I know selling cars is a commission business and all, but how much leeway/time would you give a dealer if they cant get you the car you want?

I went to my local dealer Wednesday night to buy the G35x. Walked into the dealer knowing the exact car I wanted (fully loaded G35x), the 3 color choices I was interested in, the interior choices I would take - and had already been preapproved for the loan through my credit union. Should be a sales guys best customer? So we worked through my trade and pretty much had things worked out - except for the small detail that they couldnt find a loaded G35x for me. They asked me if I would take a non-loaded one that I didnt want. Tried to get me to take a color I didnt want - thanks anyway. Then they couldnt even locate one at their "distribution center" - after I waited for 90 minutes (arent these things computerized?). It was fine, I didnt mind the wait really since they have a nice dealership, but finally I just walked (with the loaner) and told them to get back to me.

Yesterday I left a couple messages and they never got back to me - so I have no idea how long a wait it would be. I'd be OK if even they could say "OK here's your VIN, the car is on its way from Delaware, here in 6 days."

As it turns out, I did a quick search on the Infiniti site, called around to a few other dealers and there are a half dozen or so cars I could get from local dealers (1-2 hour drive) that are exactly what I'm looking for.

Is it just the case that with a hard to get car dealers wont share with other dealers? But in the end if they cant get a fully loaded car in a *reasonable* amount of time, I dont see how thats my problem. And again I dont want to be too much of a tool since they were initially nice, but for a purchase like this? Is it unreasonable to call and say "Hey I dont mind you guys jerking me around, but give me some sort of real incentive not to drive to another dealer today and drive off with the car I want."

Thing is, we've usually had great service there, my wife bought her FX there and we both have our cars serviced there.

 

I'd give him a week. Sometimes it's hard to find exactly what we are looking for but if he is really up to the job he will inform you that he is trying and will keep in contact with you especially if he wants your business.

 

You certainly are the ideal customer. You know what you want, and you can pay for it. Those cars you found may not be available. I drove my G35 around for 2 weeks before I actually finalized paper work, so that may be the case with those other cars too. Mine showed as an inventory vehicle even though it was parked in my garage.

There isn't much of an excuse though for not calling you back. Usually it's the other way around and they call you all the time.

 

Stupid question but is it unreasonable not to want to wait two months? I have two or three color combos that I think are hot and within an hours drive I know right now there are 3 confirmed in stock as I called this morning.

So am I being a d**k to the guy if he says hey I can order you one its here in two months and I tell him no thanks, I'll take the one I can drive off tomorrow?

 

You are not being a d**k. Most likely your dealer is trying to avoid some sort of trade with the others. I would call them up and tell them that if they can't get you the car you want, you would take your business elsewhere. They know the cars are out there, but are not trying hard enough to get it for you. You can even tell them the names of the other dealers and which cars they have. There should not be any excuses of not being able to get you the car you want.

 

If you want the car now and they can not accommodate you and you know for sure that what you want is available, then do what you gotta do. You are the customer.

Not returning any of your calls is a no no and would def turn me off. Even if nothing has changed status wise on their side... they should return your call.

As a last ditch effort and good faith on your part I would suggest to call the sales manager and get him involved. He has only one objective, put your fanny in the drivers seat and roll the car.

If a model/color is in hot demand and supply is limited with the car just coming out, most dealers tend not to swap out so freely. They'll come up with an excuse to other dealers like 'we have a pending deal on it' or something like that. You really can't blame the dealer that has the inventory. They really are not in business for the other dealer.

Keep us posted on your saga.

Good luk on your journey.

 

They should be able to get the one you want from another dealer if they want your business. When I bought my FX 45 in 03 my dealer did not have what I wanted so they called around until they found it even though I told them I would wait a month for them to get one they had on their order list already. They flatbedded it from Nashville to Atlanta that day. The next day I did the inspection, they still had to install some accessories and gave me a G 35 loaner until they got the car finished. So if there are cars matching what you want only a hour away and they are not going after them for you, then go to the dealer that has what you want and get it from them.

 

Took about 3 weeks for my dealer to find the exact car that I wanted. He was able to get it by doing a dealer trade with another dealership. You just have to be patient. I wasn't in a rush, so I could wait.

