Nissan’s full-size truck experiment is almost over. Once touted to sell over 100,000 units a year, the Titan never really found its audience. The clock is ticking, with the Titan sentenced to death as the 2024 model year draws to a close. Dealers still have to sell the cars they’ve already got, though, and that’s proving more difficult than you might think.
At the current sales rate, dealers have enough new Titans on hand to keep selling them for almost another full year, according to CarEdge. Across the country, there are 5,742 examples on sale, and they’re not exactly flying off the lot.
Dealers rely on one tool above all others when this happens. They pull out the pricing gun and slap a big discount sticker on the hood. In the case of the Nissan Titan, you can get yourself a brand new truck at over $18,000 off right now.
If you want a great deal, head over to Courtesy Nissan in Richardson, Texas. They’ve got a white 2023 Nissan Titan SV for $41,624, a full $18,631 under MSRP. Indeed, it seems the folk at Courtesy Nissan were never too confident in the Nissan’s ability to sell; it was initially listed at $48,255 in August last year. It hasn’t budged since then, and one gets the distinct idea they’re sick of it cluttering up the lot.
The last price cut was on May 3; an adept haggler might even knock that price down further before signing on the bottom line. Hilariously, they’ve got at least one more Titan for over $18,000 off, too, so don’t believe them if you tell them they’re in high demand. That one’s in black, too, if that’s more your style.
“But Lewin!” you cry. “All my exes live in Texas! What am I to do?” Fear not, my friend. If your life situation resembles the best country song ever on a Grand Theft Auto soundtrack, salvation is at hand. Get yourself over to Lorenzo Nissan in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. They had great dreams when they listed this truck for $52,275 in June last year, but they weren’t to be. Now, they’re selling it for just $34,990, a discount of $17,285.
That’s almost four grand cheaper than the base price of a Ford F-150, and you even get heated seats and adaptive cruise control! Not bad for a weird Nissan nobody loves, right?
The Nissan Titan has often lacked affordable lower trims, but these kind of discounts kind of fix that to a degree. Plus, how many 400-horsepower V8s are you gonna find under $35,000?!
If you wanna step up to the Titan XD, you can still get a great deal, too. Getting $10,000 off sticker isn’t out of the question, whether you’re in Tennessee, Texas, Arizona, or Florida. Some of those are even the upscale Platinum models with prettier styling and extra kit thrown in.
If you’re looking for a bargain on a big truck but you’re not ready to buy just yet, don’t worry. These things aren’t flying off the shelves. The longer you wait, the more drastic the discounts will get. One wonders how much cheaper these can get before the cupboards are cleared bare.
Never Quite There
Nissan always had the other big truck that everybody forgot about, and in the long run, that wasn’t enough to justify it sticking around. Its first two years on the market were promising, with Nissan racking up racking up 86,945 sales back in 2005. The Titan would never know those heights again, though. Most years it struggled to break 25,000 units sold. The second generation never cracked 60,000, and the fatal decline has been locked in since then.
It was always going to be tough for the Titan. American buyers are loyal to a fault to Ford, Ram, and Chevy. Meanwhile, Toyota does a great job at lapping up the scraps with the well-regarded Tundra and Tacoma.
If you’re an executive at Nissan USA, I’m really sorry things didn’t work out. Keep up the good work with the Nissan Frontier.
Image credits: Island Jeep
Hell, an $18,000 out-the-door price would hardly convince me.
No. But nice try Nissan.
I would strongly consider it. I see Pro-4x’s at 10k off. I had an 04 SE that was pretty good, all things considered. A downside (to me) is that the newest gen’s rear window no longer rolls down (much like the Tundra, but it wasn’t quite full width.)
Considering the pricing and interest rates on current half tons and midsized trucks, I’m gonna have to watch this market. I’m not sure how the Canadian market compares as I haven’t looked yet, but I’ve always liked the styling of the titan.
