Chicago is currently holding a lot of black, red, and light greys. Florida dealers have brighter colors. For platinum graphite, I don't want to disappoint, but if you do a 100-mile radius around Richmond VA you may get the best current inventory of PGs.
As you go thru each dealer's inventory, printing out the page for the car you like saves time. You may get 8-10 hits. But some will be demos, or have a real low VIN # which may signify problems (on why the car hadn't sold).
I found with my search, I ranked +2 for my first exterior color, +2 for my interior (persimmon is rare), +1 for transmission and +1 for Touring. I subtracted 1 for each "overfeature" I didn't want, like Nav.
Then -- call the dealership direct. Verify they'll do VPP. Give them the last 6 of the VIN #. Ask if it's a demo, etc. As long as you don't have a trade to complicate the matter, your next step is arranging a plane, train, friend's ride (or Greyhound, even) to get to the dealership and pick up your car.
Be especially leery of some FL dealers who add "dealer fees" of several hundred $$$s, and pretend it's a standard practice. If the sticker price they quote you isn't the same to the penny as nissanusa.com, find out why. Then use that as a basis to establish invoice for the car in question, and your VPP will be maybe a couple hundred less than that.
Remember that on your drive home you should keep it under 4K, and vary (modulate) your driving speed. OTOH, if you're driving up the East Coast corridor, you may want to drive at night to avoid all the mommievans.