How I have scored invoice pricing with 3.99% APR on my 370Z?
 

Yes, here’s how I have scored invoice pricing from the convenience of my living room couch!

First step: Getting invoice pricing

I know you guys are aware of the invoice pricing thread and have used the thread to submit offers to various dealers. I have done the exact same thing but the only difference is that I have put that in a MS word document with a fancy table so that it’s easier to read and looks a bit more professional. I have got the idea from a member of a BMW forum (got to give proper credit). Instead of just sending an email with numbers, it’s a letter that looks a lot better and dealer knows that not only you know what you’re talking about but you’re a knowledgeable person.

Then I went to Nissanusa.com and on the bottom left hand side there’s a space where you can put your zip code and find the nearest dealers. I have used my closest 8 dealers for my 1st batch of emails. I simply went to their website and from their “our team” page, I copied the Sales Manager’s email. Some cases I couldn’t find the Sales Manager’s email and had to use General Manager’s email. The reason you want to send it to General Manager/Sales manager is because he/she can give you yes or no faster than those random sales guy. They are also more educated and least likely to give you the run around.

Within the next 3 days, I have got various replies from those dealerships. Few said yes, few said no and few didn’t even bother writing me back. Those who said yes, I have simply told them when I’m going to come in.

Second Step: Know how much your trade in worth

I was going to trade my 350Z in for the deal. So, I needed to find out how much my car worth. KBB is helpful, but there are so many things that dealers check when you trade your car in, it’s better to have them give you the number. One of our member (can’t remember if it’s “semtex” or “pushing tin”) said that CarMax offers the most money for their trade in. So next morning, I go straight to my nearest CarMax to get a trade in appraisal. In my case, it’s the one in MD which is only 150 miles away. This way, before I walk into ANY of those Nissan dealers, I have an approximate idea how much they are going to give me for my trade in. You always want to do this because if a dealer gives you less, you can simply show them how much another dealer offered for the same car. I did it because I want to know Nissan dealers are not giving me a crappy trade in value. ALWAYS do you homework before you're walking into a dealership.

Third Step: Financing

I was told even with my great credit (790+ FICO score), I am only going to get 6.99% APR. To me that was absolutely unacceptable! I have worked hard to keep my credit score where it is today and I deserve a better rate. So, I went to my nearest credit union and they told me I will get 5.74% APR from their financial institution. I was okay with it but not totally happy. So, I start researching how I can get a better rate. Then I found out about the Pentagon Federal Credit Union. They are offering 3.99% APR on all new car purchase!!! I was sold! But there was a problem. I am not in the Army, Coast Guard or Air Force. How can I get such rate? Well, answer is simple. You can pay $20 and become member of NMFA (National Military Family Association - Option 7) and you’ll get the loan with desired APR. I was surprised to see the knowledge of these customer service reps. I had a very good experience with them. Once you’re member, you’ll have to fill out a loan application ONLINE and you’ll instantly know if you’re approved or no for the 3.99% APR. Then they will FEDEX you check the next day or you can go pick it up at your nearest branch. I opted for the next day FEDEX.

Fourth Step: Closing the deal:

Upon returning from CarMax, I knew how much my car was worth. Then I walked into Team Nissan of Vineland where I have my appointment with the “General Sales Manager”. Why I chose Team Nissan as my first stop? They are recognized by the Owner’s first award for 2009 and only two dealers have that honor for the year 2009 in the state of NJ. I walked in and he was a very professional man. He appraised the car and gave me a very generous amount for my trade in. It was at least 1000 more than what CarMax offered me. I was very happy. Then, without any talking, he makes a worksheet with the exact invoice pricing that I have offered via email. No hidden fees and his number matched EXACTLY the way I emailed him. We were done within 20 minutes!!! I had to ask him, “So, What’s the catch?” His reply, “We are not a big fan of catches. If we were, then our name wouldn’t be listed on the Owner’s First Honors List”. I was sold. I didn’t leave the dealership for another 2 hours because we started talking about GTR and Nismo 350Z and other news from Nissan Corp. We also laughed about the new Nissan Cube but realized all Nissan want to do is expand their earnings to various different customers.


I am very happy how things turn out for me. I am not going to bore you with my long story anymore. The Z looks great, drives great. Thanks for reading.

You can find picture of the Z here http://www.the370z.com/new-370z-owne...cs-inside.html


Update 9.17.13
Please note, at the time I was buying the car, 3.99% was a big deal. The same rate from the Penfed has gone down to like 1.49 to 1.99% now. You can still follow my invoice price technique and still get financed from penfed. Especially if you're buying used car, penfed gives you kicka$$ used car financing rate.