I was thinking the same thing. Looks like Niagara Falls Nissan has zero Titans in stock. Probably a smart move on their part.
I googled it, and they stopped selling it here after 2021. boo.
That explains the lack of available titans. Oh well. Trucks are just too damn expensive.
agreed. I could get on board with a Ranger, but they can stick 7.99% financing so far up there, that they’ll be the talk of the ER x-ray team for months to come.
I was going to say $41k seems like a decent price for that truck, but looking at the used market, these things depreciate a lot. Autotempest shows numerous 2022 Titan SVs with typical mileage listed for around $27,000. I would probably buy a used Titan over this one.
I would buy the $35,000 new SV over a used Titan, though. I think people greatly overvalue warranties and zero miles, but an extra year or two of warranty and zero miles seems worth $8,000.
Also, a $35,000 new Titan seems like a better deal than a comparably-equipped Toyota or Ford, both of which are closer to $50k. Of course, this depends on how you intend to use this truck. If you intend to trade it or sell it in 5 years, the better resale value of a Ford or Toyota might favor those trucks. If you intend to drive the doors off it and junk it, the considerably cheaper Titan is the clear winner.
I might consider a Titan Pro-4X if I could pair it with a bZ4X from last month’s lease blow-out for a two-car silverware drawer.
Honestly, if I needed a bigger truck I’d probably take a look at a Titan with discounts like these. It’s a brand new truck with a warranty to back it up in case things go wrong, how bad could it really be
Too much “Toyota good, all others bad” hivemind stuff going on here.
My coworker bought a 2009 Titan in 2010 and he still has it. It was his daily back then but it now serves dual purpose between that and his business doing home contracting. As I recall, the only issue he ever had with it was a blower motor resistor that went bad, which I helped him replace. Not really much else besides that since. I’d call that a pretty solid truck. Sure, there’s outliers, but not every Toyota is perfect, you just have a slightly higher chance of a good one. Although some folks argue buying a Toyota is like putting money in the bank, I’d rather buy something cheap(er) and keep my money in the bank.
I’m not defending the Cummins V8 that was certainly a disaster, but the Titan’s gas engines were fine and on par with the Tundra’s abysmal fuel economy.
You’ve got a point here: this is the truck many Toyota owners are missing now that they’re dealing with turbos and rod bearing issues on the new Tundras
To be honest, I haven’t heard about that yet. That’s a thing now?
Yeah the engines crapping out 10-50k miles requiring fill engine rebuild. Can look at the Tundra blog as they’ve got a thread where people post when it happened and model year, mileage, etc
yeah, there aren’t that many there.
If I’m missing it (I found the thread that talks about it, and it’s not that full, even though there is a lot of noise there) please share.
I am looking at Tundras.com.
I presume it’s this one:
https://www.tundras.com/threads/official-my22-tundra-my23-sequoia-v35a-fts-type-21-engine-failure-discussion-thread.125154/
It’s hard to really know, and I know the plural and anecdote isn’t data; but when I talked to the techs at my Toyota store they strongly suggested I avoid the ’23 Tundra because of how many issues they had seen.
fair enough
I just checked the Tundra site (tundras.com) and am not seeing a cascading collection of turbo and rod bearing failure.
I am fully aware of Toyota fanboi-ism as well as similar from Subie owners. I’m just not seeing it.
I presume it’s this one:
https://www.tundras.com/threads/official-my22-tundra-my23-sequoia-v35a-fts-type-21-engine-failure-discussion-thread.125154/
But even with 66 pages…a lot of noise and blather and by no means an exhaustive list
Here one that’s less noise and more so just the issues: https://www.tundras.com/threads/3-4-i-force-engine-failures.121107/
well, those are only some of them who documented on the forums. There are also videos about it with engine start ups, and cabs off the frame for engine replacement. It’s not unlike other brands’ forums specially in such a short time.
