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Another elephant in the room: Nissan Dealer Markup?

12125 Views 68 Replies 36 Participants Last post by  thewizz23
For those of us in the USA, I think most are probably aware of the rediculous markups the traditional dealship networks are applying to high-demand vehicles (both IC and EV). There's plenty of examples, but the most guilty dealership network appears to be Ford - which is getting at least $5k over MSRP for the Bronco, and for the Mustang Mach-e as well, and apparently as much as $50k over MSRP for the Lightning.

These markups from the mainstream auto industry is one of the reason Telsa has been so successful. They have three strong pillars:
1) No dealer markup, no surprise pricing. You pay what you pay.
2) Extremely efficient drivetrain, delivering industry-leading range
3) Fantastic, exclusive fastcharge network, making interstate travel anxiety-free.

For my intended Ariya purchase, I can say that I'm willing to overlook items 2 and 3 above, since there's plenty of things the Ariya does better than an Model Y as an overall package (including the $7500 tax exemption). But the one thing I cannot, and absolutely will not put up with is any sort of Nissan dealership price gouging. If the day comes when I'm sitting in the chair to do my deal for the Ariya, and I see any sort of "market adjustment" on the window sticker, I'll walk away. Let's see what they do with the Z pricing.

Anyone else here ready for that conversation? Has anyone pinged their arranged dealership with this question?
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No idea on what my local Nissan dealership will do, but I went to look at a Hyundai Ioniq. The dealers markup was about 15k ($72k was the price) it’s now listed as flat 6k “market adjustment” on their website. Currently they’re out inventory but they have some in transit so I wonder if they’ll up the “adjustment” again when they actually have inventory.
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One of the major reasons I'm sticking with the Ariya is because I have a good relationship with my local Nissan dealer and their service manager is a good friend of mine so they're not just going to shaft me with a markup. You get a lot of peace of mind from knowing a dealer knows you personally and will stand by the product - and they know I've been waiting a long time to get an Ariya. Before the reservation process was announced their general manager had actually asked me what I wanted so they could plan on ordering that configuration once Nissan let them. Now that another good friend of mine left his dealership job I have no connections to any of the other local dealers so all other things being equal it's hard to pass up the Ariya for a different EV in my case.
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I have a Solterra order with no markup and no dealer fee but have no clue about the markup at my chosen Nissan dealer who seem to be hurting for inventory. I suspect there will be markup and at the AWD price of $59K…. I’m less inclined to accept delivery unless the test drive blows me away.
I plan to contact my Nissan dealership in Illinois within the next month or so about pricing. If there is any price gouging, I will look for another dealer that will honor the MSRP or walk away completely. There are plenty of great EV's coming to the market in the next year or two. I reserved the platinum e4orce on Nov 17,2021. I can wait for a better deal if necessary.
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I plan to contact my Nissan dealership in Illinois within the next month or so about pricing. If there is any price gouging, I will look for another dealer that will honor the MSRP or walk away completely. There are plenty of great EV's coming to the market in the next year or two. I reserved the platinum e4orce on Nov 17,2021. I can wait for a better deal if necessary.
I have the same thoughts. Not in any huge hurry to spend a ton of a money on a new around-town car when the cars I have (including my Leaf) are doing just fine in that role already. Anyhing above MSRP on a pre-order is a non-starter, particuarly given that Nissan is tremendously late to the party.
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I have the same thoughts. Not in any huge hurry to spend a ton of a money on a new around-town car when the cars I have (including my Leaf) are doing just fine in that role already. Anyhing above MSRP on a pre-order is a non-starter, particuarly given that Nissan is tremendously late to the party.
I asked my co-workers who have bought Nissans in my local area and one of the responses about a brand new Leaf purchase confirmed my suspicions. It sounded like a horrible experience. There's no cars for dealers to sell around here and so $5K to $10K markup will be expected and they outright lied to him on numerous points to get him to avoid 3rd party financing, etc.
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I asked my co-workers who have bought Nissans in my local area and one of the responses about a brand new Leaf purchase confirmed my suspicions. It sounded like a horrible experience. There's no cars for dealers to sell around here and so $5K to $10K markup will be expected and they outright lied to him on numerous points to get him to avoid 3rd party financing, etc.
I was going to get a new Leaf a few months ago (we have a 2018 rn) and while they didn't have a "markup," they had a bunch of junk (dealer) extras that couldn't be removed. Hyundai did the same thing to us when we asked about a Kona EV at their dealer (awful experience) Sure sounds like a markup to me. If they do this with my Ariya, I will probably walk unless there's a compelling reason to pay extra.

