How to avoid dealer fees
Meta: Paying extra fees after you’ve already bought a car can be frustrating and a little pricey. Here’s some tips to avoid dealer fees after you’ve signed for your keys
How To Avoid Dealer Fees After Buying a Car
Once you’ve gotten approved for your car loan and are ready to drive off the lot, you may be offered a few extra services. While these may look appealing at first, certain things come with hidden fees. Don’t pay an exorbitant amount for car services that should come standard with the purchase or that you don’t need. Here are some great ways to save you money!
Car Loan and Documentation Fees
Asking to borrow money can be pricey, and there are certain fees associated with filling out the paperwork to get a car loan. Most states have a cap on the loan processing fee that they charge, but it varies by state. The loan processing fee is intended to cover the dealer’s costs of running a credit check and processing the paperwork. Most dealers will tell you that this is non-negotiable, but you may be able to talk them down a bit from the initial fee.
Destination Charge
Many dealers will charge you, the buyer, the cost of delivering the car from the factory to the dealership. This is called a delivery charge. You may also see a “destination charge” on the sticker. If you see both charges on your final invoice, you can tell the dealer that you aren’t paying the delivery charge and the destination charge.
Dealer Prep
You do need to have the dealer prep the car for you before you drive off the lot, but this is another fee that you can negotiate. They’ll charge you for the service if they can, but with a new car, all that the dealer really needs to do is have the fluids and tires checked and a quick car wash.
That being said, sometimes dealers will negotiate down one fee only to make money by giving you a lower price on the trade-in or adding on financing markups. It’s better to negotiate the price of the car separately from negotiating the fees, trade-in, and financing transactions.
Extended Warranty; Is It Worth It?
This may protect you down the line if you’re buying a used car, but it’s often not necessary with a new one. An extended warranty covers repairs after the original warranty expires. If you change your mind later, you can go back to the dealer and ask to purchase an extended warranty before your other one expires.
Fabric Protection and Paint Protection
Most modern fabrics don’t need additional treatment for fabric protection, and this is an unnecessary fee that dealers may charge you. However, if you have small children or just tend to be messy int eh car, you can treat the fabric yourself with a can of Scotch Guard.
Paint protection is another option add-on that the salesman at the car dealership will try to sell you. While you’ll love to keep the paint on your new car looking fresh, paint, too, has dramatically improved. Dealers may offer you this service for up to $500, but don’t buy in. Essentially, you’ll be getting an overpriced wax job.
Title, Tags, and Registration
These fees, you have to pay. In fact, license plate fees are mandatory by the state or county. The fees go from the dealer to the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles. This makes you legally the owner of the new vehicle and pays for the temporary tags to get you on the road. Many dealerships will also offer a service where you can pick up your new plates at the dealership, saving you a trip to the DMV.
You can expect to pay around $250 for title, tags, and registration, depending on where you live.
Advertising Fee
The advertising fee may show up on your car’s invoice listed as part of the manufacturer’s resale price, or it can be its own separate line item. This fee can be contested with the car dealer, and it can run up to several hundred dollars.
VIN Etching
insurance companies and police agree that having your vehicle VIN etched on the windows is a good idea; and it is, as a theft deterrent. However, if you have VIN etching done at the dealership, you’re paying top dollar and inflated prices; typically around $200. However many police departments or local service clubs may do this for much less, or even free.
Takeaway
Some dealership fees may be negotiated, while others are pretty firm. understanding what you will have to pay for when you sign on the dotted line and what you don’t can save you a bundle.
My name is Dan. I used to work at the biggest dealership in the country. Now I teach people how not to get F•••ed when buying a car. So when you’re buying a car new or used, you’re going to encounter dealership fees. So I guess let’s just dive into it right off the bat. First dealership feed that the dealership is going to make you pay. Is delivery charge or destination fee or whatever bullS••• name they’re going to come up with. This is a fee that has already been paid by the dealership. You don’t have to pay for it at all. The car has already been delivered. Even if it hasn’t been delivered. Dealership is paying for this because if you asked them for the invoice on the invoice, it’s going to say that it’s already been paid for. Whether the car is there or not. This is dealerships expense. It’s tax deductible. Even so, I’m not sure why they’re asking you to pay for this. They’re just trying to bully you into paying for something that you’re not supposed to pay. Second, advertising charge. If they ever ask you to pay for this, you just tell them no problem. I’ll be more than happy to pay for this. I’m also going to get the commission for this right. I am the one because of who this sale is happening.
