Dealers Lying Or Has Nissan Put A Hold On Production

Bonzo

So I've been trying to order my Z the way I want it, but I'm having trouble finding a dealer that got an allocation this month. I've now talked with 6 dealers in my area, and none of them got an allocation. Of course they are are all trying to find/sell me a car from some far away place right now, with options etc I don't want, but that's not what I wanted. There's more on that but that's not my question.

Here's the question.....
2 of the 6 dealers have told me "that word on the boards" is that, due to the Tsunami, Nissan is putting all it's resources and inventories towards making it's top sellers like the Murano, and has indefinitely halted production on the Z and the GTR.

So are the dealers lying to me, or is this true? Anyone here know?

I'd really like to get this car exactly how I want it, but now I'm nervous about when that might be, if ever, if they decide to halt it a long time or even forever. This would be very bad news for me for sure.

Thanks for any input you can provide ---- Bonzo

MacCool

A close friend owns the local Chevy dealer. He tells me that that was reported in the dealer trade press...Nissan is having component shortages, notably some electronic components as well as some colors of paint. As a result they're focusing on the higher selling vehicles. The 370Z isn't in that category, in fact sales are not only low but they've been declining every year since 2009.

Bonzo

Here's things I could find with some quick searching. Nothing is specific about the Z. The one that did get halted was the new Murano CrossCabriolet, which halted after like 50 cars were made.

Here's one article, and links to others are attached.

CHICAGO, May 25, 2011

Honda Cuts Working Days

Honda Motor Co. (NYSE: HMC) announced that its workers will take 14 additional days off from June to August due to disruptions in manufacturing operations driven by parts shortages. The parts shortage came on the back of earthquake and tsunami in Japan on March 11 that damaged many parts supplying companies' plants and paralyzed the power supply system.

The workers will take one extra day off in June, 10 days in July and 3 days in August. However, the workers need to work extra days in the latter half of the fiscal year to make up for the production shortfall.

The plants affected by the latest move include auto plants in Saitama and Suzuka and a motorcycle plant in Hamamatsu. Honda has informed the union that the workers may need to take additional days off in the coming months if the parts shortages continue.

Recently, Honda revealed that it will halve production at its Sumare, Brazil plant due to the same problem. The output at the plant will be reduced to 300 units per day from the current 600 units per day and production shifts will be curtailed to two from three. The company has already retrenched 400 employees at the plant.

The automaker has also alerted its U.S. dealers about supply shortages of its popular models, Civic compact and CR-V small SUV, due to lower availability of parts that will support the required production level to meet their demand.

Apart from these two models, Honda stated that it will cut supply of Acura luxury cars as well as TSX wagon and the RL sedan until later in the year. It also revealed that it will be able to import only a limited number of Japan-built cars in the U.S, which include Fit subcompact, CR-Z, Insight and Civic gas-electric hybrids until later in the year.

Recently, the company revealed that domestic production volume will remain at approximately 50% of the original production plan until the end of June. However, it will be normalized before the end of 2011.

Nearly every major automakers, including Toyota Motor Co. (NYSE: TM) and Nissan Motor Co. (OTC: NSANY) in Japan and General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) and Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) in the U.S. are plagued by the natural disaster in the country. They have either suspended or cut down their production in the wake of plant outages and parts supply shortage.

The shortages will mostly affect supply of fuel-efficient lineups that are highly demanded at the time when gasoline prices hit $4 per gallon in the U.S. As a result, car buyers may need to shift to alternative brands or postpone their purchases for some time.

UPDATE: Toyota, Honda Output Grinds To A Halt In April After Quake - WSJ.com

Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet Production Crippled By Earthquake, Tsunami

Nissan Near Back to Normal After Japan Disaster - Nashville Public Radio

Nissan to halt Russian plant for 5 days | Metals & Mining | Reuters

UPDATE: Toyota, Honda Output Grinds To A Halt In April After Quake - WSJ.com

Z_ealot

I think the dealers you are talking to are just taking things on a note of caution as far as production from Nissan goes. I myself was able to get an order in for a 370Z with the options that i wanted, but my dealer did mention having to go through Nissan corporate themselves in order to get my Z into production and that it was an exception to be able to get one into production right now.

FuszNissan

I am not sure what the outcome will be for the 2011 Z. I have asked Nissan Corp. Management about the inventory levels and if they are just going to skip to the 2012, and I get the deer in the headlight look.

I think the tsunami wiped out a lot of the inventory. I usually carry 23-30 Z's at this time of the year, and I have 6 if that tells you anything. And I Zero coming in.

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LouFuszNissan
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Bonzo

Wow. That sucks.

Yeah, it's the zero coming in I'm really worried about. I'm starting to think there are zero allocations anywhere right now, which means zero new orders. Hopefully, they only took a month off, but that's part of the worry. When did you get your last allocation to order? Was it in May or April or March or worse? I can wait, but I'm just worried dealers and Nissan themselves will raise the prices in the mean time to cover the losses.

