[HomeDefense]

I ran across this video by Kevin Hunter, and ex car salesman who explains all the bogus fees dealers attempt to add to the invoice when you buy a car. I've seen dealers try to tack about half of these onto invoices over the years. Be aware of what they are and how to avoid paying them. It is well worth it to watch the entire video.

2 Rules
1. Never say you will pay cash until you have negotiated every aspect of your car deal.
2. Do not ask to have any fees removed too early. Wait until just before you are ready to sign.

The only legitimate fees are tax, title, and license.

1. Dealer prep fees. It's already in the cost of the car. You are paying double.
2. Dealer Advertising Fees, or Coop Advertising Fee
3. ADM fee = Additional Dealer Markup
4. Delivery or Destination Fee. Only legit if on the manufacturer's window sticker.
5. Nitrogen filled tire fee
6. Credit Life Insurance
7. Vehicle enhancement fees
8. Window etch theft protection
9. Document fee. Don't pay more than $75. State law claim is bogus.
10. Processing fee or electronic filing fee = the same as a document fee
11. Gap insurance - the difference between what your car is worth and your loan balance


When I was younger and better-looking and lived in Minneapolis, I had a girlfriend who was a car sales rep for a well-known Cadillac dealer. The dealership catered to wealthy widows anywhere in the state. A sales rep received a special bonus any time they successfully ripped off someone to the tune of thousands of dollars. I remeber one specific case where an elderly woman was charged two thousdand dollars over the manufacturer's sticker price. That was considered a job well done.

 

[Jdog67]

I have never paid a dealer fee when buying a vehicle. First thing I do is I scratch it right out of the sales contract. They argue, but in the end it comes out. I've told them before, fine it can stay in, but I am charging you a document review fee for reviewing all these documents for the same amount as your dealer fee.

 

[cujet]

Just an FYI, a car purchased on a Costco plan will not have most of those fees. They will have dealer installed items. Things like window tint, pin stripes, bed liner, etc.

Although I don't purchase vehicles often, I do work hard to minimize what I pay. The argument I most often hear is "we have to make a profit, don't we? " To which I respond, yes, but not on this sale.

 

[Nomad 2nd]

I don't see any reason to send car dealers kids to college.
Don't buy from dealers.

 

[ncbill]

Gap insurance is a good idea but much cheaper from non-dealer sources.

E.g., my credit union offers it for a flat fee of $299...and that includes covering a $1000 deductible.

 

[PurpleKitty]

I never bought a new car (a used one, years back, before I realized what a terrible driver I make), but I am certain I got hosed on my home purchase. Everyone got nice and fat off of that.

 

[Ratpacker]

Great job with this informative video!

Illuminating , much gratitude.
Showing this to my "Evil Princess", will now only bring about some buyer's. remorse. ( after the barn door has closed)

 

[rule4]

I bought a new car once... never again, I still have it and will drive it until the doors fall off, that's the only way to have it make sense. It wasn't a great deal. Its an ok car, nothing great but I don't think it was worth what I ended up paying after it was all said and done. It's been paid off for years now and it's no better than any other used car I've had now.

My truck I bought used and got a fantastic deal on it from a guy in the next town over. He was a nice guy, and we both left the deal happy with the outcome. I paid him more that the dealership was going to give him for a trade in. Nobody was taken advantage of unlike the dealership was trying to do. Ive had to fix a few things but it gets me where I need to go and it's been paid for since the day I drove it home.

I'd rather pay cash for a used car that will last a few years sell it and buy another one. The money stays in my community and I have no car payment.

 

[Explainist]

the best day of the month to buy a car: the 22nd. there is enough time for the salesman to make his quota, he's motivated to make the sale.

many years back a wasted hippy dude showed up at a Pontiac dealer in Phoenix. the salesmen figured he wanted to use the bathroom. they ignored him until he went away. same burnout shows up at a different Phoenix Pontiac dealer:

"Sir, how can we help you?"
"Hi. My name is Vincent Furnier, but you have probably heard of me by my stage name: Alice Cooper. I just bought a house next to the golf course, and I need 5 station wagons for my staff and a Firebird for myself. Don't worry about financing." Dude made his quota with one transaction.

 

[Area Man]

Having been a car salesman, all I can say is I'm glad I worked for the guys I worked for. I don't know of any more honest car guys out there. I'd have to say 95% of their business was return business, because they didn't screw anyone over. I didn't do it for very long, but that wasn't because of how my bosses treated me. I just wasn't that great a salesman. I learned a lot, though, and it has helped me in my dealings ever since.

I've bought only one rig from a different dealer, but that was only because I used to work with that guy and he was just starting out at a different joint. Otherwise, I deal with my old employers. I don't mind if they make a profit, they're just not going to make it *all* off of me. If you don't expect someone to make a little money off you, then you're just an ass. You probably never tip your waitress, either. Like Mr. Pink in Reservoir Dogs

That being said, do your research before you go in. Know what a rig is worth. Everything is on the dang internet anymore. That's the other nice thing about the guys I deal with: When I'm ready to buy, I'm ready to buy. If they don't have what I want, they'll damn sure find it because they're gonna make the sale.

 

[The Old Coach]

Something that most folks don't know is that the markup on new vehicles is razor-thin, unless the factory is offering unpublished rebates to move slow-selling stock.

When I was a Honda dealer in the '70s, we made more profit in the service department than on the showroom floor.

And I never knew a dealer who wasn't into real estate - they got sweetheart deals there by doing favors for politicians. When a dealer gets rich, that's how it's done.