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Lot fees?

Biff

Ready to race!
"Its the result of a world where everyone expects the dealer to sell the car for what they pay for it."

"Uhhh actually they do. You dont know what your talking about."

Actually it's the result of car salesmen taking advantage of customers by chronic deception. This has been going on for decades. Saying the price is one thing and then adding something later is a form of bait and switch, and it's dishonest behavior. Three of us just said we have found dealerships where this wasn't the case, yet you still don't believe us. Why don't you haunt some other board and leave us alone. It's bad enough to have to deal with salesmen when we buy the car.
Don't like this? Too bad, start a poll and see what most people think of car salesmen. Can't sell the car at invoice? Then don't. Let's price them like everything else is priced, and let a clerk do the paper work. Most if not all car buyers would gladly welcome it.
 
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Biff

Ready to race!
jmblur, thanks for your response. We have a fixed fee in my state. It's the tacking on things later to get one in the door initially that most people don't like. I don't even mind the document fee, as I know what it will be in advance. I have been offered a little below invoice by several dealers and some said they'd even beat any offer. I didn't even go around asking anyone to beat a price, only asked them to match it. They'd agree then try the add on thing. I've heard Roger Penske won't tolerate this type of behavior at his dealerships but don't know if it's true.
 

jmblur1

Go Kart Champion
jmblur, thanks for your response. We have a fixed fee in my state. It's the tacking on things later to get one in the door initially that most people don't like. I don't even mind the document fee, as I know what it will be in advance. I have been offered a little below invoice by several dealers and some said they'd even beat any offer. I didn't even go around asking anyone to beat a price, only asked them to match it. They'd agree then try the add on thing. I've heard Roger Penske won't tolerate this type of behavior at his dealerships but don't know if it's true.

Just gotta be careful - try to avoid going in and sitting down if you can help it. If you've already decided you're buying the car (and have test driven it), do everything you possibly can by email (preferably) or phone (if you must). If a dealer refuses to discuss pricing without you being there, just say "I appreciate your side, but realize that I will be buying a car this week/next 2 weeks/etc. and will be basing my decision on pricing. While I welcome your bid if you choose to give one, I plan on working with a dealer that will work with me over the internet or phone until we settle on a price" or something similar. They don't want to lose the sale, they just know they have better odds if you're sitting in a chair in their dealership for a couple hours.

If they don't come around - move on. If they do, great! Remember that you don't have to bring your car in for warranty/service work to the same dealer you bought from - as long as you don't screw a dealer over (by telling them you're buying from them then backing out or something), they should be more than willing to service your car. They generally make a lot more money from the shop out back than selling cars!
 

TwinTurboBoost

Passed Driver's Ed
seems like this ISELLBOO5T character is just tryin to make a quick buck off of potential buyers...i wouldnt trust a dealer as much as i wouldnt trust a lawyer,hooker,or politician.business is business with these dealers, they throw a bunch of these fee's at a wall and see which ones stick...


Hey douche nozzle I do not benefit from wacking people with bullshit charges. I buy things as well and can't for the life of my justify why this charge exists or that charge exists. Our doc fee in Ny is 75 bucks, do you know that if you got to Nj they can charge up to 400 bucks!!! They also pull they hey I know you here to pick up your car and we agreed to this price but...Dont use my name in vein like that ever again. Im just letting you know the reality of the car business. I dont make up these charges nor do I condone them. I'll give you numerous clients numbers that will tell you I helped them out when the " dealer " said I cant do better. Why the hell would I go to a mkvi forum and argue about fee's? Dont be a dick on the internet.
 

boofer

New member
Yes thats what people do, they give you a price to attract you to a dealer and say " oh btw" you have to give me destination charge, etc. I am NOT a dealer to do this, and yes all dealers charge " dealer fees' it just does not show up on window sticker, etc. Thats how you can distinguish between a good and crappy dealer. Mazda, honda, vw, bmw, etc has some sort of fees that are listed on invoice...thats why when you argue with a dealer " thats not invoice" most of the time it is...You can tell automatically if the salesman or dealership are scumbags...Hey I got rated number 1 in the us 2 yrs in a row..We do things right here.

these advertising/port fees are not standard practice with honda/acura. i have purchased 3 new acuras and 1 honda since 2004, and none of them charge an "advertising" or "storage" fee.

when i asked for detailed pricing on a MKVI, the salesman tried to charge me the ~$700 freight/destination fee (okay), but then an advertising/port fee of somewhere around $500, on top of a $299 doc fee. i asked for clarification on that ad/port fee and he said that it costs VW money to transport the cars via sea to baltimore or portland or something. when i asked what the freight/destination fee covered, he didn't really have a good answer for it. i ended up not buying a GTI, partly because of shady VW dealers.

when i have purchased cars, they have been negotiated price + destination + doc fees + taxes + DMV fees. no port/ad/whatever fees, which are apparently just a nice way for salesmen/dealers to pad their profits on each sale.
 

jmblur1

Go Kart Champion
ad fees can be legitimate - if they're added into the invoice pricing. If they try to tack them on afterwards, it's total BS.

Destination is shipping - it's normalized, so even dealers in DC/Baltimore pay the $750 or whatever that dealers in east bumf**k North Dakota do (grumble), but that's pretty standard.

Doc fees are a fact of life these days, generally if it's <$100 I won't argue, more than that and you'll be hearing about it. They're pure BS, but they're industry standard.
 

JackReacher

Passed Driver's Ed
I worked as a car salesman for a few months out of college and hated it because the push to lie comes from the top down and I am a bad liar/feel bad about lying. IMHO the whole car buying process would be much better if they got rid of the car salesman and just charged a set price like a normal retailer.
 

Biff

Ready to race!
I worked as a car salesman for a few months out of college and hated it because the push to lie comes from the top down and I am a bad liar/feel bad about lying. IMHO the whole car buying process would be much better if they got rid of the car salesman and just charged a set price like a normal retailer.

I couldn't agree more. Price them like other items are priced. Walking into most car dealerships is like walking into a certain ambush. You just don't know where the shot will come from. And consider this. Things are so bad along these lines that a sub industry has been created that does the negotiating for you for a fixed price. That industry shouldn't/wouldn't be necessary if dealerships were up front with customers.
The dealer lobby is strong and so it is not possible to buy directly from the manufacturer. I'd buy a new car more often if I could do it that way.
 
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Biff

Ready to race!
Consumer Reports I trust. The others I'm familiar with, but not certain if I'd trust them.
The primary issue is of course dealer conduct. If I go to the store to buy food, or dry goods, I can be reasonably certain of no hidden costs or attempts at manipulation. In fact I wouldn't even think of such a thing (other than basic price).
 

Beeb

Mk VI
what you have to realize is that there has to be a certian margin in a car in order for the dealership to make money.

weather you get X off or pay Y in fees the dealership still has to make money. So you can often get the fees waived but you will pay full price, or you can get a discount and pay full fees.

just dont be a dumbass and pay full price + fees
 
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