Thanks for supporting us Military folks :)

Pentagon Federal is an AMAZING option for loans and banking. I will go nowhere else, and Ive gotten 2 loans through them.

Worthy to note, if you are military and already have a PenFed account, your immediate family can get a loan through you I believe. But, personally, I'd prefer to just follow this writeup. Thats just me.

great write up, this will help quite a few ppl on here......thanks for the info

Congrats! Buying a car should be easy. I've learned that as soon as it stops going smoothly, just walk away. Glad to hear you actually had a reasonably enjoyable experience.

this helps ppl because they now know that this can happen, an easy nice deal with no fuss attached

Great information. I am signing up with Pentagon Federal Credit Union tonight.

awesome thread!!! how do u suggest negotiating leases? i've gotten awesome discounts off msrp but lease payments were ridiculously high

Wow! That's awesome. Thanks!

Thanks for sharing. This is a great story and should be beneficial for everyone looking to buy this great car!

thanks for the tips.

AK, you should make this a sticky!

Dude, AK, grand slam for you and for us!!! That post alone is worth my membership fee. Thanks for taking the time to make everything so clear.

Thanks AK,
Great info!

I've already made 2 payments, but I'll prob re-fi with Pen-Fed, I too have a 750+ credit score but somehow could only get a 6.9% loan. :confused:

Nice deal AK. You managed to beat my deal by $48. So what all options are included in with that price (matts, kick plates, pimp dice, etc...)?

We haven't discussed financing yet because I'm still waiting on the order but when the time comes, I will definitely try to go the route you took. Thanks for the detailed info.

Nevermind, I went to your other post and saw what you got.

Sports Package + Splash Guards + Floor Mats.

I have no clue. I have never leased a car. If I recall correctly, 350Z had the same issue with leasing - very high monthly payments. Is there any reason you wouldn't like to own it?

Great story AK, I too have a credit score in the high 700s and was appauled at usaa federal savings bank for only offering 6.99. OMSC offered me subsidizing which lowered it to an equivalent of 5.99, but like you i am still not satisfied thats the best i can do. I am a military member and am about to try for the penfed cu to see about that 3.99...

wish me luck;)

im not sure if you guys caught the 3.99% offer*:(
*Internet Only Sale Rate: The 4.75% rate applies to new and new refinanced vehicles (where you are the original owner), financed for 12 to 72 months with a minimum loan amount of $20,000. The 3.99% rate applies to used vehicles, financed for 12 to 60 months.Used and refinanced loan maximums limited by NADA retail value. Term is based upon loan amount and model year and are subject to change. 100% financing available. Rate good only on Internet applications and is subject to change. Rate higher for non-Internet applications.


4.75 i still good :)

usually a lower interest rate will apply to new vehicles, with a higher rate for used... that's odd that it would be the other way around. Didn't the OP get the 3.99 rate for his new Z?

Straight off their website...

New Auto Loan Rates Untitled 2008/2009 Model Year
3.99% APR* 12 to 36 months less than $7,500
3.99% APR* 12 to 48 months $7,500 - $100,000
3.99% APR* 12 to 60 months $10,000 - $100,000
4.75% APR* 61 to 72 months $20,000 - $100,000

EDIT: and it also says the above qoute...odd indeed...

This is AWESOME. I checked and I am eligible for being former Army AND for the current company I work for!

Ill be getting my loan from Pen Fed for sure! 3.99 here we come!

Thanks for the info!

3.99% rate is offered online only. If you call them via phone, it's 4.74% (4.74% is also offered on 72 months)! The application online takes less than 2 minutes to fill out and you instantly know if you're approved or not.

Click on this image-----> http://www.the370z.com/attachment.ph...1&d=1235927900

excellent info! :tup:

thx!

Nice, I'll be keeping this in mind.

Well I finally got word back today from PenFed...

Approved for 3.99% for 60 months.

so thanks AK for posting this, I probably woudnt have even tried this had it not been for your sharing this info with us.

I guess I owe you one.

I am glad everything worked out. The process is VERY simple and literally painless. You get a great rate and their customer service is far superior than any bank you'll finance with (IMO) . Congrats. :tup:

so that's about 0.00165 in money factor to get the 3.99%

the reason why i like to lease is i change cars at least once every year. i end up losing more when i own than just passing up the lease to someone else when i lease without losing anything.

Got It!
 

Thanks for the great info. Payed my $20 to join and got a loan approval the next day. I just need to get the VIN number on my ordered 370Z.

