2018 Nissan Pathfinder Help

Okay everyone, my wife has pretty much decided now she wants another Pathfinder. Lease has just 2 payments left, so I’m on the hunt now and trying to get my wife what she wants. I found on Cars.com an excellent opportunity.

2018 Nissan Pathfinder SL AWD

MSRP - $43,225
Advertised price - $34,580

This is supposedly including available rebates, including grad bonus (which we do actually qualify for).

Edmunds.com has MF at .00068 and RV at 56% for 36/12k. Our tax is 7%. If I have used the calculator correctly, payments at this price should be in the $360’s…coming in under budget for us. Perfect. So I have emailed the dealer to see if I can get some straightforward discussion and offer, and they started playing me already. They stated Cars.com has been “advertising the wrong price” and their “internet price” of $36,330 is the best they can do. Almost $2,000 more. Then of course playing the “come on in for a test drive!” crap. We don’t need a test drive, its the same damn car we already own. I want straightforward no BS in emails, then come in and sign. Any advice on how to help me with this?? I’m by no means an expert negotiator and could use some tips here. Thanks guys.

Why don’t you get her a infiniti QX60? It’s very similar but you get the Infiniti experience and “added value”? i just got one for less than 280 for 39/12.

If she liked the pathfinder, she’ll love the Infiniti

they are making crazy deals on the 2018s now that the 2019 are arriving

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I have already looked into that. First, to get under $400 it would need to be a low-optioned QX60, which would have even less equipment than the Pathfinder we have now. Plus MSDs would be necessary, which we cannot do due to not wanting to shell out a lot of money at signing. I have looked and it is just not possible to get a well-optioned QX60 for under $400/month with little to nothing down at signing. Yes the QX60 deals I have seen are excellent, but that’s with over $3,000 in MSDs, which we do not have.

Okay we are going out car shopping tomorrow, also the last day of the month. Does anyone happen to know what I should shoot for off MSRP, before rebates, on these Pathfinders…maybe Rogues too. 10%? More? Less? My wife has decided 100% its going to be Nissan, and its going to be another Pathfinder or a Rogue, so she isn’t interested in looking into anything else. Now I’m just trying to make the best of this and try to not get shafted. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Search the forum for “How to negotiate” and/or “how to get quotes from dealers”…it’s all been addressed before.

I had the same situation when we leased my wife’s 2018 MDX. She had a 2016 MDX that we got a 3-month pull ahead from Acura. She got the same color, same everything except with Carplay. She had the dark gray in her 2016 which they didn’t have anymore, so she did have to go in to check out the other interior colors in person. Although we considered the RX-L and QX60, with the Acura Loyalty, Carplay, and 5-star crash ratings, it just made sense for us to go with another Acura.

Personally, I couldn’t get these guys to respond to emails. They called me a few times (while I was at work, in meetings). They wanted me to come in to discuss numbers. Our lives are so busy, we actually went to look at colors for like 45 minutes after dropping our kids off at a birthday party. I went to the dealership by myself the next day around 7pm with a Truecar certificate. I told the salesguy that I wanted the additional $2200 Acura lease incentive on top of that price, and that he can keep the $750 dealer cash because I’m such a generous guy. He said that the Truecar certificate included the lease incentive. I started gathering my stuff. He talked to his manager, came back and said that they can do that price. I agreed. He was shocked (I guess he expected me to go even lower, maybe take the $750 dealer cash too). And I was home by 9pm. I spent most of my time with the finance lady that tried to sell me windshield insurance, wear and tear protection, zombie protection, etc.

I went on Edmunds on saw these:

Correct incentive (Most regions):
Total Cash of $2350 includes:
$1100 NMAC Lease Cash - Pathfinder exp. 07/02/2018
$1250 Nissan Customer Bonus Cash - National exp. 07/02/2018

$2950 lease cash for upstate NY

No offense, but what kind of Hackr let’s the dealer keep a $750 rebate?

They never lose money, they just make a little less.

Even if they sell the car at a “loss” on the transaction, it makes up at the end of the month when that extra unit sold at a loss allowed them to hit their target or 110% target bonus.

I wouldn’t lease a Pathfinder, I thought about it but the Infiniti made so much more sense.

If the MSDs are truly a burden, get your wife a Chase Freedom Unlimited and charge the MSDs and first month payment on there. 15 months 0% APR + $150 bonus and 1.5 points per dollar…

when there is a will, there is a way…

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How significant are the quality differences between the two? I agree the infiniti MSDs are a great value but being ignorant of the pathfinder equipment packaging, I looked up the packaging. The SL looks to be very well equipped - equivalent to a qx60 with P, P+ and DAP (and if you get the premium package on the Pathfinder, it gives you the panoramic moonroof).

[Full disclosure, I currently lease a 2018 Qx60]

I’m not gonna lie…the Cooled Seats + Panoramic roof available much cheaply on the Pathfinder was what attracted me to it…

The Pathfinder is slightly less refined than the QX60, but the exterior and interior for the Infiniti, although dated, are much more appealing than the Nissan.

