[beachhead]

Don't the dealers also add a "non-negotiable" $500 transaction fee on the back end here?

[airics]

yep and its not on the backend.. its the standard doc fee

[OmegaSupreme]

Originally Posted by winter-rabbit

Do not buy a car at the showroom. Do everything via e-mail and internet chat.

I bought a Honda and took $4800 off MSRP. I also negotiated for the dealer to pay registration fee around $400 and 2 years of oil changes.

I couldn't find any dealers willing to give me hard quotes via email, they all wanted me to come in

any tips? or could you possibly pm me an email address or addresses where you've had success?

[BBMW]

It's not a "doc fee" it's just a straight tack on. I consider a "doc fee" to be a third party fee, usually to the DMV. IE registration/title. Anything else is bull$hit.

The first thing you should do on starting the negotiation is stating up front and directly that the only fees they you'll agree to are tax, title, and registration. They need to include everything else in the negotiated price and that is the final price. If they try to stick in any other crap at the end of the deal you'll walk (and if they do, do.)

Originally Posted by airics

yep and its not on the backend.. its the standard doc fee

[skugelstadt]

Originally Posted by BBMW

It's not a "doc fee" it's just a straight tack on. I consider a "doc fee" to be a third party fee, usually to the DMV. IE registration/title. Anything else is bull$hit.

The first thing you should do on starting the negotiation is stating up front and directly that the only fees they you'll agree to are tax, title, and registration. They need to include everything else in the negotiated price and that is the final price. If they try to stick in any other crap at the end of the deal you'll walk (and if they do, do.)

My wife wanted a specific model, color, optioned Honda CRV. I sent (email) this information to quite a few dealerships in California ( when we lived there) and requested an out the door price. The dealer in El Monte, with the lower quote, tried to add on charges. After explaining the meaning of "out the door price" we left to meet with the second lowest priced dealer in Van Nuys. They kept their word on pricing. We left very happy.

[LasVegasPlayer]

A dealership we just bought a car at tried to sneak in a $299 insurance policy into the closing where it pays $3k if your car is stolen and not recovered in the next 5 years. What a deal (for them)! Findlay tried to sell a demo for more than a competitor was selling an identical brand new car on its website. FWIW I was able to get $1,800 below the Truecars.com price so don't settle on that.

[winter-rabbit]

Known exactly what it costs nationwide using Edmunds and TrueCar with different zip codes and fake e-mails and google voice number.

With that information, give a low ball offer. Yes, you will be pleasantly surprise they will accept it. In the end, dealers make more money being a volume dealer. They get massive bonuses being a top 5 regional volume seller.

Say, I am ready to buy and I will come in and seal the deal. Make sure they commit via e-mail.

Sample E-mail:

Dear Sir, I am offering $####.# for Vehicle Model X with no additional factory options. I am also looking at an offer from another dealer who is including registration fees and 2 year oil change.

If you agree to this, I will come in immediately.

That's it.

Originally Posted by OmegaSupreme

I couldn't find any dealers willing to give me hard quotes via email, they all wanted me to come in

any tips? or could you possibly pm me an email address or addresses where you've had success?

[airics]

Originally Posted by BBMW

It's not a "doc fee" it's just a straight tack on. I consider a "doc fee" to be a third party fee, usually to the DMV. IE registration/title. Anything else is bull$hit.

The first thing you should do on starting the negotiation is stating up front and directly that the only fees they you'll agree to are tax, title, and registration. They need to include everything else in the negotiated price and that is the final price. If they try to stick in any other crap at the end of the deal you'll walk (and if they do, do.)

no it is a doc fee. "paperwork".. and its not by a 3rd party. some states have laws on how much they can charge.. eg.. ohio is $200... nevada does not have a limit.

[delgadobb]

Curiously, Findlay just sent me one of those "We want to buy your used car" letters. They claim they're willing to offer $1,000 more than Blue Book trade-in value (which I'm sure would get nickel-and-dimed down once I got there).

Out of curiosity, I looked up my car's trade-in value (private party sale would be much higher, but I'm trying to compare apples to apples). Using Kelley Blue Book value @ Kelley Blue Book - New and Used Car Price Values, Expert Car Reviews , the number I get for dealer trade-in value is well above their 'generous' offer of $1,000 more than Blue Book trade-in value. What a surprise!

No thanks, Findlay. I love my car, know its entire history & it still runs like new - plus, it has the best feature of any car, it's owned free & clear! 7 1/2 years & I've had to replace the battery & put on a new set of tires - that's it! (I do full synthetic oil changes myself & installed a K&N air filter.) Why would I want to take Findlay's lowball offer? Trying to decide if I should burn the time to do a test drive for the free Visa Reward Card they are offering ...

[BBMW]

This is the auto dealer equivalent of the resort fee. The just HAVE TO charge it. Thet try to sneak it in on the back end, so that they think they have you hooked and you'll give up. Throw it right in their face before starting the negotiation, and tell them straight up and down that your walk if they try to impose it after you've worked a price, and as often as not, they'll give it up.

The last car deal I worked they did this. It was for my sister in FL. She needed the car immediately, and essentially had to drive across FL to get the deal done, so I wasn't dealing from a huge position of strength (I couldn't really walk.) But after a bit of a yelling match on the dealership floor, I got half of it back.

Originally Posted by airics

no it is a doc fee. "paperwork".. and its not by a 3rd party. some states have laws on how much they can charge.. eg.. ohio is $200... nevada does not have a limit.