I mean, many Toyota owners mourned the loss of the V8, these rod bearing failures (regardless of low to high incidence) is giving these owners more reasons to complain. The Titan (or a used Tundra with the V8) could be the cure to these complaints.
I work in an industry with access to lots of repair costs and frequency data. The Titan/Armada v8 powertrain is highly reliable. It has lower long term repair frequency than any of the big 3 truck powertrains. The v8 powertrain is, in my opinion, the highest quality powertrain Nissan has been producing for many years. My parents own a first gen Titan and first gen Armada, both of which have been great.
However, the interior plastics from the first gen titans at least, are terrible. They have gotten very brittle and break fairly easily.
I agree, 2020+ Titans with the 9-speed auto are rock solid.
2019 and older had some issues with some of the 7-speed auto’s torque converter failing and there is a recall for some 2017-19 5.6 engines that had an oil jet installed incorrectly.
Depreciation is steep though, which can be good or bad depending on how you look at it.
The Titan’s not a bad looking truck, and it seems decently capable. If I was in the market for that kind of vehicle, I’d definitely give it a look, especially if they’re throwing more money on the hood.
i don’t know why, but this article made me wonder how cars/trucks are purchased outside of the US. Do they have dealers with inventory like here in the US? Or do people actually get to buy the vehicle they want as opposed to what’s on hand?
In the UK generally you order a vehicle which is then built to your specification. The only vehicles you can buy off the forecourt are cancelled orders, or pre-registered cars ordered by the dealer to increase sales figures. I have only had 1 new car as a company car, a base model Vauxhall Insignia but still it was built to order.
That’s the way I think it should be. If I’m dropping that much money, I want what I want.
They might have a few demo models which you can buy directly if you’re in a hurry. Otherwise it’s spec it as you want it and wait.
No. This is the JC Penny pricing model at it’s finest (or maybe the Stellantis model if we want to stick to cars). I feel great shame for anyone that has coughed up 60k for one of these.
I do have a coworker who owns a Titan he bought before everything went haywire. It seems he got a nice deal on it, but I’m always a little skeptical of the tall tales in negotiation everyone seems to flaunt around here. You’d think as a group we were collectively bankrupting the dealers around here with our incredible fast-talking skills. That seems highly unlikely to me.
He seems to like it well enough. It’s a pretty awkward and ungainly thing though, even for a full-size truck.
He probably thinks he got a deal but at the end of the day the dealer still won.
I got a “deal” when I bought my Elantra. It was advertised for something like 2000 less than MSRP on their site. I got there and they said it was gone and they didn’t have it anymore, then I saw it on the lot. Then they said oh it was a typo and it wasn’t meant to be that cheap. Negotiated and I ended up getting it for 2500 less than MSRP after the fees and I thought, damn I beat the dealer. Of course I didn’t, but in that moment it felt like I did. Looking back I just think yea I got the things I wanted in a car for an acceptable to me price.
My purchase was equivalent to a black Friday purchase. The TV is selling for 1000 on black Friday and they show that the MSRP was 2500 on the tag. Oh wow what a deal! Except the actual MSRP was closer to 1500 before they raised the MSRP to make the deal look that much more enticing. The house always wins at the end of the day.
Dealers are trying to make you feel like you got a deal, so a lot of people walk out feeling like they just got one over on the dealer.
And maybe car enthusiasts do prepare better and get better deals. They research the car they want to buy, pricing, etc. Model forums often have priced paid threads where you can see what is possible for a deal.
That is probably easily offset on the dealer’s bottom line by the average car buyer who just wants the “red one” and is surprised to see how much it costs, but feels better once they see that “manageable” monthly payment.
They might get pissed off eventually when they see they actually signed up for 72 months at 9% and got a $500 discount on a car that is regularly discounted $5k elsewhere.
I’m not afraid to admit I got hosed on a trade in value on a dealer when I was 22. Was probably worth $3-4k, only got 1k for it.
