We just bought a 2008 Xterra (in Night Armor paint, awesome!) for $4k below MSRP, which is about $3k below invoice, and about $1k below what ‘others in my area’ are paying, according to edmunds.com. And we even got an alarm thrown in at cost!
How did we do it? No carsdirect or autobytel sites, we simply filled out a dealer quote request to all the nearby Nissan dealers and went to the one offering the lowest price. Submitting for a quote via the web gets you the Fleet/Internet department and you get a take it or leave it, best deal price, with 0 haggling. We got out quote, drove down to the dealer (who already had our car washed and pulled up front) and were in an out in about three hours. They even gave us a decent amount for our trade in, enough that we decided to let them have it rather then try to sell it ourselves (which we have done previously with another car).
We went for the Xterra S version which gets you the side rails (a must) and other goodies, but nothing that you don’t really need like Bluetooth or Navigation (both of which you get way overpriced for at the dealers and get mediocre products).
Anyhow, to make it simple:
Go to http://www.nissan-usa.com, configure your vehicle, submit it to at least 5 Nissan dealers and watch the fireworks. 🙂
