2012 Price Increase

[Vince]

I ordered a 2012 370Z in December. I agreed on a price with the dealership, signed a purchase order, and gave them a deposit.

I received an email from them today saying that the price had increased by $509 from what we had agreed upon. I checked with TrueCar.com, and sure enough, the invoice pricing of the car has gone up.

Should the price that I ordered the car at be locked in? He said that Nissan will allow me to cancel the order at this point since they increased the price. Can any dealers chime in on this? Is the price not solidified until the car is actually delivered?

Thanks in advance!

[scottIN]

I assume the same thing will happen to me. Ordered in October, expecting delivery in February. The way we wrote the contract was 'invoice price', so I don't know that I have a lot of wiggle room.

I'm going to guess (and it's just a guess) that the dealer locks in the price when they place the order. I know that's the way it is in my business. I sell a lot of flash drives, and they change price every week. Price I pay from China is the the price on the day I put the order in. Like after the earthquake in Japan, I had 3 orders in production, but I paid pre-earthquake prices (prices went up 20% the day of the quake), not what the price was when they were delivered. Imagine the chaos that would create in business if after you ordered something the price changed to the seller's (or distributor's) advantage.

You can always just wait until the car arrives and then tell them you will pay what you had agreed to pay or they can keep it. If the increase is pure profit for them (i.e. the car didn't cost them anymore), they really aren't losing anything.

[Vince]

Thanks for the insight Scott.

My original delivery was mid to late February, early March at the latest. In yesterday's email, he said the week of March 2nd.

It seems logical that the price would be locked when the order was placed, but the automobile business is obviously different in ways. They are allowing me to back out of the commitment, which of course makes sense.

The paperwork I signed shows the actual price we agreed on, which is $500 over invoice. They want to know if I'm okay with the new price, and I assume that will make my deposit non-refundable again. This will make it difficult to refuse the car after delivery.

The main thing I'm wondering at this point, is did they actually place the order when I gave them the deposit? Or did they wait to group it with a larger order, and the price increased? Is it fair for them to pass this added cost on to me, or should they eat it?

Thanks!

[Streetlife]

I ordered mine on 9/2/2011, and I already have an agreement with my salesman to pay invoice(expecting to pay lower, considering the long wait). I spoke to my salesman last week and he didn't mention anything about a price increase, i can remember reading that when the 2012's came with oil coolers for this model year prices weren't supposed to change. But to be clear, we haven't agreed to a price that will come after my inspection of my Z, i was told she'll be here sometime in February.

[Vince]

TrueCar.com seems to provide accurate, up-to-date pricing info. When I checked in December before I signed the paperwork, it was $509 less than what it shows today, so I'm 99% sure Nissan has increased the price in the last 30 days or so. This also matches up with what my dealer told me.

I asked if they'd meet me half way and they agreed, so I'll end up paying $250ish over the NEW invoice price. Egh, whatever. :|

They seem like a pretty cool dealership to deal with. When I had my Titan they were always super cool. I don't mind throwing a few bucks their way.

[scottIN]

Originally Posted by Vince

TrueCar.com seems to provide accurate, up-to-date pricing info. When I checked in December before I signed the paperwork, it was $509 less than what it shows today, so I'm 99% sure Nissan has increased the price in the last 30 days or so. This also matches up with what my dealer told me.

I asked if they'd meet me half way and they agreed, so I'll end up paying $250ish over the NEW invoice price. Egh, whatever. :|

They seem like a pretty cool dealership to deal with. When I had my Titan they were always super cool. I don't mind throwing a few bucks their way.

Good for you not to throw a fit about it and work out a compromise.

And you're correct, pricing changed in like August of last year, and then again mid-January. So technically, there wasn't a price increase when the 2012's came out - it happened later.

[scottIN]

Just got this from my dealer...

[Vince]

Originally Posted by scottIN

Just got this from my dealer...

Aw, you suck! I want mine!

They did at least give me the VIN to mine today.

It's cool that it came in earlier than expected. Have they said anything about a price change?

[koeppelnissan]

If anyone needs a copy of an invoice, to confirm pricing or an order #, or to check a delivery dat, just send me a PM and I am always glad to help!

[Vince]

Thanks for the info Koeppel Nissan!