Nissan thinks it can stop dealer markups on the GT-R. Will it succeed?

That is a good idea because then it can't be sold as $100,000 at dealerships and more people will buy it at $70,000

i highly doubt that...if this vehicle were priced at, let's say 90k with the mark-up...i don't think they'll have a hard time finding a buyer. they are limited in production so that's another advantage for the dealers.

but, this a good thing that Nissan is doing. they have been emphasizing the GTR's worth for its money...and it's damn near worth pelnty for its price!

the dealers though, won't be please...but i do see them still having some suckers opting for extra dealer services.

one thing i wondered, i know 2 nissan mechanics will be trained to handle any GTR related issues from regional nissan dealers. i assume tho, that Nissan would still send out representatives from the GTR team to further address the issues if need be.

The best way to stop dealer gouging and lack of full disclosure is for the factory to sell cars directly to the retail customer over the internet and have the retail customer designate a service dealer who will earn a small fully disclosed commission. Cars could even be delivered directly from the factory to the end customer by auto transport truck. There is no reason why high-quality "pre-delivery service" should not be done at the factory to consistent standards.

Dealer markups are fine. If the car can command a $20k premium, why should the dealer be exempt from profiting?

I have a hard time believeing that someone would pay over MSRP without knowing what MSRP is. Whomever buys this car will know it commands a premium.

Back when the Ford GT was so hot, a friend that owns the local small town Ford dealer attended some Ford dealer meeting and WON an allocation of (1) Ford GT. I believe the car was sold at $40k over MSRP. While it was at the dealer, they marketed, "Come see the Ford GT" and brought dozens, if not hundreds of people through the dealer doors.

The real advantage of this car to a Nissan dealer will be using this to get people in the door to look at their OTHER products. Joe(sephine) Blow will come to look at the GT-R, then see a completely different vehicle that fits their needs. More people through the doors translates into more cars sold.

But when dealers jack up the price, sales of the car can suffer.

The NSX got a bad rap for not being available for MSRP when it was released. And as cool as it was, a lower price (compared to Ferrari) was one of its selling points.

sales aren't going to suffer, it's supply and demand. There's a shitload of demand and only 1500 units per year of supply. Dealers will be able to charge whatever they want.

I can see it now, no markup on the car but you will have the privilege or owning a GTR(at MSRP) but with 12000 after market rims, 6000 spoiler, 8000 aerokit and a 4500 exhaust. Nissan cannot stop the inevitable.

It's all about Public Relations, no one can say they didn't try.

I remember when the new M first came out, went to buy one, found one at MSRP but with a 1200 paint stripe and 4200 aftermarket Rear Seat ES(unsure why it didn't just have the FACTORY one!) and some other nonsensical odds and ends.

Supply and demand, supply and demand. As long as there is a large demand for this car, there will be an exorbitant premium on it. If not by the dealers, then by people buying it up and turning it around and selling it at an inflated price.

It's admirable for Nissan to try and stop this at the dealer level, but I just don't see it happening.

Auto makers should make sure that their franchise contracts include a clause that specifically prohibits a franchisee from selling vehicles at prices in excess of the MSRP. Auto makers should make sure that they retain complete control over marketing decisions to introduce new designs and technologies to the market at a price that maximizes quick public acceptance of such new designs and/or technologies.

why would a franchise dealer accept such a clause? If I paid millions of dollars for a franchise and a showroom and I knew being forced to sell at MSRP was just going to allow the person buying the car from me to turn around and sell it for $20k more than he paid me for it, why would I be ok with that? If I'm the dealer and there's $20k to be made on top of the list price, I want to be the one making it, end of story.

JRobUSC, a franchisee has to accept the clause or simply chose not to get the franchise. Sometimes the factory sets an MSRP that is lower than the perceived value for strictly marketing reasons such as achieving quick market penetration and high demand due to quickly selling out current production. The entire dealer body for a given brand benefits from these marketing decisions even though individual greedy dealers lament the fact that they miss out on an opportunity to gouge customers.

The high cost of showrooms is another issue. I believe in factory showrooms only and sales at dealer cost over the Internet. Dealers should exist solely for the purpose of servicing cars and the consumer spends plenty on service. There is no need for a 5- or 10-million-dollar showroom. A large roomy warehouse with an outside test track will do just fine. It's those dumb-ass marketing execs at car companies that have forced dealers to spend excessively on showrooms.

If they REALLY wanted to than YES! Dealers can't do much if the manufacturer wants to do something with a good business strategy. They're followers for most of the times.

When the 350z roadster came out, Santa Monica Nissan was trying to sell them at over a $10000 premium and for some reason people were buying them. They didn't care enough to do a little driving to the valley or to oxnard and purchase them at msrp (still overpriced from my opinion) when one factors in all the problems with the early models such as the front suspension, intoeing with the tires, soft-top tears, etc.

A good product will sell itself. Car salesmen generally have very little product knowledge and add virtually no value to the sales process. Ditto for the type of advertising that auto marketing executives are responsible for -- some of this excessively expensive advertising actually has negative value in terms of marketing benefits.

Can't believe your still on this forum. Joking about WWII is not that funny.