 

I know I'm an impatient person in general. Buying a car is worse. And you're right, I wouldnt blame the other dealer for not wanting to give away his supply. But to me its like going to the mall and looking for a pair of shoes. If one store is out of stock and wont get any for two months but the store at the end of the mall has them now, why wait?

To me however, the returning of a call is the most important thing. It only takes 60 seconds and if he had called me back right away yesterday and said hey great so here's where your car is, it will be here on such and such a date - at least at that point I can make an informed decision.

Interestingly enough when I left a message for the sales manager this morning I said hey, appreciate you trying but if you cant get them for a month I'll just come get my Z back today no problem. He was a real good guy to deal with on Wednesday so I wanted to be up front with him. He just called and said they were expecting some on the truck today and was going to check in with me in 20 minutes to see what they got.

Stupid question since I dont know the inside of the business, but if my company is expecting a big shipment of something, I always know exactly whats on the truck and what I'm getting. I dont know that I'm just getting say "machine parts"

Sorry. Ugh. Very impatient. Hate waiting.

 

I had an offer from Winston-Salem and they had the car in stock. Raleigh did not have the car but offered $500 less and said they could find one quickly. I had them put a contingency stating that they would knock another $500 off the price if they could not deliver in 3 weeks. The contingency was important since my down payment was non-refundable. Turns out they got the car within a week and it was actually the car from Winston-Salem (still had the W-S sticker on it).

My concern like stated earlier is that they are not returning your calls. If you have other options nearby, go with them. Better yet, see if you can also get a better price also. I live in Charlotte and ended up not using the two local dealers since the service I got sucked and they would not negotiate.

 

I waited for a month and half for my fully loaded G35x. I was pretty clear that it had to come right off the boat with destination miles only, nothing from test drives or having it driven from another dealer. I was in close contact with my dealer at all times and he provided excellent customer service. It was well worth the wait and as of last night I have my new car. They even put it in the showroom for me so that I could drive it "right off the showroom floor"!

Dave

http://tappedwire.googlepages.com/2007infinitig35x

 

Yeah I dont want to sound like I'm banging too much on the guy(s), its just frustrating knowing that there are loaded x's in the area that he is unable or unwilling to put his hands on.

So when I called him back 3 hours later (a recurring/madenning theme, its impossible to get the sales manager to actually return calls) he admitted hes been having a real hard time getting information with people starting to shut it down for the holiday weekend. He said he had ID'd a car for me at their distribution center but was unable to match that order# with the car description since "infinitis system is down for the weekend". Huh? So they can tell theres a car there but cant tell anything about it? Maddening.

I told him I would be in on Tuesday morning when I got back to close things up one way or the other. If they cant even give me concrete information one way or the other (IE - COLOR OF THE CAR) then I'll take my chances with the other cars in the area.

Funny though, when I told him about the other loaded X's in the area (that I had personally called to confirm) he said no way they are loaded, they are trying to pull the bait and switch on you. Isn't that a little unprofessional? Also, dont they usually b+s you when you are looking at a cheaper car they try to bounce you into something higher priced?

Regardless, I hope this thing comes to a happy conclusion next week. Have a great holiday everyone.

 

When I picked up my car on Thursday night my dealer did say that they are getting a new computer system at the beginning of the year. Apparently they run two simutaneously now and are converting to a completely new one soon. I guess he might have been telling the truth about the computer systems being down for the week.

Now, much of this goes back to the quality of the dealer. My dealer also was one of two authorized Porsche dealers onsite which made a huge difference. There was always contact and updates as time progressed. He explained to me that he doesn't know what cars are available in the region until they get so close to port. Then the data loads to distribution's computer system, he then has to find a car, request it to be re-routed and then have the request approved by the dealer that it was originally supposed to be routed to BEFORE the car hits the truck. Once the car is on the truck, all bets are off and its on it's way to the original dealer. Pretty complicated process.

Though, my dealer was always up front with me and once he had secured the car, he gave me the VIN and it was the same one when I received the car. If you're not attached to your dealer, I would keep looking around at other places and try to have more than one dealership secure the car for you. From what my dealer told me, the 07's are flying fast and they are now getting into hot water w. the 06's bc people don't want to even be bothered after driving the 07 (and for all the right reasons!).

Good luck with your search and have a happy (and safe) holiday.