Serramonte Nissan (CA) excellent

[burnedout]

Serramonte Nissan (CA) excellent

Just wanted to share the best dealership experience I've ever had. (and I've bought 6 new vehicles since 1997).

Lou (Sales manager?) at Serramonte Nissan in Colma was excellent to work with over email. He wastes no time, and talks with you about the bottom line price. And he starts at a very fair level, well off sticker. I was in and out of dealer in, realistically, 1 hour. Including the test drive, the quick financing research, choosing the rate I wanted for the price we cemented over email, and then doing paperwork while my truck got detailed, both inside and out. All my previous car dealership experiences were average 4 hours.

Lessons:

- only work with internet manager via email, never walk in to talk price.
- get your invoice price with options of exact car you want before you even start. (www.edmunds.com)
- if its a popular car, you might not get $200-$300 over invoice. But if its any kind of clearance, you can get well under invoice, as I did.
- i told every dealer I emailed that I am emailing every dealer within 50 miles. (which was true, well, within 25 miles..)
- when you are making an offer, dont forget about tax in your state. I might start at $200 over invoice, multiply my tax in, and then tell him thats what i want out the door, no other fees period.
- Its not all about rebates, APR is equally important. Even if you are offered an extra $1000 rebate to take 5.9% APR, it is better to turn down the $1000 rebate in order to get 4% APR. This saved over $15/month alone