Why are local car dealers asking over the top dealer fees? (Brandon: sales, insurance)

[bentlebee]

Not long ago the dealers were charging a $ 199 dealer fee and they claimed it was to prepare the car to leave the dealership.

Right now many are charging $ 699!!!!

And if you ask for an explanation you have to listen to an almost 5 min. rant about how good they are and how all of them are charging it, while it is just a BS charge to get more money.

On top of that the false advertisment is ridiculous.

We went to a dealer last week after an online ad was stating "immaculate" and after a call pior to going there to verify the condition of the 2012 car, we went there to find a car with lots of scratches on the back, like someone had been in a rage and decided to key the car, a wheel bolt cover missing, 1 tire(the only one shown in the pictures online) being newer and replaced and not even with the same brand tires as the other ones, a chip in the front window!

We asked how all this could make a car be "immaculate" and their answer was that since it was not a new car we should have expected anything and these are just things showing the car was used and the price was reflecting that....Wow!

The arrogance showed us again why we don't like car sales people! The car also had a sign on the window "AS IS, No Warranty" while it was under the factory warranty due to the milage and only being 1 year old...so again I asked "what is wrng with this car?" and the sales person stated that they always put it like that on a window for cars that are used so I walked over to another car that was 2 years old and that one stated "warranty", so another lie!

Then the sales person went inside printed a paper stating the car was under factory warranty but that paper didn't have this car VIN # on it and neither the brand and/or model on it, sounced like a scam so we left.

BTW this is a dealer with a Germand brand starting with a "V" (Das Auto....advertisement ) and a Japanese brand (starts with a "H" and ends with an "A") that they sell and is a larger dealer, not a car lot on a corner where you would expect something like this. The name of the deaer only has 4 letters and starts with a "K"...not sure if the name is allowed to be mentioned but this way I didn't use their name.

[Sunscape]

That is a ridiculous amount of $ to charge for a prep.
And the condition it was in was far from immaculate. I would RUN away from them, Bentle.
Let us know the name of the dealer, so we can all run away .......

I got me a very nice VW Beetle about a month ago, 2012 , and it is immaculate. I am delighted with it!!

[craigtnelson]

My very first job many... many moons ago was detailing cars at a huge dealership.

Let me put your concerns about dealer prep fees to bed - they're bogus. You know what a dealer does to prep a sold car? They wash it. They'll give it a quick wax, too, if it's been sitting out for a while and has water spots. If you're dumb they'll sell you on crap like "paint sealants" or "undercarriage protection." The first is fancy talk for a wax job that you could do yourself in an hour with a bottle of Meguiar's, and the second is fancy talk for what is basically black spray paint in your wheel wells that give the appearance of a protective coating.

Never visit a dealer's lot without knowing more about the car than they do. Research price, options, competitors, etc. Oh and start off the negotiations with "you can go ahead and throw the dealer fee out, because I'm not paying it." Seriously. It works if you're serious about the car.

[EngGirl]

Originally Posted by craigtnelson

Never visit a dealer's lot without knowing more about the car than they do. Research price, options, competitors, etc. Oh and start off the negotiations with "you can go ahead and throw the dealer fee out, because I'm not paying it." Seriously. It works if you're serious about the car.

^^^
+100!
I also find it helpful to negotiate final out of door price and let sales person to come up with some numbers to make my price work. Dealer fee never were included in the price I paid.

[craigtnelson]

Originally Posted by EngGirl

^^^
+100!
I also find it helpful to negotiate final out of door price and let sales person to come up with some numbers to make my price work. Dealer fee never were included in the price I paid.

Always, ALWAYS negotiate out-the-door price ONLY. If you tell the salesman "well, I can only afford $xxx a month," his mouth will water at the thought of the 12 different ways he can scr3w you in the long run.

Research everything beforehand. Know exactly what the car is worth and what you're willing to pay (bottom line price ONLY). Make it "easy" for the salesman by clearly stating what you want to pay out the door, and if he can meet that price, you'll "save" him the hassle of negotiation. Most important - never be afraid to walk away from the deal. Ever.

