Q&A with Nissan US Director of Corporate Communications, Dan Passe - Submit your questions for discussion!

[therumblewagon]

I'm gonna take a shot in the dark and speculate that, based upon this -

Other than in organized motor shows, probably not until Spring. It all depends on when pre-production models make it to our shores and can be put on display. Thank you!

weight is one of the things that hasn't been finalized yet, and therefore not announced. This would be, of course, alongside Nissan keeping some details close to chest because we still have a long time to go before spring 2022.

 

[HLS30-49788]

The Sales Manager at the Lewisville, TX dealer where I bought my 2009 GT-R basically blew me off by telling me in front of a crowd of sycophantic witnesses, after I told him that that I'd heard that the base model would be about $40,000, that it would be that PLUS a $25,000 markup.

I told him that even the GT-R at base $71,900, which I had bought there, had only a $15,000 markup [a bargain at the time in 2008, which I still drive today]. I said that there were plenty of other Nissan dealers nearby. He smirked and said "$25,000"

This dealership is not serious or friendly anymore. I sent a letter to the General Manager Sam Bitar about 10 days ago and have yet to have a reply.

There are lots of other NISSAN dealers in Dallas. Avoid this one.

 

[West Aussie]

The Sales Manager at the Lewisville, TX dealer where I bought my 2009 GT-R basically blew me off by telling me in front of a crowd of sycophantic witnesses, after I told him that that I'd heard that the base model would be about $40,000, that it would be that PLUS a $25,000 markup.

I told him that even the GT-R at base $71,900, which I had bought there, had only a $15,000 markup [a bargain at the time in 2008, which I still drive today]. I said that there were plenty of other Nissan dealers nearby. He smirked and said "$25,000"

This dealership is not serious or friendly anymore. I sent a letter to the General Manager Sam Bitar about 10 days ago and have yet to have a reply.

There are lots of other NISSAN dealers in Dallas. Avoid this one.

That is disgusting…so glad we don’t have that issue here.
I think Aus maybe working around rewarding dealers who sell more units by honouring orders by date placed rather than by allocation (check in on “hands up all the Aussie post for reason why) if the US was serious they would do the same.
This type of thing damages a brand name.
What’s the point of making an affordable sports car, if a dealer takes such a huge cut it becomes unaffordable and therefore in the end they sell less units…this is bad for Nissan

 

[jdm-rhd]

@Dan_Passe

thanks for keeping up on this thread...i'm sure your plenty busy and we members here really appreciate you.

question: will all colors be available for both sport and performance?

thanks

 

[bboypuertoroc]

The Sales Manager at the Lewisville, TX dealer where I bought my 2009 GT-R basically blew me off by telling me in front of a crowd of sycophantic witnesses, after I told him that that I'd heard that the base model would be about $40,000, that it would be that PLUS a $25,000 markup.

I told him that even the GT-R at base $71,900, which I had bought there, had only a $15,000 markup [a bargain at the time in 2008, which I still drive today]. I said that there were plenty of other Nissan dealers nearby. He smirked and said "$25,000"

This dealership is not serious or friendly anymore. I sent a letter to the General Manager Sam Bitar about 10 days ago and have yet to have a reply.

There are lots of other NISSAN dealers in Dallas. Avoid this one.

I would've laughed directly in his fucking face.

 

[takemorepills]

The Sales Manager at the Lewisville, TX dealer where I bought my 2009 GT-R basically blew me off by telling me in front of a crowd of sycophantic witnesses, after I told him that that I'd heard that the base model would be about $40,000, that it would be that PLUS a $25,000 markup.

I told him that even the GT-R at base $71,900, which I had bought there, had only a $15,000 markup [a bargain at the time in 2008, which I still drive today]. I said that there were plenty of other Nissan dealers nearby. He smirked and said "$25,000"

This dealership is not serious or friendly anymore. I sent a letter to the General Manager Sam Bitar about 10 days ago and have yet to have a reply.

There are lots of other NISSAN dealers in Dallas. Avoid this one.