Nissan creates the dealers. So, technically they CAN do what they want as long as it benefits customers and increases their business! And it's not just Nissan, ANY manufacturer can do it. Dealers work for them, not the other way around! Manufacturer controls the amount of cars dealers will get and how many dealers are needed around the country.

uhhhh, FYI, there are waaaaay more attacks on Japanese companies here on Autospies than any other. That is not balanced. You just HATE the fact that companies from Asia can produce good quality products.

"Let me tell you something about the GT-R, there's only tiny sliver of people driving on the road that could care about the existence of the car."

Just like so many other cars that are discussed here, even the ones you like.

EL43,
Regarding your comment,
"Let me tell you something about the GT-R, there's only tiny sliver of people driving on the road that could care about the existence of the car."
This statement may be true, but here on Autospies, I'd bet that 80% of the viewers care about it's existence.

ill bet that 100% of people on this site care about its existance whether they admit it or not. they may not like it or want it, but if they are car lovers they sure as sh*t better care about its existance.

Nissan doesn't want the dealers to mark up the price and yet I believe they're dumping this car at a loss.

I mean to make a hand built engine would cost $70,000 alone.

They're selling this car way under value to bring credibility to Nissan and Infiniti.

I'll bet you can still option a Maxima to $40,000!

This is true

Hand building alone does not add $70K to cost. The engines you are referring to are racing engines with special low production high-performance components suck as titanium connecting rods. Low production components do not benefit from economies of scale. An engine can be fully assembled in a matter of hours by an experience mechanic who has gone through the learning curve on a particular engine. Disassembly is even faster. I was able to take a Rolls Royce Nene aircraft engine out of it's crate and strip it down to every last nut and bolt including all the nuts and bolts on the container to get it out -- all in less than an 8-hour shift and all by myself although I admit it normally takes a team of 3 to do it.

One of the best and most expensive hand built engine in a car below $150K is a 911 GT3, which costs just under $50K per engine. I'm not quite sure where you got the $70K part?

One of the best and most expensive hand built engine in a car below $150K is a 911 GT3, which costs just under $50K per engine. I'm not quite sure where you got the $70K part?

Most auto dealers have in these high ranking positions that they claim will be handling the sales of these are usually the best of the best when it comes to making people pay all the money for a car. Plain and simple you don't get into a chair that high in a dealership based on your great customer service.

How many times have you heard this one from someone who says they had a bad expeerience;

"The sales guy was really nice but i didn't like the manager, he was really (insert negative connotation here)"

Even beyond that the article talks about the used one that sold for 20K over the MSRP- I work for a dealer group that does not allow us to sell vehicles over the MSRP- when we got our first Carrera GT did we sell it for MSRP?

No we sold it to our preowned department and got $650K for the car.

Nissan is foolish if they think that they can control their dealer body.

Really Impressed with the Nissan GT-R, can a BMW M3 compete? 0-60 in 3.3 wow!!

the flame war begins in 3...2..1.

That may be so, but you won't find a BMW that looks like a piece of plastic like the GT-R :)

Not in the same class so, I wouldn't even bother putting them on the same page.

I don't think the BMW M3 is the competition for the GT-R. Either way, I have serious doubts that it would be able to hang.

Kaiser,
What does this have to do with you? Are you in the market for a GT-R? Why do u care so much? Stop wasting ur time and negativity, all I know is I have 4 friends ready to put a deposit on one and we are comparing it to a regular Porsche C2, based on PRICE.

Kaiser, it's pretty obvious you're the idiot. And not even an well-informed idiot at that.

Edmunds did a bunch of testing on a PRIVATE GT-R that revealed some amazing figures.
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/FullTests/articleId=124017?tid=edmunds.il.home.photopanel..1

In addition, dyno testing showed the real HP figures of the GT-R are around 470hp at the wheels.

Why bother commenting if you really have no clue what you're talking about?

"Certification is expected to begin around January and February" meaning we have to be certified through nissan corp and so do the techs. oh sorry hi im a fleet manager for a nissan dealership in s. cali. Nissan sent out an email stating they dont just want anyone dealing with ordering deposits pricing etc etc they want the owner or the gm to handle it.They didnt say anything about marking up the price. thats up to the dealers themselfs. As far as i know were getting like 3 or something like that.I know of some dealers in the area that have all theres presold already.

Good luck. And may the force be with you Nissan.

Dealers can sell it for whatever the market will bear.Nissan can hold back extra cars for the dealers that gouge but thats all they can do.

true all they can do is hold back extra cars which will make the demand go up and supply go down and the price go up.

That didn't stop Ford dealerships from having $100,000 mark ups on the GT's when they came out. I don't see GT-R's being sold for less the $90,000-$95,000, if you're lucky. Sorry, but that's the sad truth.

The dealership can easily bypass this . What they can do is sell the car and buy it back used and mark the "used" vehicle up to any price they want .

I hope all the Nissan dealers jack the price up on the GT-R where it should be, $319,900.00 dollars.

;)

If the price can be kept around $70,000 i don't know how long the cars will even be in the dealer's lot. Only if I had that much money, i would have set up a tent outside the dealers to make my order.