[jsun556]

Agreed with the above. Negotiate out the door price, not monthly payment price.

[bentlebee]

Originally Posted by Annie of Oldsmar

That is a ridiculous amount of $ to charge for a prep.
And the condition it was in was far from immaculate. I would RUN away from them, Bentle.
Let us know the name of the dealer, so we can all run away .......

I got me a very nice VW Beetle about a month ago, 2012 , and it is immaculate. I am delighted with it!!

Kuhn Volkswagen/Honda dealer on Adamo drive in Brandon. Aside from the rude treatment for which my husband and son already wanted to leave but I stated, just let us test drive the car so at least we know how this type of car will drive and we didn't waste all our drive time and gas money on this, and we took the car for a drive and really tested the car so in the end we at least used some of their gas as well...

That was also interesting to say...there was hardly ny gas in the tank, also kind of weird!

When we confronted the sales person and his boss about the false advertising of "immaculate" for a car that seemed to be keyed by someone since scratches of almost 2 foot were on the back, they stated "it isn't a new car and he price reflects that" but the price reflects other prices in the area, so not less in which case we should and could have know!

[Pragmaticus]

I think you have excellent advise above. I will add though. I researched a lot when I bought my car sometime ago.

First thing if you are buying a slightly used car, you need to study the history. Good place to start is to look at the car fax. If the dealer can't give you for free since they pull that information before putting to market, just ignore that car. The car fax will tell you the history of ownership and if there are damages. Of course, this is for reported one, i.e., the car must go through one of the big shops not over the corner shop that may not report to car fax. Consider it like a credit card check for cars.

I will only buy a one owner used car, if it is newer like the one you are looking. If it has more people owning it, specially for a short time like few months, that's a red flag for me.

After test driving and before deciding to buy it, take it for a good inspection to a reputable mechanic and ask to thoroughly look at it. I paid around $150 and worth it. That's your insurance and bargaining tool. If the dealer won't allow that, just go away.

More than anything else research the car you want on the cost and condition and you know what to pay for it. Dealers have to make money too but most of the time they get it very cheap as a trade-in.

Here is my favorite one: Be careful if some show you an invoice price they paid for it from a trade in. Don't fall for that trap. The secret is when somebody comes to buy a new car and they have a trade-in the usual dealers tactic is to give that person high trade in value and get the money on the new car they are selling them. That way most people are happy to tell you how good a trade-in value they got for their old car but the dealer has made that up selling the new car at a higher price.

[craigtnelson]

Originally Posted by bentlebee

That was also interesting to say...there was hardly ny gas in the tank, also kind of weird!

That's pretty standard for dealer lots. They only put enough in it for short test drives until it sells.

[bentlebee]

Originally Posted by craigtnelson

My very first job many... many moons ago was detailing cars at a huge dealership.

Let me put your concerns about dealer prep fees to bed - they're bogus. You know what a dealer does to prep a sold car? They wash it. They'll give it a quick wax, too, if it's been sitting out for a while and has water spots. If you're dumb they'll sell you on crap like "paint sealants" or "undercarriage protection." The first is fancy talk for a wax job that you could do yourself in an hour with a bottle of Meguiar's, and the second is fancy talk for what is basically black spray paint in your wheel wells that give the appearance of a protective coating.

Never visit a dealer's lot without knowing more about the car than they do. Research price, options, competitors, etc. Oh and start off the negotiations with "you can go ahead and throw the dealer fee out, because I'm not paying it." Seriously. It works if you're serious about the car.

These things are additional features you can buy and only a dumb person will buy it...we bought a car over the weekend else where and they were trying to sell it to us too. First they congratualated us on our stellar credit being over 800 and than they tried to sell us these things and stated it will protect the car from love bugs, etc...we countered by stating "why do you think we have stellar credit?"....

Exactly, because we don't buy things wedon't need and can't afford and/or don't need!