This sale is not happening because of salesmen. This sale is not happening because of management. This sale is not happening because of magic of advertising.
You are there because you needed a car and you’re giving them your money or banks money, which really it’s your money. And the sale is happening because of you. So give me the commission. Why should I, as a customer, pay for your business expenses that you are going to write off on taxes? Come on, get real. Number three. Documentation fees. Every single dealership that I know of has documentation fees, documentation fee is just the number that they pulled out of their A•••. You don’t have to pay it at all. They’re just trying to bully you into paying extra couple one hundred dollars, which in most cases is somewhere between five hundred and nine hundred dollars. You don’t have to pay for this. If they tell you you have to pay this, there is no way they can go around it. Tell them no problem. I’m going to go home and think about this. And when they tell you we agreed on price, we agreed on terms and you like everything, what is there to think about this? I’m going to think about the integrity of your dealership because you’re really making money on this car and you’re making me pay. This bullS••• dealership fee that I don’t have to pay that you just made up. If they tell you there’s a state law that you have to pay. The state lies no more than seventy five dollars. Seventy five dollars, everything after seventy five dollars. If there is a state law in your state is going straight to dealer’s pocket. Don’t get bullied with the dealership.
You have to put your best foot forward. If you have to get your balls out of whatever sock drawer you had a in bring with you to the dealership because you’re going to need them. Don’t let dealership take control over you. Salespeople, managers are taught to take control of you. Your time, your money, your decision making. So when you’re going to a dealership, be prepared to negotiate. Be prepared to know what the hell is going on.
Don’t ever pay this bullS••• fee. Don’t be afraid to walk away from the dealership. If you think you found the best deal that is possible unless it is truly best deal. Which means it’s at least ten thousand dollars less than everywhere else. Then there’s something to think about. But I highly doubt it. I challenge you to give me the car that you want to find, and I think I’m gonna be able to find your way better deal than you found by yourself. I mean, hell, I used to work at the dealership. So last one is going to be title registration and whatever they want to call this title injury registration most of the time. Okay. 99 percent of the time dealership doesn’t own the vehicle. They don’t even have the title to give you. So what they’re going to do is they’re just going to request the bank for the title to be transferred to the state government. So then a copy of it, not even the real title, a copy of it, a certified copy is going to get transferred to you. So how do you avoid this? First, you have to call your DMV and find out what the actual numbers are. I can’t even speak on this because each state has different things going for it. And you register cars in different ways. So first, let’s say you’re buying thirty five thousand dollar car. You call DMV and you say, hey, I’m buying a $35000 car. How much am I going to have to pay when they register it? OK. So they’re going to tell you. Taxes. They’re going to tell you fees. They’re going to tell you whatever distraction is. They’re going to tell you. License plate fees. They’re going to tell you tab’s fees. Bunch of government fees that you’re going to have to pay for.
Then would that information ready, you go to a dealership and you already know how much you’re supposed to pay that way, even here, even here where you think they can’t scam me any way, they still can. If at any point they can trick you or scam you or take advantage of you, they will. Dealerships exist as a magic card trick or you know that the game of cops when they shuffle bunch of cops and then you’re supposed to guess where the ball is. That’s what dealerships are. They’re not an honest business enterprise. They’re there to take advantage of you at every single point. And if you’re not prepared, if you don’t know what the F••• is going on, and if you don’t have the balls of F•••ing steel to stand your ground and get what you want to get, you’re going to lose because you’re up against the manager that has been doing his job for 20 or 30 years. You’re up against the salesman that has been doing this every single day for last for 5, 7, 10 years. So if you’re not prepared like a professional car purchaser, like a professional car buyer, you’re going to get rolled. And I really don’t want to get rolled. Now, this is then with 60 minute car, I’m signing out and I’ll see you on the Internet.
