A Great Conversation with Dan Passe on 2023 Nissan Z [Specs, Release, Pricing]

[Dotson]

So I spoke to my local dealer. They said they are slated to get one Z, only ONE, in the first phase and probably won't see it until late summer, and the waiting list is already at 10 people. I have a couple other, larger Nissan dealers around me that I haven't checked with, I'm hoping the situation gets better.

 

[McLovin157]

So I spoke to my local dealer. They said they are slated to get one Z, only ONE, in the first phase and probably won't see it until late summer, and the waiting list is already at 10 people. I have a couple other, larger Nissan dealers around me that I haven't checked with, I'm hoping the situation gets better.

It’s not getting better I can tell you that. With no pre orders we are all fighting for these Z cars

 

[McLovin157]

So I spoke to my local dealer. They said they are slated to get one Z, only ONE, in the first phase and probably won't see it until late summer, and the waiting list is already at 10 people. I have a couple other, larger Nissan dealers around me that I haven't checked with, I'm hoping the situation gets better.

Also from what I know between 5-15% of all Nissan deals most likely won’t even see 1.

 

[Blackbeard]

Lol great I’m sure down here we will see a few but I emailed a few dealers around here and no one has answered back I’m about to ask the company I work for if they can just transport me one straight from the manufacturer since we transport most of their cars lol

 

[West Aussie]

It’s not getting better I can tell you that. With no pre orders we are all fighting for these Z cars

Are the US dealers worried that Aus and Canada have had pre orders and because deposits have been paid, Nissan is now bound to them.
I ask because my dealer believes he will get 6 for first allocations…he has 15 orders
They are one of the bigger dealers where I live, but still 6 in a smaller market compared to 1 from a dealer in the US
Im now first at my dealer so I should hopefully get what I’ve asked for along with the person that ordered a proto …

But if numbers are limited, then why has Aus and Canada got the jump ?

 

[McLovin157]

Are the US dealers worried that Aus and Canada have had pre orders and because deposits have been paid, Nissan is now bound to them.
I ask because my dealer believes he will get 6 for first allocations…he has 15 orders
They are one of the bigger dealers where I live, but still 6 in a smaller market compared to 1 from a dealer in the US
Im now first at my dealer so I should hopefully get what I’ve asked for along with the person that ordered a proto …

But if numbers are limited, then why has Aus and Canada got the jump ?

I was begging for pre orders I can say that. It was a way to hold Nissan to ensuring they send us a car someone ordered. Now it's up to us (dealers) to secure the cars which means things will just be a bit messier over here.

I believe Canada and Aus got the jump for 2 reasons. 1 Nissan may have used their smaller Z markets as a way to gauge interest as well as ensure at least those markets could be "happy" by getting a more "adequate" number of cars. 2 Nissan can't sell cars direct to customers in the US and I don't know the full legal reach of how manufacturers can do pre orders in the US. I know it's happened in the past but that's also a possible reason. There is also a chance it could be that Nissan ran out of time. Nissan seems pretty set on launching the car in June and understanding how things work that would mean pre orders would have needed to start in January or February with a launch in June.

 

[McLovin157]

Lol great I’m sure down here we will see a few but I emailed a few dealers around here and no one has answered back I’m about to ask the company I work for if they can just transport me one straight from the manufacturer since we transport most of their cars lol

While your at it just have them redirect the Z to me as well would you ?

 

[West Aussie]

I was begging for pre orders I can say that. It was a way to hold Nissan to ensuring they send us a car someone ordered. Now it's up to us (dealers) to secure the cars which means things will just be a bit messier over here.

I believe Canada and Aus got the jump for 2 reasons. 1 Nissan may have used their smaller Z markets as a way to gauge interest as well as ensure at least those markets could be "happy" by getting a more "adequate" number of cars. 2 Nissan can't sell cars direct to customers in the US and I don't know the full legal reach of how manufacturers can do pre orders in the US. I know it's happened in the past but that's also a possible reason. There is also a chance it could be that Nissan ran out of time. Nissan seems pretty set on launching the car in June and understanding how things work that would mean pre orders would have needed to start in January or February with a launch in June.

I don’t believe they can sell direct to the public in Aus either (though I could be wrong) those who filled in the reservation form direct with Nissan had to select a dealer out of the ones that were closest to you. Then that reservation was redirected from Nissan Aus to the dealership who then called you, filled in a contract took your deposit and entered the order into the system (interestingly Nissan Aus did not enter the contract themselves)
So in short the dealer still gets the sale and do not have to do much for it.

The only reason this would not work in the US is the dealers mark ups.
Reason being if you put an a reservation at a dealer and they get a deposit without final price, they then have you over a barrel as to how much mark up they will put on it .

I’m telling you, this marking up cars crap is really hurting you in long run…I almost guarantee this is why they could not do pre orders like they have elsewhere

 

[Dotson]

My hunch is an average USA customer like me (no connections and won't may markup), will likely not have a Z delivered until 2024.

I would think the average person in the US will be able to order a Z as soon as they are able to, this summer, and have it delivered by early - mid 2023 at the latest. But I’m seriously looking at going with the Supra if they offer a manual. But I’m sure demand will be high on that too.

 

[McLovin157]

I don’t believe they can sell direct to the public in Aus either (though I could be wrong) those who filled in the reservation form direct with Nissan had to select a dealer out of the ones that were closest to you. Then that reservation was redirected from Nissan Aus to the dealership who then called you, filled in a contract took your deposit and entered the order into the system (interestingly Nissan Aus did not enter the contract themselves)
So in short the dealer still gets the sale and do not have to do much for it.

