$195 pack on New Cars for Nitrogen

[XDCX]

I was on the road Sunday and rolling through Las Vegas so I decided to stop at Towbin Dodge and check things out.

The first surprise was that they and most of the surrounding stores were closed on a Sunday. I noticed this once before when I was in Vegas but I assumed it was just a seasonal thing.

The second surprise was to see that Towbin added a window sticker next to the Monroney which included a $195 charge for Nitrogen on all their new cars. They changed all the inflation caps on the tires with one that indicated the tires were inflated with Nitrogen.

Has anyone else seen this or is it just a Las Vegas thing? I get the impression that inflating tires with Nitrogen was mostly a fad and I'd think Towbin would get some resistance from their customers. Who knows, maybe it's a negotiation tool?

[79LilRedExpress]

Originally Posted by XDCX

I was on the road Sunday and rolling through Las Vegas so I decided to stop at Towbin Dodge and check things out.

The first surprise was that they and most of the surrounding stores were closed on a Sunday. I noticed this once before when I was in Vegas but I assumed it was just a seasonal thing.

The second surprise was to see that Towbin added a window sticker next to the Monroney which included a $195 charge for Nitrogen on all their new cars. They changed all the inflation caps on the tires with one that indicated the tires were inflated with Nitrogen.

Has anyone else seen this or is it just a Las Vegas thing? I get the impression that inflating tires with Nitrogen was mostly a fad and I'd think Towbin would get some resistance from their customers. Who knows, maybe it's a negotiation tool?

It's getting more and more popular esp in areas where the temp fluctuates alot.
It helps stop getting TPM lights-on complaints.

At one point a few years ago the State of PA was offering dealers who purchased the Nitrogen machines a rebate.

[CUD]

They must be good if they can get people to pay $195 for air. Considering the air we breathe is almost 80% nitrogen alreay.....


Just never made sense to me.

[SHACOS]

I've seen it being offered by dealers here in the Denver area. I thought it was a fad too. $195 gets a sales person a commission payment. Maybe their hoping to sneak it in without the buyer noticing?

[lsx only]

if we operated the way they do on tv we would last about one week,u cant treat people from the country like that i would be shot.

[Txflyer]

Originally Posted by lsx only

if we operated the way they do on tv we would last about one week,u cant treat people from the country like that i would be shot.

Same here. It's a whole different world.

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by 79LilRedExpress

It's getting more and more popular esp in areas where the temp fluctuates alot.
It helps stop getting TPM lights-on complaints.

At one point a few years ago the State of PA was offering dealers who purchased the Nitrogen machines a rebate.

Thanks for the feedback - it's nice to know Nitrogen has some true benefits that offer value to the customer.

I didn't know much about the benefit of Nitrogen but got the impression it was a fad based on the number of ads I used to see in Automotive News selling equipment. (It seemed like there was a surge of ads about two years ago and hardly any lately.)

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by SHACOS

I've seen it being offered by dealers here in the Denver area. I thought it was a fad too. $195 gets a sales person a commission payment. Maybe their hoping to sneak it in without the buyer noticing?

I was thinking it might be a negotiation tool where the dealer lets the customer "win" and they get the $195 Nitrogen service for free. I remember working with a dealer who always liked to have a few "throw-aways" he could offers as tokens during the negotiation process.

As before, I don't know much about the Nitrogen systems but isn't the cost of sale pretty close to zero once the dealer owns the machine?

[79LilRedExpress]

It keeps the customer coming back to the service dept for top offs and new tires... the $195 fee probably inc's free pressure checks and re-fills.

At that point all you have invested in a couple of tenths of time.

Not to memtion you will get a shot at more service dept up-sells.

I would think at some point the factory will stat putting it in all new cars.

Remember when we made money putting on pin stripes and body side mouldings ?

[CUD]

Memory Lane....pin stripes, side mouldings and vinyl roofs

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by 79LilRedExpress

I would think at some point the factory will stat putting it in all new cars.

That's a great thought. In fact, I'm surprised none of the OEMs have done it already and then highlighted the fuel saving benefits in their advertising. From an OEM's standpoint I bet Nitrogen would add almost nothing to the cost of the vehicle - less than $1/car would be my guess.

We'd better hope the Chrysler trolls don't read this thread or they'll start inflating their tires with Nitrogen and then force the dealers to buy a $4,000 machine from PSE.

[79LilRedExpress]

Originally Posted by XDCX

That's a great thought. In fact, I'm surprised none of the OEMs have done it already and then highlighted the fuel saving benefits in their advertising. From an OEM's standpoint I bet Nitrogen would add almost nothing to the cost of the vehicle - less than $1/car would be my guess.

We'd better hope the Chrysler trolls don't read this thread or they'll start inflating their tires with Nitrogen and then force the dealers to buy a $4,000 machine from PSE.

Oh S#*T !!!

Quick... Change my name and move this to Area51 !!! lol