Never traded in a vehicle at a dealer since
The dealer is the one taking on the risk of having to sell the vehicle so you don’t have to. With that in mind a lowball offer from a dealer doesn’t bother me too much since they’re doing me a favor.
I did once have a dealer offer me something like $750 for 20 year old Celica. I accepted, and then right before I was going to sign the paperwork, the dealer changed their mind about the trade in and told me to keep the car but they still gave me the trade-in value for it.
Ended up selling it for $1.5k a few weeks later.
Local dealers here are only showing $5-10k off. Prices seem to bottom out around $45k. That is too close to Tundra territory if you want a Japanese truck. Never mind that Ford, Chevy, Dodge have $10k+ back on the hood of their trucks these days.
having watched the show, I reckon Vic Vinegar would absolutely drive a Titan
I’ve bought a few titans used and have had great luck with them, the dealers by me never seem to have any titans I’m interested in, They are reliable, just alittle thirsty compared to other 1/2 tons
So how bad are these things? Those prices are tempting compared to the competition.
The powertrain has been solid, nothing to watch out for other than regular maintenance. The interior quality is nothing to write home about but at least the plastics seem well put together. And fuel economy is low compared to every other new full size truck but still better than the previous gen Tundra with the 5.7.
I like mine. 2021 SV with a bunch of goodies. I added airlift air suspension because I regularly tow trailers that I don’t load. I have never felt compromised or under-powered with a trailer back there.
I like the dead reliability of the motor and trans.
If you are feeling it, the 9-speed makes it ‘racetruck’…
Ummm…
What else? Stock tires are going to become Michelins, but that is a preference.
Uh. Ah. The ‘scroll’ feature on the audio input is, as far as I can reach/am concerned, a passenger knob. I guess I can do whatever with the controls on the wheel, but I am a button and knob guy.
Here is what it isn’t, which people forget against the zeitgeist of the manufacturer’s name.
It isn’t a CVT. It isn’t underpowered. It isn’t for people with sub 600 credit.
It is a good truck that does truck things goodly. If you can get past the name, you get a standard V8 that can tow the doors off of Hades.
I looked at these a couple of years ago when I had the (erroneous) thought I needed another fullsize truck to replace my F250 I sold a year earlier. I looked at a loaded Pro-4X and a Platinum Reserve, and while they both seemed nice, the depreciation curve was harsh when I looked at 1-2 year old versions of each – the Platinum Reserve in particular, which every used 1 year old example being at least 25% off MSRP during the height of the “everything over MSRP” craze. I just struggled to see why anyone would consider a Titan over any other fullsize truck on the market and walked away. I liked the first gen Titan, but the second gen was just too little too late.
I took a look locally, and they are all $10k off here. Not in the market, but it’s interesting to see that. They’re also dropping a couple grand off some of the Frontiers, which is more interesting to me.
If I were in the market for a new full-size pickup, I’d probably consider it with these discounts. I don’t know that I would choose it, but it’d be in the mix.
I guess these are overlapping in price with some Frontiers on the same lot. Aren’t they?
Fairly close. The lowest trim they have available for the Titan is the SV at 48,600. The highest trim Frontier is the Pro-4X with an MSRP of 44,700. It has the highest discount of the Frontiers, bringing it down to about 41k (which is 16k less than the equivalent Titan).
Not a chance, I’d get a used Tundra at the same price as a discounted new Titan every single time. The 4.7 and 5.7 V8s in the previous generation are absurdly reliable, if thirsty, and the 2007 Tundra in our family has given us around 100k miles and close to 15 years of bulletproof service.
The only failure being the parking brake hanger rusting off, and the volume knob potentiometer getting gummed up. While new in warranty is nice, even with a 30% discount, the long term reliability and depreciation wouldn’t be worth it over a used Tundra.
you’re splitting hairs here. Titans are super reliable as well.
