Any good dealerships in Michigan?
 

Hi, anybody know any dealerships offering good prices on the 370z around Michigan? I live about 30 minutes east of Detroit.

Hey welcome to the site! While your waiting. You could also try looking in this thread http://www.the370z.com/nissan-370z-p...er-thread.html

And you could also post the same question in your regional section of the forum. :)

Thanks for the help and welcome Greg. I posted here because I didn't find any information about Michigan dealerships in either of those sections. Hopefully there are some members that live around here and got great deals.

Nobody knows any Michigan dealers?

Michigan Local
 

The Suburban Collection (Troy and Farmington Hills) Nissan Dealers don't have a car to look at and I haven't gotten a great vibe from them when I've talked to them on the phone. They're supposed to call me when one comes in.

D*ck Scott in Ann Arbor doesn't have a car currently and the guy I talked to there wasn't particularly knowledgeable about the car.

Ann Arbor Nissan won't let me test drive the car without promises I'm not ready to make. Yesterday they said, and I quote, "Well, you know, with a car of this magnitude..." (Meanwhile, Erhard BMW lets me test drive a 135i and a 335i with no questions asked, so whatever...)

Grand Blanc Nissan would have let me drive the car IF they had one when I was up there.

Garber Nissan in Saginaw was super friendly and let my dad and I test drive the car they have/had in stock.

Nissan USA's web page has a good dealer locator function. I've just been randomly calling dealers on the list to ask about the car.

Let me know if you find a good salesman/dealership!

Thanks for the info. I actually visited D*ck Scott Nissan a little while ago and they had a brilliant silver auto touring. They also said they will be getting a Magnetic Black one soon. Their internet saleswoman is very annoying; try to stay away from her. She usually just spams my email and doesn't answer my questions. They also aren't willing to negotiate.

What "promises" did Ann Arbor Nissan want you to make? I was planning on visiting them soon.

And yeah, Erhard is really friendly. They let me test drive an e46 M3 when I was there with very little questions.

I'll let you know if I find any good dealers.

Just curious, how old are you? A lot of dealerships, if they dont think you're a serious player for some reason, wont let you test drive.

On the other hand, if you're military you could show up in nothing but a potato sack for an outfit and you'll get a test drive - dealerships love military guys it seems, cause a lot of them are retarded lol. I showed up in a nasty hoody and jeans 2 months ago, and I was test driving not 10 minutes after I got there. I even expressly said, I was just getting a feeler to see if this was the car that I wanted, and they were more than happy to let me take one out. Go figure...lol

I'm 32 and was very clear up front about what and when I'm going to buy.

They basically wanted me to state that I was going to buy from them before they were going to let me drive a car. The sales guy and the sales manager were both extremely hesitant to allow any miles to be put on that car because it deters other people from buying it. I understand that, especially with so few 370s out there right now.

However, I'm coming from a different marque and have never had a chance to give a fair shake to a 370. The one I rode in up in Saginaw was a manual, which I suck at driving, so I rode in that one. Basically, I need to drive the 370 with an auto before I decide if I'm going to buy one at all. Without stronger intentions or a more sure sale, AA Nissan isn't going to let me drive the car. They haven't been rude, but they've been much less workable for my way of going about this than other dealers. That's fine - I just won't buy from them. I find it interesting that the car has been there for about 3 weeks now.

D*ck Scott sold the silver Touring AT that I saw a couple weeks ago. When I was there the battery on the car was dead so they wouldn't take it off the showroom floor. No telling if they'll let me behind the wheel of any more that they get in.

Funny because I saw that PG A/T 370 at **** Scott on the showroom floor...when the sales guy opened the drivers door, he banged it against some stand the car was parked very close to. I didn't check to see if there were any dents/scratches but needless to say I grimaced when it happened.

Yeah, that place didn't seem to have their act together. Battery was dead. They couldn't find the manual hatch release. Couldn't answer simple questions about the option levels and specs for the sport package, etc.

Ahwell, that's where a little (obsessive) self-education about what I'm interested in keeps me ahead of the curve.

Yeah, thats the same car I saw at D*ck Scott. Except I am pretty sure it is Silver, not PG. I think its still on the lot citycat, if you want to go drive it.