All of the dealers in my area are aholes now. I bought my wife a new 2020 Toyota back in 2019 before the pandemic, and I had to go to 5 different dealers to find one that was good to work with. Just found out they changed owners recently, so I don't know if they've become jerks too.

I would've laughed directly in his fucking face.

Good luck with that. Here in the Seattle area, it seems most dealers are owned by one company, and they are part of a group, they keep info on you in a central database. If you try and make a deal at one dealer, then go to another dealer to strike a better deal, that dealer will pull up your info and they mess with you. They'll offer you the same deal.... I think it's their corporate policy.

So, hey Dan....can you get Nissan to kick these dealers in the nuts?
Or, don't allocate any Z's to more than 1 dealer in a corporate group in one area. That way the group can't price fix.

For example, if Seattle area has 5 Nissan dealers and 4 are in a group and 1 is independent, send Zs only to the independent and 1 of the 4 in the group. Otherwise, that group will price fix.

 

[West Aussie]

All of the dealers in my area are aholes now. I bought my wife a new 2020 Toyota back in 2019 before the pandemic, and I had to go to 5 different dealers to find one that was good to work with. Just found out they changed owners recently, so I don't know if they've become jerks too.



Good luck with that. Here in the Seattle area, it seems most dealers are owned by one company, and they are part of a group, they keep info on you in a central database. If you try and make a deal at one dealer, then go to another dealer to strike a better deal, that dealer will pull up your info and they mess with you. They'll offer you the same deal.... I think it's their corporate policy.

So, hey Dan....can you get Nissan to kick these dealers in the nuts?
Or, don't allocate any Z's to more than 1 dealer in a corporate group in one area. That way the group can't price fix.

For example, if Seattle area has 5 Nissan dealers and 4 are in a group and 1 is independent, send Zs only to the independent and 1 of the 4 in the group. Otherwise, that group will price fix.

Or they could just do as Aus does. Don’t give allocations per dealer, and don’t tell them how many they have.
Then it’s a race to sell as many as they can to get their cut, and if they are too expensive the dealer that’s not ripping everyone off will get the most sales.
The guys selling heaps of cars win, Nissan wins because their name isn’t being dragged through the mud for being a rip off, and most importantly you guys will win because dealers won’t risk raising their cut too much in the knowledge if they do another dealer could sell a lot more ( if there are no set allocations) it’s a win win in my opinion, and gets around any US laws of not allowing dealers to sell over retail price

 

[takemorepills]

Or they could just do as Aus does. Don’t give allocations per dealer, and don’t tell them how many they have.
Then it’s a race to sell as many as they can to get their cut, and if they are too expensive the dealer that’s not ripping everyone off will get the most sales.
The guys selling heaps of cars win, Nissan wins because their name isn’t being dragged through the mud for being a rip off, and most importantly you guys will win because dealers won’t risk raising their cut too much in the knowledge if they do another dealer could sell a lot more ( if there are no set allocations) it’s a win win in my opinion, and gets around any US laws of not allowing dealers to sell over retail price

That's an idea. But.... can Nissan build enough cars to let that work that way? I don't see production issues getting better for at least 2 years.
Looking at the fact that COVID isn't going anywhere and vaccines are failing, we are in for some bad times. I hope things clear up before regulations finally kill our favorite cars so the manufacturers can get more cars into this world.

 

[West Aussie]

That's an idea. But.... can Nissan build enough cars to let that work that way? I don't see production issues getting better for at least 2 years.
Looking at the fact that COVID isn't going anywhere and vaccines are failing, we are in for some bad times. I hope things clear up before regulations finally kill our favorite cars so the manufacturers can get more cars into this world.

The amount they build is neither here nor there.
They just fill orders in a first come first served basis from a central ordering system.
Dealer still does the order, but it’s put onto a computer system that goes to head office, cars are then distributed in order …until there are none left.
If they can’t give you what you want you get money back, or you simply wait till next shipment is due….it works for everyone…but the greedy dealers.
Nissan’s sells its cars at the prices intended, buyer gets their prices without being gauged, dealers doing the right thing by buyer and brand are therefore more likely to sell more and quicker and still end up ahead.
I don’t understand why it’s not done that way in the US.