Moreover Toyota hasn’t built a 4.7 Tundra for the last 15 years.
Depreciation will likely level out between a Titan and a 3-4 yr older Tundra.
Oh fair enough, I thought the 4.7 was in production for longer than I had realized, given our 07 is a 4.7 and was the first year of that generation. I’ve heard decent things about gas Titans, but the Cummins is a disaster I wouldn’t touch for any amount of money. Our family had a recent Pathfinder that just started to fall apart after less than 80k miles, so I really distrust Nissan build quality in general. I guess it’s fair to say I’m biased like most truck buyers are for *Insert brand of choice* but that’s just me.
I think the Cummins engine was the last nail on the coffin for the Titan (even though it was only used in the XD from 2016 to 2019) but the damage was already done.
I don’t thrust FWD Nissans anymore, but I’d take a hard look at a Frontier, Titan or Z if I was in the market
That’s a fair point, there are very likely differences with their higher end cars, especially frontier and Z which aren’t really ground up redesigns so much as heavy refreshes, which in terms of reliability and build quality are actually massive plusses in my eyes. Especially when a Frontier can likely be found under MSRP versus a 10k markup on a new Tacoma…
You know, if I was in the market for a new truck I would.. get some sort of extra warranty on it and take the gamble. My wife’s Dad had an older one he loved and it ran forever, only really developed issues once it got over 200k on it.
My brother had a first gen Titan and it ran to 230,000 miles with just normal maintenance and without any major issues. He had a first gen Tundra as a company truck before the Titan, and it was interesting to see how competitive the Titan was with the Tundra back in the 2000s. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case with the second gen Titan.
If I wanted a half-ton, yes I would take a chance. My neighbor has one and likes it.
I don’t want a half-ton though. The shortbed-only Titan just doesn’t make sense for me.
Unfortunately a 5 figure discount is about what I would need to roll the dice on Nissan reliability and depreciation.
The depreciation arguments are undeniable. But the reliability of the Nissan v8 powertrain is extremely high. If you just looked at the frequency and cost of repairs, you wouldn’t think it could possibly be Nissan, because its really quite good. Yes, Toyota out performs it, but Nissan V8 powertrain is more reliable than any of the big 3 trucks. Source: I work in an industry where I have access to loss and cost data for used vehicles in particular.
No, I don’t need or want a full-sized 4 door pickup.
Yeah, no.
There’s just no world in which I’m rolling the dice with a soon-to-be orphan truck with the reputation these things have. And I still think they look like one of those Chinese F150 clones.
I know I have read article after article how these Titans are absolutely not reliable. Is that no longer a thing?
My understanding was that they were terribly unreliable–thusly the reason nobody wants one and why dealers are trying to dump them.
That diesel had a lot of issues that don’t seem to have been entirely resolved. Maybe the gas truck is ok, but not sure if anyone wants to roll the dice and find out.
I’m pretty sure the gas version is better, but it’s still not exactly a Toyota
The VK56VD is about as reliable as direct injection gets. Its been around for 14 years now, and really isn’t that different from DE which rolled off the line in 2004. So, Nissan has had some time to work out the kinks.
Well considering the diesel has not been sold since 2019, I don’t think they will be resolving them any time soon.
I have a 2016 F-150 I use for towing 7,000 to 9,000 pounds (when I use it at all, it’s not my DD). I have often consider the 5/8 Ton Titan XD as the sweet spot for my needs. However, it’s always been too expensive and reviewed poorly. Heavy discounts would solve half that, so yeah, a deep discount would make me consider a Titan.
If I was in the market. Which I’m not. The Ford is paid off. Too little, too late, Nissan.
Bonus points for this quote.
(…I don’t have enough knowledge of the Titan to make any other comments, except perhaps that it’s definitely one of Nissan’s better vehicle names)
Sounds like a gearhead got into the fortune cookie factory.
Please tell me you forgot the /s and knew this was from Mad Max