Considering the Kizashi

[Moto]

15995 -1000 for the current cash back factory incentive...

[fusion66]

I had a 2009 Altima which was traded in for my wife's minivan. The Altima was roomy and comfortable drive, one of my best cars. Now I drive the kizashi every day to work and believe me the difference between Altima and Kizashi is huge after you have driven both for quite sometime. During a raining day you will notice the great sound insulation on the kizashi. Not sure about the 2011 Altima options hopefully they are comparable to the Kizashi. Also if you compare pricing you will not get an Altima for the same price as a Kizashi with the same bells and wistles. I paid $14,980 for a base model S. Manual transmittion. The dealer gave me for free a lifetime warranty for the powertrain through a third party called fidelity warranties and insurances. I careless about this warranty, not sure i will still driving this care beyond 7/100,000 but anything for free makes the deal better than any Nissan can offer on an Altima

The Altima that I test drove was very impressive and compared well with the Kizashi. The Altima had a very sonorous engine note-it just sounded more 'expensive" than the Kizashi. This is certainly not a deal breaker by any means but I just think it indicates the extra effort on Nissan's part to make even a relatively inexpensive family sedan feel like it has some commonality with the trappings of high performance. Smoke and mirrors perhaps but I was not expecting the sophisticated metallic wail that I heard when I mashed the throttle. The Kizashi is no slouch in this area either but its engine does not sound "engineered" in the manner of the Nissan. Also the seating is different for either car. In the Nissan the driver has more shoulder room than is provided in the Kizashi so he feels the car more spread around him whereas the Kizashi positions the driver in a more upright position and the IP, dashboard and center stack appear to rise more prominently into the driver's line of sight making the car seem higher than it is wider and thereby heavier somehow. The Nissan's interior is simple and spare, the displays and instruments are well illuminated but there are not many visual distractions in the Altima's cabin. In contrast the Kizashi contains a few more decorative interior touches than its competitor but all in good taste, particularly the gauges which are distinctly jewel like. The Nissan feels faster than the Kizashi but its steering is not as well weighted. The Nissan has no paddle shifters as the Kizashi does but both cars cars can be shifted manually via the floor shifter. Initially I thought I would use this feature to wring the best performance from the Kizashi's engine
but having used them I don't think I could do a better job than the cvt in this regard. Then again I never learned to operate a manual so I probably wasn't using the shifters to their best effect but I think I can just use the floor shifter if I feel the need to override the cvt. At this point I favor the Kizashi because it is somewhat unique and has a better warranty but the Nissan has refinement going for it and a slight edge
in performance. Both cars can be had for about 20K if the Truecar site is to be believed so the deciding factor will be from whom I can get the most money for my (domestic) trade in. The Nissan dealer seems more prepared to bargain but the Kizashi salesman may be as keen if I can make him believe that the deal
hinges on meeting my price for the Chevrolet. I'm open to advice from anyone with sound and tested negotiating tips. Thanks for reading.

[chazyouwin]

The linked posted ad from Illinois had a footnote saying that the price already included all discounts. Unlike in NJ, I guess they do not all need to be individually specified. That could include owner's loyalty, veterans, recent graduate, cash-back, factory discount - all kinds of discounts can be added in and you'll find out when you get there. Teaser. Still, perhaps quite a nice price even if you don't qualify for all of them.

[chazyouwin]

Fusion - interesting commentary. Which Kizashi model did you drive? When I drove the 2010 Altima a couple of years ago, I did not get an impression of refined. Things do change. There are of course many more Altimas on the streets than Kizashis so maybe people agree with you.

You probably won't get people honking at you in the city to lower your window so that you can receive their compliments and answer their questions. Happens to me every few days in Newark, NJ.

[fusion66]

I drove a base S version and was genuinely surprised by its performance and, yes, refinement. Have been calling local and not-so-local dealers inquiring about the price of a 2011 SE FWD CVT and was quoted a
"solid" price of >$25000 by Great Neck Suzuki. Responded that that price seemed optimistic and referred him to the Truecar website
for that model. I hate haggling. Can anyone recommend a dealership in the Tristate area that is somewhat straight forward?

[AlexRuiz]

I drove a base S version and was genuinely surprised by its performance and, yes, refinement. Have been calling local and not-so-local dealers inquiring about the price of a 2011 SE FWD CVT and was quoted a
"solid" price of >$25000 by Great Neck Suzuki. Responded that that price seemed optimistic and referred him to the Truecar website
for that model. I hate haggling. Can anyone recommend a dealership in the Tristate area that is somewhat straight forward?

Didn't they get confused? MSRP on the SE FWD (all SEs are CVT) is $22944, that includes destination and doesn't include ANY incentive. $20-$21kk plus tax and title for a SE CVT seems doable.