I was extremely disappointed at my experience at Nissan in the sales department, I can’t even imagine service. Infiniti’s maintenance will probably be a bit more expensive, but they have coupons and promotions that will offset the cost, and they provide a loaner every time. Imagine having to sit 3-4 hours at the dealership for an oil change.

Comparing a Pathfinder SL vs QX60 P, P+, DAP, the monthly payments would roughly be the same, you’d forfeit the cooled seats and panoramic roof in the back, but you still get a standard sunroof, but you gain a few other cool options, better dealer experience, a much more attractive and exclusive vehicle, and the fact that you drive and Infiniti, not a Nissan.

Okay I got my first actual offer on a Pathfinder SL. Doesn’t look good at all. We’re at $399 on ours currently. What should I work on? Rebates are correct, but to me I should get more off MSRP?

Yes, you need to get dealer discount larger. With the rebate you are only at 14% off. (9% without) Is there additional loyalty or VPP which can be applied? If not, the Qx60 with DAP looks more inviting even without MSDs.

Some of the better qx60 deals this month have been 20+% with VPP/loyalty.

Honestly, the best person that can help you is yourself.

Do you understand the numbers they have provided for you?
The exact residual, money factor, sales price, all fees, taxes and where the rebates are being applied?
I see you qualify for a rebate but only part of the rebate is being applied as capitalized cost reduction.

I have a few recommendations for you to get the best deal (assuming you’ve already read the leasing 101 article).

  1. Identify the largest volume dealer in your market, they’re more likely to take a loss to hit their target. This dealer only has 221 cars, which is nothing.

  2. Identify the vehicle you want from their local on site inventory.

  3. Know exactly what you’re trying to accomplish

  4. Download the LeaseMatic App

  5. Plug in the numbers on the App to get the deal you want. When the dealer gives you their numbers, you’ll see what you have to do to get there. The two focus points is selling price and money factor, since MSRP and fees remain constant.

Don’t be scared to see the real numbers, the dealer will tell you that the only number that matters on a lease is the monthly payment, which we all know is aboslute bs

I can get VPP, yes. I have not mentioned that. Didn’t know the best way to bring that into it? And how exactly that can help? I still don’t understand VPP all that much.

And I’m sorry, have some patience with me. I’m not a complete newbie to leading, but I don’t think I’ve done it completely right in the past.

You want to minimize the amount of depreciation you have to pay. Residual value is fixed (23.5k at 56%) so you need to get the selling cost/cap cost as low as possible by having them give a larger discount and ensure they aren’t marking up money factor or adding other things that increase your cost. On a qx60, vpp gets you an additional 1500 off, provided the dealer will share all of the discount with you.

20% off would be 33.6k and would mean you only pay 10k depreciation over 3 years. The money factor is reasonable but the reason the qx60 is such a good deal is because the msd takes the interest almost to 0, saving $60/mth in interest. You will have interest on the Pathfinder, but to a lesser extent because base MF is lower as well as cost of vehicle.

Does the SL trim come with cooled seats? I believe you’d need to step up to the Platinum trim

No it does not. But we don’t care about the cooled seats. The SL does have heated rear seats, heated steering wheel, all of the drivers assistance equipment standard, plus the 360 camera, sensors, etc.

Yea, I’m aware of the packages, as my wife drives a 2016 SL w/Premium Package. It was a response to bmwislife’s post.

UPDATE

So we went out Saturday to shop. Left the house a little after 9 am…came home at 9 pm (no joke) but with a new Pathfinder at least. Here’s what happened…

Went to the first dealer, the ones I emailed first and who I knew would probably be pretty shady, but they had what my wife wanted. Worked with them for 4 hours, dealt with a minimum of 5 outright lies (even as ridiculous as telling me the RV was only 45%) and giving my a monthly as high as $581 (bahahaha). We finally came to an agreement shook hands, of which they promptly backed on. Left angry and insulted. Contacted dealer 1.5 hours away (the one I copied the pic from) and gave them the skinny. They called us back in 20 minutes with a solid deal, backed up by written proof emailed to us before we left. Made the drive, signed, and returned home. They (Don Franklin Nissan of Lexington, KY) ended up being extremely professional and upfront with us. Finance office took 5 minutes.

SO, here’s the approximate low-down. Unfortunately I don’t have the paperwork with me at the moment so I can’t give EXACT numbers.

2018 Nissan Pathfinder SL Midnight, Black

MSRP: $42,045
SELLING PRICE: $37.5k
PRICE MINUS REBATES: $35.5K
$1,500 Down (I understand about down payments, but we felt comfortable with this)

36/15k - $397/month

Considering we are now paying $2 less per month for a more expensive car (our '15 was $39k) and more mileage (we had 12k before) I’m happy. Plus the wife got EXACTLY what she wanted, so she’s very happy. I don’t think the deal was too bad at all. Love the car, Nissan really improved on the driving characteristics for the '17 year.

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Contrats! Too bad that you had to drive 1.5 hours away, but at least your wife is happy. The first dealer will probably call you back today asking you to come in.

Hi, please let me know the dealer info. I’m looking for QX60. Looks like you got a amazing deal