Sterling Nissan also let me test drive their manual without asking any questions. They have a Red 6MT w/ sport pkg.

When I talked to **** Scott last Thursday they said that car was sold, so I'm not sure what the deal is there. Since I'm a couple months away at the soonest from making a purchase, I'll let another round of cars come in and see what's up. May also call AA Nissan back next week and poke at them if they still haven't sold it.

I'm down to a short list of 3 cars (370Z, BMW 135i, and Camaro SS). I've been able to drive a 135i for about 3 hours since a buddy of mine has one. I spent about an hour in a pre-production Camaro last Sunday, which was pretty slick. Just gotta get a feel for a drive in an AT 370Z and I can decide what I want.

Thanks for the tips, guys. This is a much nicer forum than the one I was on for my prior BMW!

The salesman at D*ck Scott just kept telling me that he would match any nearby price. I'm going to go in there sometime next week and show him the Carmax 370Zs which are selling below invoice.

I am definately going to order my Z because the guys at Sterling Nissan (the young salesman actually asked me to pull over and switch drivers because he hadn't driven the Z yet) really abused the car. Very harsh braking and accelerating, and he took the car up till the redline... really bad practices during break-in.

Yeah, see, that's exactly why I don't want one off the lot, either. Thought here's huge debate about what a good breakin should be, I'm sticking to what the manual tells me. I don't know as much about cars as Nissan, that's for sure.

The way I look at going in to negotiate about price is that I'm going to order a car, so that is essentially a +1 sale for the dealership. They can sell the car(s) on the lot for whatever and however much they want - that's got nothing to do with the order I'm placing. The dealer willing to make a little money with no hassle and no indecision on my part gets the business. Everybody goes home happy. I don't see any reason to let a dealership talk me up to invoice or higher when cars can clearly be moved for less. And given Nissan's drop in sales overall for the year, you'd -think- they'd be dying to sell you a car for whatever they can...

I might utterly fail with this, but I've seen it work at other dealers.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^check out Gerweck Nissan in Monroe, MI ------ http://www.gerwecknissan.com/temps/index.cfm --------- He advertised on AutoTrader around invoice, so it's worth a look. Please let me know how your negotiation goes...If I can get this car under invoice from Tricky Dicky I'll buy it.

Michigan Drivers...
 

Have you guys in the Detroit area driven 350Zs through the winter? I'm reasonably certain that with a 2nd set of rims and snow tires, I can manage for most of the winter, but I'd like a "hell no" if any of you have had bad experiences.

I know, I know, a Z in winter is sacrilege but I've gotta have a year-round daily driver.

Coming from Buffalo, I would NEVER drive this car as a year-long DD...

Maybe look into a STi or Evo for that? I know people who LOVE them for that...

Eh, not too into those cars, though I'm sure they're great for bad weather.

Why wouldn't you run the Z year-round, assuming winter rims/tires?

One of my friends had a 350Z she used during the winter. She usually came in to school telling stories of how she avoided totaling her car. She said getting a manual helps, but is still very difficult to drive in the winter.

Plus consider the salt on the roads. Our winters and proximity to the great lakes makes a breeding ground for underbody rust! Get a cheap beater car for your daily driving.

Well, multiple reasons, but these are mainly personal.

First, I feel its far too nice of a car to drive around in winter and get salt all over, rusting it up.

Second, its not particularly safe. Yes, Ive heard of many people driving RWD vehicles in the snow, including big heavy boats like Caprices. But, personally, I wouldn't want to if I had the choice. Winter tires/wheels ought to help considerably, but I still wouldn't want to do it.

Third, ground clearance issues. If you get more than a few inches of snow, that front end w/ the spoiler will be like a plow, and furthermore, if you somehow get stuck, getting out of it is going to be tons o' fun. And by tons o' fun, I mean, you'll need to get pulled out if you get high-centered on some hard-packed snow.

Long story short, I dont see this as being a very good winter car at all if you get a lot of snow.

On the other hand, if you just get "cold" in the winter, and not much snow and ice? Have at it.

Thats what I did, before I got my new truck. It was a 1991 Dodge Daytona 5-speed. Paid $375 for it, and it lasted 2.5 years before I finally sold it. The best beater EVAR.

