Nissan just advised its dealers that the more Titan pickups they sell the larger a dealer-only kickback will be. These types of sales where the dealer gets the rebate rather than the customer is called a “hidden rebate.” And the rebate goes up the more pickups the car dealership sells in the month of December. If you’ve been thinking about getting into a new pickup and like what the Titan offers you need a piece of that dealer kickback. 

So here’s what the dealers get. For selling three to five pickups in December Nissan pays the dealer $1,500 per truck. If the dealer exceeds that number up to 12 Titan trucks they get $2,500 per truck. Selling 13 to 14 in December gets the dealer $4,000 per truck, and then there’s the big score. If a dealer sells 15 trucks it gets $60,000 according to Cars Direct. 

A dealer would rather get a smaller part of something than a lot of nothing

Now, the dealer is not obligated to tell you any of this. But if the dealer is anything it is smart. And it would rather get a smaller part of something than a whole lot of nothing. Going into the dealer knowing about these hidden rebates means you have more negotiating capital. 

Why is Nissan doing this? Because it wants to move the iron and might have a larger backlog of Titans than it wants. It’s no secret that the Titan is a poor seller. Is there something wrong with it? Not really. It was recently updated though it still doesn’t compare to a Ram 1500. 

You can negotiate knowing the story on Titan pricing

But if it has the features you’re looking for in a pickup and you like the look, ride, and feel of it, then you can negotiate knowing the story on pricing. And picking the right dealer is part of your strategy. You will want to go to a high-volume Nissan dealer. That’s because they have the horsepower to flip 15 pickups in December. And that means they’re looking at a $60,000 payday minus whatever the buyer cuts them out of. 

Now, don’t think this supersedes whatever discounts or rebates Nissan offers the buyer. Those aren’t for the dealer, they’re for you. So this hidden rebate to the dealer is a separate component of the sale. It is just that you’re not supposed to know about it.

There are usually incentives to dealers to finance the vehicle it sells

What might some of those deals be? First, there are usually incentives to dealers to finance the vehicle it sells. Nissan offers 0% APR for 84 months ending January 4 on Titan XD models. Financing may not be your cup of tea but remember; you can always pay off the loan in a month or two if you originally wanted to pay cash. 

If seven years of financing your Titan seems like a long time, which it kind of is, you might be able to negotiate less time for the loan. Keep that calculator on your phone warmed up to figure out where your monthly payment will fall into. Don’t forget to add tax and license.

Another thing to consider is whether the dealer has 2020 models still lying around. If those sell for less, and they should be, then look at what the differences are from 2021. If the differences are minor and there is a 2020 with everything you want then that might be the better deal for you. Usually, manufacturers don’t offer much in the way of incentives for models just released.