Stressed

Most dealers are setup to pay the salesman 25% of the profit after the DEALER PACK.

EX. dealer pays $10,000 for a used vehicle. The dealer will add $500 to the cost (this amount varies per dealer), plus detail/repairs. And anything the salesman makes over this, they get 25% of it.

and NO, a salesman will not sell a vehicle and only make 75 bucks.

*EDIT*
I have seen a dealer sell old inventory below what they bought for, but they pay the salesman a flat rate to sell it, usually $200-300.

 

For car buying advice see the April issue of Consumer Reports, on their website or in most libraries. Remember, you have the money and thus the control. They can't waste your time unless you let them.

 

Here's a thought you won't like hearing ...

Just keep your 2007 Altima hybrid. If nothing bad with it, why bother losing the money? It probably averages a little over 30 MPG. That's not bad.

I cannot stand the idea of monthly payments for a car. To me it's - how much does it cost, do I have enough to pay cash. If not, screw it, I don't buy it. Cars are a terrible invesment. Still, a Prius is a pretty good buy - insurance not bad, great fuel economy, very versatile, tires are fairly cheap.

anyrate, pay off the Altima and keep it

 

Sorry to hear about your very high pressure pushy sales experience. I fortunately never have been subjected to much of that and have bought cars from dealers where I wouldn't hesitate to return to shop for another car.

I have visited one very bad Nissan dealer and a Honda dealer that kept me waiting and then blew me off (I didn't return).

Your trading in a car and owing money on it does complicate things. If you want to get more for it, it's best to sell it on your own. It sucks and is a pain but I've been there 2x before. I sold them on my own.

Agreed.

Absolutely agreed. DON'T shop by monthly payment. Confessions of a Car Salesman — Edmunds.com goes over the 4-square system and monthly payment crap. After reading the article, I observed the 4-square crap when I accompanied someone to go car shopping.

It's part of the Confessions of a Car Salesman — Edmunds.com series which I never got around to completely reading.

My mom has an 07 NAH. It was a leftover 07 that she bought in Feb 08. She will not be selling it/getting rid of it for a long time.

 

Absolutely, the dealer definitely gets the upper hand when the customer's only concern is monthly payment. It enables the dealer the achieve a higher gross profit margin. They'll work backwards from monthly payment and put the customer into a car that's near full sticker, plus add-ons (sometimes). Dealers love to advertise by monthly payment just for the profit opportunity. Unfortunately, since 90 percent or more of buyers are financing, customer's should be concerned about monthly payment; just not at the car negotiating point.

 

Out of curiosity, how are the brakes "going bad"? Symptoms? How many miles are on the NAH?

As for the HV battery, since NV isn't a CARB state, it should still be covered by a 8 year/100K mile warranty. If you bought and operated your NAH in a CARB state, like CA, it'd have a 10 year/150K mile warranty.

If you're curious, at Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity - Hybrid Electric Vehicles, they did take two NAHs to 160K miles. You can see their maintenance history.

Since you are in Vegas, you get VERY hot summers. Prius or NAH, as a precauation, I'd recommend that when you can, park the car in the shade, covered parking or a garage or at least try to shade the area where the HV battery is.

When I used to live in CA, I did drive my mom's NAH every now and then. It's almost a rocket ship compared to my Prius. Wheeee!!! It has ample power (not as fast as my Z or former 255 hp 02 Maxima) but from CR testing, it's by far the fastest (in 0-60 mph tests) 4 cylinder hybrid. The 3rd gen Prius (comprable acceleration to the 2nd gen, despite the higher hp ratings) will feel sluggish on the highway, in comparison.

Even though the NAH's mileage is nowhere in Prius territory, keep in mind http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/...ce/most-fuelefficient-cars/overview/index.htm and http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/...rts-fuel-economy-vs-performance-106/index.htm.

 

What problem are you trying to solve here? Do you want to use less petroleum? Do you want to minimize transportation expenses? Do you have lots of spare cash and want a different car, one that "fits" you? Or what? Most of those questions, maybe all of them, have different answers.

 

It'd be helpful for them to tell you the thickness left on your brake pads or the % of pad left. From the government tests after 160K miles, you can get an idea when they had to change the brakes and their costs vs. what you're thinking of embarking on.

If you never received the warranty info booklet, see http://www.nissanusa.com/content/da...altima-hybrid/2007/2007_Altima_Hybrid_WIB.pdf for complete details.

That's great that your car is garaged. If you can keep the temps down when it's outside in the summer (when you guys have 100+ F highs), I would. IIRC, it seems some owners of Toyota hybrids here who have had (usually under warranty) HV battery failures lived in either hot climates and/or areas w/steep hills, potentially tending to charge/discharge the HV battery more.

Also, in case you didn't receive a notice, even though your car doesn't use the Nissan Xtronic CVT (used in their non-hybrids), your 07 NAH has a 10 year/120K mile transmission warranty. You won't get that on any Toyota (at least not for free). See NissanAssist.com.

 

Which dealer? I'm also in Vegas. I bought mine at Centennial. Your experience sounds like Fleecer Jones...

 

Cool. Although this is moot now, given your decision, you might just want to confirm your insurance would've be lower in a new Prius than your NAH. It might not be since a new Prius would be worth more than an 07 NAH.

Since I haven't don't have and haven't run your numbers, you might not have saved anything by going w/the Prius at all given your trading your underwater car and paying for another, at least not in the short term.

Yes, that's normal. The electric AC increases the power draw by a LOT compared to not having it on. I don't have amperage values for the NAH (not sure if they're available via ScanGauge) but on my Prius, if idling, IIRC, I see ~1.x to 2.x amps of draw from the big battery (at ~220 volts). If I turn the AC on, it can be 7-10 amps, IIRC.

Too bad about your parking. Any shade/less exposure, even part of the day like from the shadow of a building will help. I did that (reduced duration of sunlight exposure) w/my Prius when I was working in CA w/no covered parking.

Side notes: I was originally going to mention to make sure that you got the $2350 Federal tax credit (http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/tax_hybrid.shtml) on your NAH when you bought it (or file an amended tax return, if you can), but since you mentioned Carmax, I'm guessing your NAH was bought used, and thus ineligible.

Also, to have your brakes last longer, do brake lightly so that you take advantage of regenerative braking (and having that power go into the battery) instead of throwing it away as heat and brake dust via your friction brakes. The left gauge's blue area should give you an idea of how hard you're braking. (Sorry, I never did brake REALLY hard on a NAH but a panic stop should yield little to no regen and thus little to nothing in the blue, as well.)

 

If you need a salesman, let me know. They were fair with me.

P.S. I could not be happier with my Prius. Everyone talks of the gas mileage; all that is true. It is no challenege to exceed 50MPGs. But it is a very nice driving car. Very solid feeling, tracks nice on the highway. Not a sports car, but it is not meant to be.

 

Sorry to butt in here, but you should listen to Twittel and UGC. They gave you good advice. If you were going to trade in your car and being upside down by $5K, you would have been killed by the sales manager. That $5K shortage would have to have come from your pocket, or higher price on the Prius ---- no free lunches! But you have said you will keep the current car and payoff you debts. I think that will put you in a much better position to get a reasonable deal in the future. Good luck!!