I mean obviously dealers can charge what they want still, but the better the price the more the quicker they sell…so it would be in their best interest to only have a smaller dealer hand over charge

 

[trackratZ]

The amount they build is neither here nor there.
They just fill orders in a first come first served basis from a central ordering system.
Dealer still does the order, but it’s put onto a computer system that goes to head office, cars are then distributed in order …until there are none left.
If they can’t give you what you want you get money back, or you simply wait till next shipment is due….it works for everyone…but the greedy dealers.
Nissan’s sells its cars at the prices intended, buyer gets their prices without being gauged, dealers doing the right thing by buyer and brand are therefore more likely to sell more and quicker and still end up ahead.
I don’t understand why it’s not done that way in the US.

I mean obviously dealers can charge what they want still, but the better the price the more the quicker they sell…so it would be in their best interest to only have a smaller dealer hand over charge

Excellent idea, if this has worked in AUS, but couple of questions. Let's say I want to secure a Performance Seiran blue with blue interior, is the ordering system available to the buyer or still only to the dealer and your order sheet will allow the dealer to see Nissan's inventory? Let's say the dealer knows there are only 5 of that config, if they put a Hold on one per your order, can't they still price fix since they've got it locked? Or is it never locked until actual sale?

I think @Dan_Passe should hear about this AUS method, sounds great at keeping prices at or near MSRP.

 

[Z_Coastal]

Dealership Model is broken.

 

[takemorepills]

Dealership Model is broken.

If you mean the USA dealer model is broken, I agree. It has become worse in the 25 years since I used to work at dealers. Back then, it was most likely that any dealer you went to was independently owned by a family. There were a few big names that had several dealers, but that was usually limited to different brands.
In the late 90's big business came in and started buying up dealers and setting up "groups". Meaning, now you could see the majority of Nissan dealers in one state or entire region owned by one "group", and that group may also own multiples of other brands too.
Price fixing needs to be discussed and considered by state AG's in the case of these types of dealer groups.

I am definitely going to be open to shopping all around west of the Rockies

 

[bboypuertoroc]

Good luck with that.

Live up there for almost 8 years. Wouldn't hesitate a second before telling them to pound sand.

 

[West Aussie]

Excellent idea, if this has worked in AUS, but couple of questions. Let's say I want to secure a Performance Seiran blue with blue interior, is the ordering system available to the buyer or still only to the dealer and your order sheet will allow the dealer to see Nissan's inventory? Let's say the dealer knows there are only 5 of that config, if they put a Hold on one per your order, can't they still price fix since they've got it locked? Or is it never locked until actual sale?

I think @Dan_Passe should hear about this AUS method, sounds great at keeping prices at or near MSRP.

We’ll see this is probably the one area that it’s easier in Aus to make it work…choice.
In Australia we get 1 model, you can still choose transmission, colour, usually wheels ( although going in the past here) so choices are limited.

Price wise makes no difference…Nissan Aus sets the price and dealers are not allowed to charge above it

Beauty of it is….at the end of the day all money is refundable if they can’t get what you want or you happen to be last in the list

 

[West Aussie]

Oh, forgot to say, Nissan Aus build in a set dealer delivery fee ( like your mark up) but it’s the same across the board. When you buy a car it is possible to make a deal whereby the dealer gets less mark up if both he and the manager agree to take a reduction …however they can never charge above that fee…I can’t remember what it is, but it certainly isn’t anything like what’s getting mentioned here.
I think it’s usually around $3000 Au dollars which is like 1500US
They can also drive up or down price on any trade in but again you don’t have to trade in, you can sell privately.
In these two area is where you can save a little money from dealer to dealer, but the car itself is set

However we must remember Australia is a much smaller market, and we have only 8 state/territories.
But perhaps they could do it on a smaller scale by doing the same thing by state?

I don’t know…all I do know is 25k dealer delivery for a car that is only 40k is absolutely lunacy and if it was like that here they would not be selling many cars at all, which of course hurts the brand, particularly at the moment when they are trying to pull themselves out of debt