Drove my 330ci in the snow for 3 winters and only ever got stuck once, when we had about 9" of snow and the UPS truck ran me off the side of my street. Had winter rims and tires for it and had minimal trouble -- just had to adjust my driving accordingly. I live about 10 minutes from where I work, so I don't have a long drive, nor highway. We get about 3 storms a year for a total of 4-6 days where I'd keep the Z in the garage and bum a ride.

Ground clearance I'm concerned about with the Z. On the other hand, I compared clearance on the Z (about 4.8 inches per Nissan's stats) to the 135i (6 inches). I don't know how much practical difference 1.2 inches is going to make in comparing these two cars for snow duty. You're absolutely spot-on about exactly how these type of cars get stuck, though. Dug the bimmer out post-UPS and it sucked.

I guess what I need to hear is "Holy sh*t, no, don't even try, it's a spinning hockeypuck of death in the snow!" or "Give it a go, stupid." :rolleyes:

I don't have the resources (financially or storage-wise) to keep a 3rd car as a beater, so whatever I get next has to be a 365-day car. I'm willing to make some sacrifices to stable a Z in the garage.

Oh, and one last entertaining side note. Stopped off at Tamaroff Nissan today and got a semi-lecture from a sales guy there about how I need to realize that a car like the Z is going to mean a big payment of 500-700 a month unless I put down a big downpayment, and he's really not going to let me drive one unless I'm seriously ready to talk those kind of numbers. I laughed, put my name on the list, and told him to call me when they get an AT in. I must be giving out a clueless-noob-with-no-money vibe or something.

Why is this you? :)

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...l/homeless.jpg

I drove my G35 year round, it was just fine in the snow with winter tires. I don't plan on driving the Z in the snow because I don't want the salt eating away my undercarriage. If you got nice skinny snow tires I'm sure you could drive it in the snow if you had to. The LSD on the sport would help you in the snow but then you would have a hard time finding beater winter wheels to fit.

I don't have that much hair on my head.

Fox Nissan in Grand Rapids just offered me $37,000 + tax, title for a 6MT Black/Gray Touring w/ Sport Pkg, Navigation, Illuminated Kick Plates. Thats just a little above invoice!

**** Scott let me test drive the red 7AT they have on the lot right now.
Dimitry was the salesman that I spoke with -- Nice guy.

Night with Nissan and Invoice Pricing
 

Two things:

1st -- I went to the Night with Nissan VIP thing at the design center in Farmington on Wednesday night. VERY classy reception and an up-close & personal look at the entire Nissan line (including the GTR and the 370Z vert). Did anyone else go?

2nd -- Though I (sadly) think I'm not going to be buying a 370 this summer, I got an offer of invoice pricing from D*ck Scott in Ann Arbor over the phone. Salesman's name is Demitry Ayoub. Granted, there wasn't anything on paper, but he brought it up, not me. Probably worth a call if you haven't made a deal yet.

Oh man I didnt know about that. Would definitely have gone though.

I am probably not going to buy this summer either. Thats why I started the thread about changes for the 2010 Z. The dealers I talked to said that if I ordered late April, I would get the car mid july. That leaves me with 6 weeks (5 probably will be break in) and then I go back to school and cant drive it.

Yeah, short season would definitely suck. After a lot of hard thinking, I'm likely to come around to the 370 when it's a 390 or whatever in a few years and I'm ready for a 3rd car as a weekend and good weather whip. Think I'm gonna pick up a 135i in the meantime.

Suburban Nissan sent me the invite to the VIP thing, as best I can figure out. All I did was give them my email address way back when I started looking for a Z and the invite showed up via email. Weird, but well worth it. If you get the chance to go next year, don't miss it.

I was thinking of waiting for a 390 but then I would keep postponing buying a sports car. Plus the 350 lasted 5 years, so I'm pretty sure the 370 will last a good 5-7 yrs. I dont mind keeping it cuz after the warranty's up, its time for a twin turbo upgrade!

And when I last emailed Suburban Nissan they kept sending me junk emails so I opted out. Guess it was a bad idea!

I'll let you know how the twin turbo works out with German engineers. ;)