The only reason this would not work in the US is the dealers mark ups.
Reason being if you put an a reservation at a dealer and they get a deposit without final price, they then have you over a barrel as to how much mark up they will put on it .

I’m telling you, this marking up cars crap is really hurting you in long run…I almost guarantee this is why they could not do pre orders like they have elsewhere

So you couldn't select the dealer you want? You could only select a dealership close to your location. That would instantly cause problems here. I understand the mark up nightmare that is occurring but if anything it's working in my favor so as far as I'm concerned other dealers can fuck themselves to death charging 15k+ over MSRP. The way I wish they would have let us pre order was make it 100% dealer sponsored not Nissan. So a customer would work with a dealer and after a $1000 deposit required by Nissan us the dealer would submit the order to Nissan. That would allow people to chose the dealer they wish to work with and not get stuck with x dealer charging 20k over MSRP.

 

[West Aussie]

So you couldn't select the dealer you want? You could only select a dealership close to your location. That would instantly cause problems here. I understand the mark up nightmare that is occurring but if anything it's working in my favor so as far as I'm concerned other dealers can fuck themselves to death charging 15k+ over MSRP. The way I wish they would have let us pre order was make it 100% dealer sponsored not Nissan. So a customer would work with a dealer and after a $1000 deposit required by Nissan us the dealer would submit the order to Nissan. That would allow people to chose the dealer they wish to work with and not get stuck with x dealer charging 20k over MSRP.

No you could select what dealer you want, it’s just when you put in your postcode it bought up the three closet dealers, but I’m sure you could press “ see more” to select if you wanted to. Just a way of making things more convenient for the buyer

Your missing a big error in your point of view. Pre orders have opened…pricing is still not known. And if dealers were aware of a pre order being available…do you really think they would tell the buyers how much mark up they were going to charge until pay day arrived?
So picking a dealer would mean nothin, because it would only be after prices are locked in that dealers could finalise pricing on the already signed contract. Sure people could refuse to pay it and try their luck at another dealer, but they would be put right back to the back of the line.

So to make things clear the Australian contacts are all signed off on with the one exception being “ subject to final pricing” if it’s too much we can pull out.
However when I asked what would happen if I wanted to change my order, they said the contract would be scrapped completely, a new one would be drawn up putting me to the back of the list

Until prices are finalised the final cost on the contract can be changed …and I would say in the US that would include dealer delivery …and so it won’t work

 

[NiZmonium]

Oh well , I'll just keep saving money . Maybe have the entire cash amount saved up by the time i can actually purchase one . I'm definitely not gonna be one of these desperate chasers who ends up paying a huge mark up. It's only a car. Hell, maybe even other Z alternative will be announced in the meantime

 

[McLovin157]

No you could select what dealer you want, it’s just when you put in your postcode it bought up the three closet dealers, but I’m sure you could press “ see more” to select if you wanted to. Just a way of making things more convenient for the buyer

Your missing a big error in your point of view. Pre orders have opened…pricing is still not known. And if dealers were aware of a pre order being available…do you really think they would tell the buyers how much mark up they were going to charge until pay day arrived?
So picking a dealer would mean nothin, because it would only be after prices are locked in that dealers could finalise pricing on the already signed contract. Sure people could refuse to pay it and try their luck at another dealer, but they would be put right back to the back of the line.

So to make things clear the Australian contacts are all signed off on with the one exception being “ subject to final pricing” if it’s too much we can pull out.
However when I asked what would happen if I wanted to change my order, they said the contract would be scrapped completely, a new one would be drawn up putting me to the back of the list

Until prices are finalised the final cost on the contract can be changed …and I would say in the US that would include dealer delivery …and so it won’t work

So the "subject to final pricing" would also remain on any US contract. So legally in the US you don't buy a car till the bank finalizes the loan. There are some states that have more strict or lax laws (Oklahoma has law of ownership. once you leave the lot it's yours). So even though it's not as polished as Aus the ordering system work effectively the same.

If someone wanted to place an order through me and I am to submit an order to Nissan this is how it works. 1 we order the car the way you want and you sign a form to purchase the car with a deposit. 2 When the car arrives you then sign the purchase agreement or when we receive the VIN. 3 The owner takes delivery of the car and the deal is funded, they are now the owner.

At any point between point 1 and 2 you are allowed to drop out and just like your order would be moved to the bottom of insert list.

Where things are a bit messy here in the US is your experience is 100% dependent on the salesman/dealer you work with. It's slimy as hell but if the salesman/dealer says congrats your car is in its 30k over MSRP now that it's here they can because there was no binding contract at step 2. That's why I am SUPER transparent with everyone I work with. If the car is 44,762 the max mark up is 5k so the cost would be 49,762. Now I could say that then double back on it and say sorry its now 15k over and will run you 59,762 but that would make me a POS and I'm not about that.

 

[McLovin157]

Oh well , I'll just keep saving money . Maybe have the entire cash amount saved up by the time i can actually purchase one . I'm definitely not gonna be one of these desperate chasers who ends up paying a huge mark up. It's only a car. Hell, maybe even other Z alternative will be announced in the meantime

I would expect the new Z to look like C8 orders. Place your name now and expect to wait 6-18 months depending on who your working with.

 

[NiZmonium]

I would expect the new Z to look like C8 orders. Place your name now and expect to wait 6-18 months depending on who your working with.

I hope it isn't that extreme. I can somewhat understand the wait time for the new C8 because of what it is - a completely brand new mid-engine sports car with near super car performance , with exotic looks.... etc. And not to mention , every boomers favorite mid-life crisis mobile has always been a Corvette .

But let's be real - The Z is just the new and improved 370Z. Although everyone loves Z cars throughout the years , the market and demand isn't nearly as big as the Vette community