I found a buyer for my car at a price I could live with even if it still wasn't good and picked up my new G37S 6MT this evening. Garnet/Stone, Premium. Nice Car!

I decided to lease for the first time even though you get hammered on taxes in Texas. A 56% residual on 39 months and knowing if the used car market continues to tank it's somebody else's problem made the option pretty appealing after getting only a 56% residual return on my Eos when it was 1.5 years old and had less than 15,000 miles.

For others thinking about leasing I thought the 56% residual was reasonable but the money factor kinda sucks at .00355 (8.4% APR).

I'd post pics but the car looks identical in every way to Roger's new car so you already know what it looks like.

 

Congratulations on your new car! How does it compare to your old Eos?

 

Way to go...I admire your color combination!

 

Holy bad on the MF batman. Just two months ago on a 36 month 15k for a 6MT, 55% and .00225.

 

Congrats on the car. Big change from EOS to g35.

Money Factor was marked up in this case. Hopefully there was an awesome selling price to compensate.

 

Selling price was based on VPP (Employee Purchase Plan). Came out to $200-$300 over invoice, plus dealer added options (wheel locks [$100], window tint [$295]). I didn't ask for the wheel locks or tint and they would have been much cheaper aftermarket. I kinda felt like I was getting nickel and dimed a bit but I like the car enough I'll get over it.

 

Markup is capped. His credit is the primary factor.

 

What does that mean Mike? My credit score is around 800 so it shouldn't have been any cause to give me a shoddy MF.

 

If that is the case, then it's likely that they bumped your MF for extra profit.

 

My question though is 'who' bumped the money factor; the dealer or Infiniti Financial Services?

 

That would be the dealer.

 

Ouch, that stings. No one needs to fleeced on a car deal in this economy.

 

Sounds like I did get fleeced though. So here's my final impression of my “deal”. Although I absolutely love the car it leaves a pretty sour taste in my mouth.

- VPP price: Not negotiable and a good deal on the price of the car from the factory.
- Dealer installed options: Excluded from the VPP price.
- Wheel locks I didn't ask for ($100+tax) can get a good set at Autozone for $30-40.
- Window tint I didn't ask for ($295+tax) can get a reputable high quality job done for $239 (includes tax). I had asked for this as a Christmas present so it totally screwed up somebody in my family’s gift plans as well.
- Lip spoiler I had in writing would be installed at the port would have cost me ~$425 having been included in the VPP price. Instead the dealer ordered separate and offered to me at $500 for the spoiler plus $200 to install.

When I expressed my displeasure with the above situation the dealer offered to install the spoiler for free and only charge me $500 for the spoiler. I guess I appreciate the sentiment but the idea of cutting a $500 check instead of having it rolled into the lease makes it a less palatable option. Especially since it wouldn't be included in the residual which would have gotten me 56% of that price back on the back-end.

Top it off with a money factor that isn’t commiserate with my extremely high credit score and the only conclusion is that I got taken for a ride. It’s especially frustrating since I really tried to do my homework before the sale and still allowed myself to be taken advantage of. My post-sale survey will at least give me a chance to vent my frustration but in the end I really blame myself for not being a hard-*** and demanding the car be delivered exactly as I ordered it or at least at a price that matches the way I ordered it.

 

95% of the time, the customer knows just enough to hurt themselves more than help themselves.

Unless you're in the business or are working with someone who works under full disclosure, you'll probably be taken advantage of.

There arn't too many dealers out there that will just GIVE you a great deal.

 

Thanks for making me feel like a little less of an idiot Mike. My biggest problem is that I broke the #1 rule of good negotiation: After waiting 5 months for a special ordered car I simply wasn't willing to walk away when I didn't like what I saw from the dealer. I "had" to have the car and that's a sure-fire way to get into trouble as a buyer.