Has anybody paid less than MSRP in NY?

[Layla]

I didn't do the smart thing and prenegotiate BEFORE RAQ, so now I have a quote of MSRP and have to decide whether to accept or decline...

 

[redLEAF]

I didn't do the smart thing and prenegotiate BEFORE RAQ, so now I have a quote of MSRP and have to decide whether to accept or decline...

Learned my lesson on this -- you still have some time so send some inquiries to other 'LEAF certified' dealers in your area, only quite recently did a Chicago area dealer start offering a $500 under MSRP discount (and then only to forum members) so watch the forum like a hawk. I have a VIN and activated CARWINGS (but car still isn't expected until week of Dec 7) so am too late to switch; you should have some time as I think the first to NY are in January some time or perhaps later?

 

[Layla]

Yes, I believe the October orders are expected in January.

My understanding is that the dealer I am working with has only two slots for November, and I believe they were successful in filling their October slots...

 

[ColumbiaRiverGorge]

I was able to email all of the dealers in OR and ask who would give me the best deal. I ended up getting invoice pricing on all options and the car 2.79% below invoice. Dealerships get "hold backs". When Nissan dealerships move a car the day it arrives, they get an additional 2.79% below invoice. The percentage gets smaller until nothing if the car is still on the lot after 90 days.

 

[lukati]

I didn't do the smart thing and prenegotiate BEFORE RAQ, so now I have a quote of MSRP and have to decide whether to accept or decline...

Don't put yourself under pressure to accept the quote. A delay of a week or two at this stage will likely have no impact on your delivery date.

I made a similar mistake and accepted an offer without doing the proper research and talking to the dealer beforehand. My dealer turned out to be a real pain (i.e. a typical car salesman) trying some high pressure things on me like wanting me to come into the dealership immediately and pay a $500 deposit upfront, warning me that his supply was limited, etc etc. (A long litany of false information and straight-out falsehoods could follow here).

After about two weeks, I finally got over my hesitation to be a difficult costumer and my anxiety about giving up "my position in the queue". I took the advice from a fellow forum member and opened a second account. I looked up all the dealers that were certified in my state (the number had increased from the first time around) and then called the fleet manager/LEAF specialist of EVERY dealership. Many had no clue, most wanted MSRP, some didn't want to sell non-local, but I did find one dealership offering at $500 below MSRP and another one promising to match any other offer I could find. I RAQed for a second time with the new account and everything has been extremely positive ever since. I had a great initial conversation and felt the genuine excitement of the dealer. It was immediately clear to me that this was not just another car for the dealership. We have had regular conversations since, all positive, informative, and honest. I am actually thinking of doing the followup service with them even though they are quite far away.

I cancelled my order with the first dealer, making sure he wouldn't be rewarded with an orphan. I called CS, complained about the initial dealer, and confessed what I had done. They voiced understanding for my actions, thanked me for my loyalty to the LEAF, and deactivated the initial account. And after all this I am still in line to get one of the first cars around here.

My advice would be to reject the offer at this stage and then call every dealer within range of the car before RAQing again. The worst that can happen is that you find a dealer you feel good about.

 

[NYLEAF]

I contacted every Leaf-Certified Nissan dealer in Nassau & Queens back in the beginning of October. A few took my name & number and never got back to me, a few thought I was saying "Lease" and asked what vehicle I was interested in leasing, and a couple knew what the Leaf was, but didn't really understand how the process worked as far as ordering one. One dealer (the closest to my home) refused to provide me a quote before I was approved for credit, and another said he couldn't give me a quote until Nissan announced the price for the vehicle (which has been announced for a while already). I found one dealer in Nassau that seemed to have a general idea of what they are doing, so I went with them. At MSRP, of course!

Bottom line...we're not going to see discounts here until the car is already showing up in dealerships and the dealers become more comfortable with the whole system. Once they see that WE, the buyers, get to CHOOSE which dealer we want to go with, they'll understand the importance of wooing customers with discounts, as the west-coast dealers have (as I stare at a banner ad on this site offering me $1000 off MSRP...if only I lived in California!)

 

[tps]

a few thought I was saying "Lease" and asked what vehicle I was interested in leasing

Happened to me, too. They're probably used to hearing the word "lease" a lot more than "leaf" so I guess it's understandable. I found that spelling it L-E-A-F works wonders!