Document preparation fees--RIPOFF

[LD1]

I guess I should have mentioned before that the "out the door price" or total price is the only thing I negotiate for. So I don't really care what they put on the paperwork as long as the bottom line is what we agreed on.

This is how I always negotiate too. So how they get to that number, I dont care, just so long as it is the # I was after.

And even all these fees and what not when buying cars, trailers, etc is NOTHING compaired to buying a house.:confused2:

 

[Fixemall]

After my wife modified an Equinox in the grocery store parking lot last year with my truck, I decided it was time to add a vehicle just for her...long story short all the dealers except one thought I just fell off a turnip truck, one guy actually worked up a quote at full MSRP and let me walk. Of the five salesmen I talked to, I'm positive none could have successfully helped my daughter with her fifth grade math homework, I finally headed another 20 miles into the country and dealt with the owner of the dealership and got the car for less than GMS price, he also got the car from another lot that had already put on paint protection, naturally he did not charge me for it. Just proves my theory that if you want a deal look to country folks not city slicksters.

 

[JDgreen227]

After my wife modified an Equinox in the grocery store parking lot last year with my truck, I decided it was time to add a vehicle just for her...long story short all the dealers except one thought I just fell off a turnip truck, one guy actually worked up a quote at full MSRP and let me walk. Of the five salesmen I talked to, I'm positive none could have successfully helped my daughter with her fifth grade math homework, I finally headed another 20 miles into the country and dealt with the owner of the dealership and got the car for less than GMS price, he also got the car from another lot that had already put on paint protection, naturally he did not charge me for it. Just proves my theory that if you want a deal look to country folks not city slicksters.

My most satisfactory new and used vehicle purchases were at a rural area Ford dealership, they were dead honest and made not the slightest effort to flimflam me or tack anything onto the price. And, get this....I purchased a used 1990 Ford F 150 for about $9000, this was back in early '92, I had given them a $50 cash deposit to hold the truck, and while we were finalizing the purchase paperwork, they had made an error and mistakenly written down "$100 cash down payment", and the salesman asked me if I had another $50 on me, well I didn't. He said OK, and they ate the $50 although they were selling me the truck for a lot less than the city dealers wanted. I was sorry when that dealership closed. But I always wondered if they closed because they were operating on a small margin of profit.

 

[JDgreen227]

This is how I always negotiate too. So how they get to that number, I dont care, just so long as it is the # I was after.

And even all these fees and what not when buying cars, trailers, etc is NOTHING compaired to buying a house.:confused2:

Yeah, that huge long list of "closing costs"-- I gave you a foot in the door to start a new thread....:laughing:

 

[Bird]

Just proves my theory that if you want a deal look to country folks not city slicksters.

Yeah, but there's sure exceptions to that.:laughing: When my wife totalled a car in 1999 and I bought a new one, I really wanted to deal with the country dealer that was closest to us, but (1) he didn't have what I wanted; would have to order one or get it from another dealer, and (2) his price was way above the big city dealer that had the car in stock.

 

[ultrarunner]

He said, "You mean you'd back out of a deal over an inspection sticker?" I said, "Nope, but apparently you would, and I will back out of a deal over a lie." And I left. It was about 22 miles home and by the time I got there, he was calling begging me to come back. He finally talked me into going back, and of course, the truck had a new inspection sticker.:laughing:

Yes... interesting how things only go one way till someone calls them on it.

The Buyer is King as long as he is willing to walk.

Too bad negotiation skills are not taught in school.

I remember being around my Grandfather when negotiating a sale... sometimes that $50 or $75 dollars was insurmountable... each party can only do what it can.

He never charged a documentation fee ever... he said it is part of selling a vehicle.

Just like Lenders that Charge Warehouse fees and other things that pop up at the closing...

There comes a point where you have to either accept or reject...

 

[JDgreen227]

I recall reading maybe fifteen years back new vehicles were probably the only item being sold where the prospective buyer actually knew what they cost the seller. Makes me wonder if we would be willing to pay $3 a gallon for milk if we knew it cost Kroger only $1.75, or willing to pay the furniture store $2000 for a sofa if we knew it cost them half that much.

 

[ultrarunner]

Another thing about cars...

Almost always another new car just like the one you are looking at down the road... not quite the case with used ones.

My brother and his wife wanted a Honda Minivan... all the local Dealers, without exceptions had huge markups at the time in the SF Bay Area... Honda's have always done well here.

So my brother, on a lark calls a Dealer 3 hours away in Bakersfield and the owner answers and he tells him what he is looking for. The owner says he has exactly what my brother is looking for and has been unable to sell it... apparently 40k Honda's are a hard sell in AG country as opposed to the Bay Area.

Anyway, the owner makes him a great deal under sticker, which is really great because back home they are well over sticker with add ons to boot.

We drive down and the guy is as nice as he can be... thanks us for driving down... I ask how he came to have a car he has no market for and he said Honda wanted each Dealer to have at least on fully loaded van in inventory.

My sister-in-law was not with us... at the last minute she was not feeling well, which proved a problem because she needed to sign the DMV papers... the owner says... I shouldn't do this and then gives us all the paper work and says have her sign it and overnight it back on Monday...

At least one Dealer still has the personal touch...

The difference in attitude was night and day... instead of treating us as if he was doing us a favor by "Letting" us buy... he was very grateful for the business.

That was 4 years ago and the car is been great.

 

[PoorMansCat]

And how about the paint protectant and fabric stain guard sir? Don't you want to protect your new car? Another example of a dealers way to make another buck. If I feel I got a deal on the car, I go ahead and pay the document fees, otherwise I *****.

yep.. i forgot about "clear coat paint"... thats a good one...
I saw that on a Dodge lot one time on every vehicle window,"dealer installed clear coat paint protection".... funny thing is, they did not even have a body shop...

 

[hawkeye08]

... and the one I had not heard before last year was a protective coating the dealer can put on the windshield to help keep rock chips from occurring. It was several hundred dollars if I recall.

This same dealer adds window tint on all the new trucks that come in, $195. We ordered our truck and had them do the spray in bed liner (part of the original deal) and then also had GMC mud flaps installed. We did not ask for or approve the tint. When we were doing the paperwork when we picked the truck up, the sales person got to the tint charge and and just crossed it out. She knew that we did not order it and they would have to eat it.

She actually had to adjust several numbers to get the bottom line we had agreed to, no issues...