2007 350Z is MINE... almost

So normally, I would have posted much earlier today, but today ended up being a whirlwind sort of day. The first part is a story, that may be boring to some. Feel free to skip to the last 3 paragraphs for the personal finance lesson.


It started off normally enough. I was going out with my mom to find a good deal on new suits and other such clothing. But first, we had to get an emissions test on one of our other cars. This took 2 hours, during which we noticed there was a Nissan dealer nearby. My mom suggested we go by there and look at the 350Z (Read original car post).

We walked in and a helpful sales agent zeroed in on us, and smooth-talked us into driving the Z around. During the drive, he asked me about my intentions for the day, and more importantly, my ability to pay for the car. I informed him I was well within the salary ranges for purchasing the car, and so we started the intricate dance that is car negotiations.

He first offered me a MSRP number, at which I openly laughed at him and told him to get real. At this point, he had to "talk with my manager". He reappeared later with another number, that was slightly better, but was still clearly unrealistic. At this point, I turned to my mom and asked her if she wanted lunch. This scared the agent, and he went back for a third price.

I had done my research (Read Post) and so I had a target price in mind. The problem had always been that the dealerships I was looking at didn't have the right 2007 350Z Touring in San Marino Blue with the GPS Navigation option. If you read my previous post on car buying, you'll know I was going for a pre-tax price of $31,864, but I had only priced in the GPS Navigation.

Unfortunately, on the only car in the region that was close to my specifications, the car also came with chrome wheels, XM Satellite Radio, floor mats, and side curtain air bags. Those options added about $5,000 more to the price. During the back and forth the agent was doing, he quizzed be on the options I wanted. When I balked at the extra options, the sales agent offered to remove the chrome wheels and give me the difference.

His final out the door price? $37,023.68. That was real close to what I had figured would be price I was willing to pay. I decided I liked a flat figure better, and with that, I signed the line for the car at $37,005. Yes, he got me for an extra $5 due to some new green house emissions tax.

I paid my $500 honest money, and I expect the car to be driven up sometime in the next few days. By next week, I'll be the proud owner of a brand new 2007 350Z!

Now how am I paying for all of this? Borrowing against my future earnings of course (financing)!

One tricky aspect that few car buyers know is that you don't have to take the dealer's financing options. You can go out and get your. After all, all the dealer cares about is that you hand them a bag of cash before you take the keys.

I am waiting to hear back from the dealer on an interest rate. However, with my excellent credit, I am also shopping around at local banks and online to see what the most competitive rates are.