Processing or Documentation Fees

[Scratches]

Do you pay them fully, partially, etc.?

 

How much have you paid, if I may ask.

 

I was told by a dealer today theirs is $499.95, which I think is absolutely rediculous.

 

 

[redwngr]

Offer them 500 less for the truck...

[DRS 95 Silverado]

I paid 99.00

[HDNitehawk]

It is to high. Less than 200.

 

When I negotiate the price it is what I intend to pay.

I have walked out on dealers when they add in hidden cost at closing. Life's to short for that bs.

If they want an extra $499 it should be up front not added on.

[Fasthotrod]

Absolutely BS. Ask them about their dealer hold back... then tell them to take their so called "doc fees" out of that. It's pure dealer profit.

 

My dealer had zero doc fees... and that's the way it should be.

[DanMan_S]

Do you pay them fully, partially, etc.?

 

How much have you paid, if I may ask.

 

I was told by a dealer today theirs is $499.95, which I think is absolutely rediculous.

 

 

 

Just tell them you aren't paying those fees. They aren't about to lose a sale over 500 bucks. They just assume that most people will think it's a requirement of purchasing a vehicle. My last few vehicles, I negotiated down the price, then gave them a final offer with the blatant statement that I'm not paying any extra paperwork fees, delivery fees, etc.

[Northside]

I refuse to pay those fees. I negotiate the bottom dollar deal and when they try to add them I threaten to walk. It's worked every time but once. I walked and they called me at home and agreed to drop them. I bought from another dealer who also dropped the added profit "fee." I worked for a used car dealer as a teenager. I could write a book on the antics I've seen those guys pull.

[Cliff14Denali]

What about destination fee? Is that negotiable or not?

[HoosierRed14]

Doc Fees need to be same for all customers to that particular dealership (but can vary up to a state set maximum ammount) but all other fees (prep, security, etc.) can be negotiated out. If you think the doc fees are too high I suggest telling them that you know they can't change that so they need to work out the deal another way to make up for what seems an over-the-average doc fee.....or find a dealership, like i have locally, that doesn't have a Doc fee (though Im sure they build it in somewhere), but its nice not having that sneek up at the end of the deal. Here's a good read about doc fees (includes state set max ammounts as of 2012):

http://blog.truecar.com/2011/07/26/which-additional-fees-should-i-pay-at-the-dealership-what-is-the-doc-fee/

[Rock1500]

I negotiated out the door price including taxes and everything. Might have done it wrong or go cheated out of a few hundred but I am happy overall. Most other dealerships wouldn't even come close to this one when they started talks and I hate negotiating. But when I was signing papers they tried to stiff me for another 1200 but since I negotiated OTD they had to eat that b.s..

[lefty421]

When shopping different local dealers in MIchigan, most seemed to quote DOC fees ranging anywhere from $150 up to about $300. But when pressed, they all were willing to match another dealers lower quoted DOC fee. I ended up buying from an out of state dealer who charged me $166 for a DOC fee and told me that the DOC fee was set by the state there (IL) and the same at all the dealers.

 

We negotiated an OTD price, so I didn't really care how they wrote it up or made the numbers work.

 

So it would seem like some states, the fee can vary by dealer, other states, the fee may be set, or may have a cap/limit set by the state. I would certainly ask a few dealers and see how they compare.

 

I think $500 seems high.

[HDNitehawk]

I do not object to a dealer that wants to charge for doing his paper work. After all he has to pay labor to do the work.

I do not object to paying destination fees, it cost money to haul the truck to the dealer.

 

I object to the dealer that you negotiate in good faith a price, then he tries to regain profit by tacking the fee on after the negotiation.

 

If they would drop the fee after negotiation then it is money they didn't need for the sale, it is a dishonest practice. If they will not drop the paper work fee then they were quoting you the cheapest price they could on the vehicle so they would appear cheaper than the other dealers, still a dishonest practice.

 

Also to the dealer the answer is "NO" I do not want your undercoating, extended warranty or to finance through some predatory loan shark company you use.

['01LS1]

What about destination fee? Is that negotiable or not?

 

Not specifically. On new, the dealer is charged that from the factory.

[gtstricky]

I work the deal with the OTD price. Than have them move as much to Title/Tags and processing as they can. I don't pay sales tax on those lines. This truck it was about $400 total.

[Northside]

The people who work processing the paperwork or "Docs" are paid employees of the dealership and part of his overhead. The dealer makes his profit to pay his employees be they lot people, janitors for the showroom, salesman's commission etc. Adding a separate fee for someone they already pay from their profit is a rip off. Next thing they'll want to add a fee for that stuff too. I remember when this stuff started in the late 60s. They called it D&H (Dealer Handling) Before that you negotiated a price and the only other thing was the tax. What would you think if the motor vehicle division added a doc fee when you registered your truck. One local dealer here had a sign stating they charge $499.00 for processing and additional profit. That was sort of honest.... I bought mine elsewhere and didn't pay an extra dime over the price of the truck and sales tax.