I always look at both leasing, financing or cash even though my wife or I average around 2.5 years on our last eight cars. I have only leased BMW's since agressive lease factors and good residuals can be had. The residuals and lease factors are pathetic on the Z compared to what rates are currently available. It would be tough to lose on financing versus leasing right now on a Z.

AK,
3.9% is a great rate. Good job for finding that.

Thanks for this info AK. I am saving it for future reference! :)

Ditto, thanks for more great info, i'll try my credit union and these guys. See what will happen.

You guys are welcome!

You can actually have the check mailed to your house the next day via Fedex. Then, just take the check to your dealership when you purchase the car. The check has blank spaces for dealer to fill out. They fill the info out, you sign the back of the check and that's it! You drive away in your new Z.

if you guys dont mind me asking how much is everyone borrowing??
30k 35k or should i go higher?

thanks :D

Thank you so much for the tips.

Just wondering, but how long is the 3.99% offer good for? If I pay $20 now to become a member, can I tell them when I want my check, say in a year or two?

Tony Montana is the sh** nd there will always have to be a bad guy
 

Alright guys this mind seem like just an angry salesman talking, but let me give it to you guys straight.

How much does the average buyer of a 370z make an hour $15-30 bucks?

Ok now lets break it down to what Mr. Got a great F*in deal actually spent to get this great deal of his,.....:excited:

1st--- Invoice price.... on the computer for making that fancy letter and sending all the emails ----1 hour

2nd--- read all 8 different dealer websites looking for the sales manager name to email the offer ---to 2hrs

3rd--- Driving 150miles to and back from carmax doing the speedlimit
----2.5hrs
4th 3days of waiting for all emails ----72hrs

5th appraisal at carmax 1hr

6th gas to and from $25 bucks

7th application fee for credit union $20 bucks

8th and 9th application to nissan and local bank for rates -----1.5hrs

sum it all up you spend so far $45 dollars + 80hrs of your time and lets not count it + 2hrs to pick up your car at the dealer = 82hrs of work +$45 expenses.

avarege buyer makes $20per hour = 1600+ $45 = $1645 actual spent time you just wasted when you could have walked in to a dealer asked to see the invoice given an offers lets say 100 over invoice

Even if you had to stick it out with the 5.74% rate instead of the 3.99% rate how much more money did you save by doing your homework?

If you would finance the car for 60month and make every single payment you would end up paying $1540 in interest + 100 over invoice that you agreed to dealer making your total financing purchase $35,000.00
You spent $1640 which is 5 dollars less than if you would have done all your work... and if you make extra payments it could be even less interest paid and save you the time and hassle of doing all of this.

Now call the dealers do it your way... but on this one this guy got :owned:

What you lookin' at? You all a bunch of f***n' a**holes. You know why? You don't have the guts to be what you wanna be? You need people like me. You need people like me so you can point your f****n' fingers and say, "That's the bad guy." So... what that make you? Good? You're not good. You just know how to hide, how to lie. Me, I don't have that problem. Me, I always tell the truth. Even when I lie. So say good night to the bad guy! Come on. This is the last time you gonna see a bad guy like this again, let me tell you. Come on. Make way for the bad guy. There's a bad guy comin' through! Better get outta his way! :owned: "Tony Montana"

Dont hate the player hate the game :gtfo2: if you can't handle the truth....

You'll be happy to know that I have friends in the industry, and that my wife and I paid a fair price although we could have gone lower. Why? I used to be a total grinder, and it always paid off in the immediate, but never in the long-run. When issues such as warranty on large ticket items are reviewed by corporate (which they are) all factors are taken into consideration, being fair in the purchase price can really payoff in when it comes to warranty time. I support the dealer network as we still need them to buy a car, and to warranty a car. Hey, but that's just me...to each their own.

I think it is all relative really. Many people are ordering their cars, so the "wait time" can be used to get your old car appraised, get loans setup, etc. Most dealers I have talked to have been a flat number and are either going to give me that or not, if not (which is a fair number) then I can go somewhere else.

Time spent is always a relative value you cannot put towards actual pay. I could say the same thing about me helping friends and family (plus others who pay me) when I do computer repairs. Instead of making 10 dollars an hour, I could go to my office and make more, but I feel the time is an investment in a different manner than a monetary gain.

hey I am just glad that you didnt just waste all that time doing this rocket science research to buy a car... I sell cars and i m totally for saving money when it comes to buying a new car.. but come on... blowing what you can save on research thats just as ridiculous as a sales person getting angry at a customer because the customer did his homework... :werd:

^You're a tool.

interest is based on the prime rate... you can only keep it for 2 weeks to a month tops.. due to prime goes up and down depending on the stock market :tup:

so to answer your question no...