Edit: I found it on their January proposal on a new 2022 Leaf. It's not as bad as Hyundai below, but it was called "Theft Patrol GPS" and it was for $1,295. There must have been other junk they DID take off, but this was a non-negotiable. I mean, Theft Patrol, really? What about the car's GPS and app...?

Here's what the local Hyundai dealer said was being added to all new Kona EV's and couldn't be removed (and they aren't on the main price print-out):

LoJack
Edge Protection
Etch (forgot what that was supposed to be)

These cost an extra $2085 and the dealer hand wrote it on the price sheet.
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Here's the picture from the actual quote and it was a major exercise to get this out of the local Nissan dealer in January. I'm not optimistic it's better now. This was for a Nissan Leaf SV Plus, per his cover email. I didn't bite.

And do you like how the total (off the lot) price isn't shown? Just down plus amt financed. Not hard to do the math, but still... this was when they were supposedly getting a few in a few weeks. I don't know how many they got.

Font Parallel Rectangle Number Screenshot
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I was going to get a new Leaf a few months ago (we have a 2018 rn) and while they didn't have a "markup," they had a bunch of junk (dealer) extras that couldn't be removed. Hyundai did the same thing to us when we asked about a Kona EV at their dealer (awful experience) Sure sounds like a markup to me. If they do this with my Ariya, I will probably walk unless there's a compelling reason to pay extra.

Edit: I found it on their January proposal on a new 2022 Leaf. It's not as bad as Hyundai below, but it was called "Theft Patrol GPS" and it was for $1,295. There must have been other junk they DID take off, but this was a non-negotiable. I mean, Theft Patrol, really? What about the car's GPS and app...?

Here's what the local Hyundai dealer said was being added to all new Kona EV's and couldn't be removed (and they aren't on the main price print-out):

LoJack
Edge Protection
Etch (forgot what that was supposed to be)

These cost an extra $2085 and the dealer hand wrote it on the price sheet.
I spoke to two dealers in my area that I considered moving my reservation too. One said $5K markup and the other was very coy about markup so I suspect $5K to $10K. If this EV was my only choice, I'd accept these prices but that is not the case.

At this point.. I'm NOT going to award the dealer an allocated Ariya. I will just cancel the reservation and the dealer simply won't get one to sell to somebody else at a markup.
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I don't know what I will do, but surely there are more than a few dealers here in SoCal within 150 miles, but who knows if I will even like the car? Our Leaf is great, but the Ariya doesn't look much like it.

Also, my back is notoriously bad and it's what led me to sell our Tesla MYLR after ~2 months, even if I could probably have lived with its other many shortcomings.
Anyone know of any Massachusetts dealers that don't charge markups?
Today I called my local Nissan dealer in San Diego and was told there would be no markup but they would install an ext/int protection package and charge $1750 additional, before tax and doc fees. Does anyone know if dealer can add on anything more than you order?
I just drove by to meet my dealer (we are new in the Chicago area). They don't have any way of knowing what the markup will be at the end of the year when the Platinum+ eForce arrives...but they showed me an example of a Nissan Pathfinder in the showroom that currently has $12,000 in mark-ups. They explained that pre-Covid they had 300+ new cars on the lot, and right now they have 30-cars. They have to make as much money on much lower volume. I understand that from a business perspective -- BUT wow, I'm not going to be able to accomodate $12k in markups. The price markup was $6k and the rest were add-ons such as window tinting and protection.

