So much for getting a GT-R at anywhere near sticker. There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that the 2009 Nissan GT-R won’t be sold at invoice. With the new cost associated with the GT-R business, a little market value increase is expected, as dealerships have to train their technicians on the new vehicle.
We made 15 phone calls to dealerships in various states including California, Virginia, Washington, Florida, Illinois and Texas. The general consensus is that would-be GT-R owners are, in a few cases, going to pay almost double the sticker price of the 3.8L two-door.
One of our first calls, a friendly sales rep at Nissan of Huntington Beach (California), told us, “We are marking it up. We’re seeing averages of 20-30 grand [from dealers]”. Another salesman at a dealership in Seattle, Washington told us, “It’s going to be like an auction, going to the highest bidder. Only the General Manager and owner of the store are allowed to sell [GT-Rs]. Just like an auction.”
George, a salesman from a dealership in Carson, California stated, “I spoke with finance and they said, ‘ it’ll be $50,000 over sticker.’” Take note, he was pretty nonchalant when he told us that the mark-up would be roughly the price of one 350Z and a Sentra combined. That wasn’t the highest mark-up we found; another dealership told us that it’ll be first come, first serve and that they won’t accept deposits, but that consumers should expect to pay “$35,000 to 60,000 over sticker.” Let’s see, $69,000 plus $60,000..
We’d be blind and deaf to not see a pattern here, but there’s no much interested buyers can do. Nissan plans to produce roughly 1,500 units per year through the vehicles lifecycle. There’s little supply and a whole lotta demand. Dealerships are expected to get between 2-8 units, most will be closer to the former with only high volume dealerships getting more GT-R vehicles. And even though the dealers are expecting a scant few vehicles, they’re still taking names, with one list up over 40 people. With odds like that, don’t even bother to put your name down on a list.
There’s not much that Nissan can do to “fix” this problem. When contacted for a statement Nissan stated, “We are being very vocal about pricing of the car with consumers and the dealers to reinforce the value. As you know, we legally can’t prevent dealers from setting their own price as they are a franchise, but we will do what we can to reinforce the resistance to mark-ups.
“For the sale of GT-R’s we are asking dealers to require dealer principals and/or Executive Managers to deal with consumers interested in buying the GT-R. This ensures that management at the highest level of the dealership is making the deal.
“Additionally we are working with dealers to look at the long term plan for the vehicle on how mark-ups may hinder that plan. We are working closely with them so that they are aware and understand what we envision for the vehicle beyond the first model year and ensure they understand how their active involvement will help with that. This is definitely a partnership (as with any vehicle) so we want to reinforce that.
“Allocation of GT-Rs will be based on a number of criteria including the sale of current 350Z models so that may help ease some of the mark-up pressure.
“Finally we are requiring dealers to submit pre-sale paperwork through our regional offices which includes the sale price so that Nissan can provide ongoing counsel regarding mark-ups of the vehicle.”
It’s true, as independently owned businesses the dealerships are free to set their own prices, but this is something that will only hurt the brand and GT-R moniker, not help it.