A while ago one of the members recommended Greenbrook Suzuki in NJ. You might want to give them a call.

If you are willing to go out of state a little farther, I would recommend Wright Suzuki in Wexford, PA (metro Pittsburgh) I got my car from them even though they are >300 miles far from me, and they are obviously very familiar with internet sales as the process was painless... what better way to bond with a new car than spend the first hours together on the road?

Alex

[chazyouwin]

I found Jorge Gonzalez of Green Brook very straightforward. [email protected] I think he works in the GM area. Please let him know Charles of Short Hills recommended him to you.

[hocaspocas]

Ray Suzuki in Northeast Illinois has sales in the fall on S model kizashis. The price is normally like 14995. Thats not including tax title etc etc etc but I doubt his price was including that either.

You are correct. I did purchase it from Ray Suzuki at Fox Lake. They had a construction sale back in July. They had the SX4 at $11,995K and the Kisashi S at $14,995. Off course plus taxes and fees. Actually I found this price listed at cars.com when I was browsing for anything below 15K and this one pop up in between all the Nissan Versas and Chevrolet Aveos.

Price $15,995
Rebate -$1,000
IL tax: $1,252
Lic&Tittle: $194
Doc fees: $156.08

It was not easy to get this price. You really need to haggle, be there in the right time at the right moment when they need to make their monthly quota, with check on your hand and talk with the right seller. However I did find this dealer pretty easy to work not arrogants like Honda or Ford. But after all like any dealership they are there to get as much $$ as they can from a deal. The sellers was always coming back to me and mentioning the fine prints " Buyer must qualify for rebates and incentives". My favorite answer to the sale managers is " You always can make me qualify for any incentive you want".

In general some incentives that I ran into during my car buying experience are very unreasonable for example :

Senior citizen: $500 discount (Ford)
Military : $500 discount (Most)
College Studen or Graduate: $500 discount (Honda)
Jokey club member: $500 discount (Ford)
Customer Loyalty: $1000 (Hyundai)


To qualify for all these you have to be a "65 years old veteran who is still in college, be part of a horse racing club and have an older model car of the same maker"

[fusion66]

I'm not a fan of auto transmissions period. Most all of my cars have been sticks. I wanted AWD though so I had no options.

My parents have a Caliber R/T AWD so they have the same cvt. I never liked that combination in their car, maybe it was really the engine. The Kizashi is not bad with the cvt but I dislike how quickly it drops to a low rpm. The Sentra I rented didn't do that and felt much smoother to me. The car was comfortable but is crap compared to the Kizashi.

If you could get the AWD with a stick that's what I would have in a minute.

Does the AWD system take a toll on performance? Or do you feel it enhances it?
i received a quote, over the telephone, of $22000 for an 2011 SE AWD CVT, which
seems quite high according to the TRUECAR website, which values that model so
equipped at approx. $20600. I would strongly consider an AWD Kizashi if I could
snag one for that price. What are my chance of success?

[AlexRuiz]

Ray Suzuki in Northeast Illinois has sales in the fall on S model kizashis. The price is normally like 14995. Thats not including tax title etc etc etc but I doubt his price was including that either.

You are correct. I did purchase it from Ray Suzuki at Fox Lake. They had a construction sale back in July. They had the SX4 at $11,995K and the Kisashi S at $14,995. Off course plus taxes and fees. Actually I found this price listed at cars.com when I was browsing for anything below 15K and this one pop up in between all the Nissan Versas and Chevrolet Aveos.

Price $15,995
Rebate -$1,000
IL tax: $1,252
Lic&Tittle: $194
Doc fees: $156.08

It was not easy to get this price. You really need to haggle, be there in the right time at the right moment when they need to make their monthly quota, with check on your hand and talk with the right seller. However I did find this dealer pretty easy to work not arrogants like Honda or Ford. But after all like any dealership they are there to get as much $$ as they can from a deal. The sellers was always coming back to me and mentioning the fine prints " Buyer must qualify for rebates and incentives". My favorite answer to the sale managers is " You always can make me qualify for any incentive you want".

In general some incentives that I ran into during my car buying experience are very unreasonable for example :

Senior citizen: $500 discount (Ford)
Military : $500 discount (Most)
College Studen or Graduate: $500 discount (Honda)
Jokey club member: $500 discount (Ford)
Customer Loyalty: $1000 (Hyundai)


To qualify for all these you have to be a "65 years old veteran who is still in college, be part of a horse racing club and have an older model car of the same maker"

I was very very close of buying mine from Ray Suzuki. The didn't offer me that price though, and at least the seller working with me was one of those high pressure persons "if you don't act fast the car will be gone, I have 3 people asking for it" We couldn't agree on the amount for my trade in, so I didn't buy it from them.