With reservations closed -- and high demand -- I think they will be able to charge whatever they want to charge. I've called around to 4 other Nissan dealers in the Chicago area, and they are all saying the same thing -- there is nothing they can tell me now as they don't know what will be happening by the end of the year.
They don't call them "Stealerships" for nothin'....
We might need to put our heads together and crowdsource a strategy if Nissan doesn't prevent its dealers from raking us pre-order holders over the coals. Remember that dealerships get to place their own orders, and they can do whatever they want to the price of cars that weren't pre-ordered by customers, I don't care about that. I do care about customers who waited more than a year to get their car delivered, getting rolled by hustlers claiming they need to make a bunch of extra money from my pre-order. No. They can make money from the cars they ordered for their own stock.
Also, let's be honest... the Ariya was a great option back in 2019 when Nissan should have launched it. But by the time these are available in what very likely will be 2023, it's average. I don't need a lot of extra reasons to just wait another year or two for what likely will be better EV choices. My 2015 Leaf is doing just fine, and that car was and still is a great bargain, built by a company that knew how to deliver excellent products. But 7 years later, I'm starting to have my doubts about Nissan. One way they could earn back my loyalty would be to not let their dealership network screw over the Ariya pre-order holders. These are the loyalists that they can't afford to lose... I bought my first (of many) Nissan/Infinity products back in the 1980's! The only question is, does Nissan care?
BTW, representatives of Nissan USA are reading these posts. That is why this forum exists. So if you have any opinion/concern about Nissan dealership markup on your pre-ordered vehicles, this is the place to record it.
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Also, don't get fooled by dealerships claiming some huge demand exists for Ariyas. You are on the only dedicated Ariya web forum in the world(?), and days go by without a single new posting. I don't think this is indicative of a huge demand and mass market appeal in North America at least. I was very excited about the Ariya when I placed my pre-order, but that has largely worn off as I've seen the new offerings from a half-dozen other EV manufacturers. Quite honestly at this point in the game, even if the dealership gives me straight MSRP when I'm sitting at the table, I'm not entirely sure I'm going to sign my name. I'm perfectly content with waiting another year or two and maybe going with the Lyriq or even a Lighning instead.
Am I the only one feeling this way?
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Also, don't get fooled by dealerships claiming some huge demand exists for Ariyas. You are on the only dedicated Ariya web forum in the world(?), and days go by without a single new posting. I don't think this is indicative of a huge demand and mass market appeal in North America at least. I was very excited about the Ariya when I placed my pre-order, but that has largely worn off as I've seen the new offerings from a half-dozen other EV manufacturers. Quite honestly at this point in the game, even if the dealership gives me straight MSRP when I'm sitting at the table, I'm not entirely sure I'm going to sign my name. I'm perfectly content with waiting another year or two and maybe going with the Lyriq or even a Lighning instead.
Am I the only one feeling this way?
No. I am too. There are numerous options and even at MSRP the Ariya is a tad overpriced. I’d rather have a Genesis GV60 or a Lyriq.

No dealer near me in Orlando is budging under $5K markup. I control the order and yet they tell me if I transfer it to them they will mark it up $5K. Good riddance.
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I recently contacted few dealers around me to ask if they can provide one without markups. One dealership indicated they might. So I switched my reservation immediately to them. Hope they keep with their policy of no markups. But hoping Nissan recognizes the early reservation holders and either rewards them with three years of free charging etc. to appreciate the process we had to go through.
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My dealer told me this in writing on Thursday, so it's encouraging, but I'm not sure the car itself will be what I want when it comes around. They previously wouldn't sell me a new Leaf without at least Theft Patrol (effectively a $1500 markup).

As for the pricing MSRP of the vehicle will be your selling price. I can speak to my management once we get closer to the delivery date on the accessories but until we have an actual invoice and window sticker on the vehicle there is not much we have access to.
We have a used 2018 Leaf right now and it's working well enough, though the prior owner did fry its battery pretty well-done in the AZ heat for 3 years.

The Ariya should have been on the road by now especially since I've recently heard the bz4x IS on the road, in limited quantities. I haven't seen a 4x in person yet, however.
I recently contacted few dealers around me to ask if they can provide one without markups. One dealership indicated they might. So I switched my reservation immediately to them. Hope they keep with their policy of no markups. But hoping Nissan recognizes the early reservation holders and either rewards them with three years of free charging etc. to appreciate the process we had to go through.
What dealership is this? Eventually I may just "abandon" up my Ariya reservation and have it assigned to a "good" dealer then cancel when it is allocated/shipped to them. I don't need the deposit back immediately... I'm not buying an overpriced Ariya (MSRP + $10K)
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