A dealer here has a car close to what I want, but it's got the splash guards (which I personally really don't care for), and the nimrod screwed the front plate right into the white part of the bumper. I don't want 2 drill holes in my brand new car. Besides, this dealer F'ed me so hard when I got my Murano from him that there is NO WAY I will give him my money again. I am really not ready to pay for a new car until August or September, so that's why I wanted to order it now and not just buy it off the lot. But I'm starting to wonder if 2 bumper holes and splash guards might be the least of my worries.

You don't have this car do you?

Equipped WITH (stuff I do want)
-7 speed Automatic Transmission
-Sport Package
-Pearl White Exterior
-Black Cloth Interior
-Carpeted Floor Mats
-Illuminated Kick Plates (optional, won't make or break)
-"Z" Valve Stem Caps (Dealer Installed)

Equipped WITHOUT (stuff I don't want)
-In-Mirror Rearview Monitor = $785
-Carpeted Trunk Mat = $95
-Splash Guards = $225 (according to the website, these are optional, and I do NOT want them)

Cheers ---- Bonzo

MC

ive been working with and getting updates from nissan on atleast the GTR part of all this and there were ALOT of Zs and GTRs lost back in march... the Zs were also affected because not only were some destroyed that were waiting at port... the VQ engine factory was damaged and was offline a few weeks longer than the actual Togichi plant... i know on the GTRs some of the lost inventory build in march has just recently received june builds for august deliveries... i havent heard as much about the Z's but like lou said there isnt alot of incoming inventory of Zs to dealers anywhere in the US.... i would expect much to change throughout the summer either

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zóff

Its old but this should answer your question also having a hard time finding what i like!!

http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dl...303129977/1117

but here is also some good news.
http://blog.leasetrader.com/archive/...-programs.aspx

Bonzo

I assume you meant to say "wouldn't", not "would." Correct?

Just more to speculate about I guess. I always have the worst luck with this sort of thing. I wait for a car and then I wait until just the wrong time. My wife is a very optimistic person, but after 15 years together she is even saying how my luck sucks with this sort of thing.

Again, loosing cars just adds to the fire about prices going up. They have to try an recoup their losses at least some I would think. That blows.

Oh well, I guess I'll have to just wait it out and see. The only plus side I see right now is that I'll be saving my money away in the mean time. Maybe, just maybe, I'll get lucky with a sooner allocation.

FuszNissan

Cars go up in price every year. I wouldn't expect a dramatic price hike (expect for GTR), due to the tsunami. I would just be patient and wait for a 2012 if you don't find what you want. But I believe 2010's and 11's are going to dry up here at the end of the year.

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Bonzo

Yeah, I think your right, and what you say makes sense, but it doesn't exactly make me happy, and I think you can understand my feelings. I've wanted this car since 2009 when it first came out. I've been patient about it since then due to my family house hold responsibilities. Now I'm in a spot to start making car payments in August, and to avoid receiving a sports car with summer only tires in the dead of January here in snow likely Ohio, I wanted to order it now. But that appears to be out, and I might have to wait yet another 4-6+ months just to order the friggin' thing? That sucks! And I'm bummed out, big time.

I know car prices go up every year, but things may change by then with the economy, so getting dealer invoice pricing may not be as simple as it is now. Add to it that Nissan lost over 1000 cars in the Tsunami, and that average yearly price hike is going to be more than average I think. You say no, I say yes. Any money I save in the mean time is just going to have to go towards that increase.

Also, who knows if they are planning some upgrade for 2012 that I don't want. Even if it's simple like changing the door handles to chrome or something (like Nissan does on other cars), it may be a backwards move for me. More horsepower = good. New front end or something chrome = Don't know until we see it. Again, sorry, I'm just bummed out right now.

MC

Yeah wouldn't ...sorry was typing from the DROID X

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ClemsonWill

I wonder what they did with the 3300 Nissan and Infiniti's that were calimed to be damaged?

Purely a guess - but I'm assuming insurance had to pay out for them. I wonder if there will be an influx of salvaged/repaired/rebuilt (nearly new) Nissans and infinitis to the market?

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Bonzo

Similar to all the dealer owned hail damage cars around here from a few weeks ago. I was wondering what they did with them. Fix them yes, but sell them as new? Knock off $3000 of the list? I don't know. Good question.

Of course the Tsunami cars are probably mostly in much worse shape, so it does make you wonder.

DJ-of-E

Total scrap. Once salt water gets into every nook and cranny into the car and its engine, the car and its parts are now total scrap and very non-recoverable. Rust is like cancer, a small thing now and deadly later. Even Stainless steel can't survive in long period of salt, water, and oxygen.

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