Car dealer fee scam

    We're looking to buy a new used car for my wife. It's been a few years since I've bought a car. I searched on sites like Autotrader and cars.com and found a few potential vehicles. I was surprised at the dealer's when he tried to tack on something they call a dealer fee ranging from $500 to $1000 on top of the advertised price. Naturally I felt cheated and walked out. After this happened a couple of more times I looked up this dealer fee online and it turns out to be a scam just like I thought.


    The way I see it's their car and they can ask whatever they want for it, and justify the price however they want. It's my choice to take it or leave it. The problem is when they purposely advertise a lower price to get the customer in the door, and then try to add on a dealer fee, more money in my pocket fee, or whatever name they want to give it to increase the sale price. Trying to pass it off on the same breath as sales tax and registration fee, so to the inexperienced buyer it appears like something official. The dealer made me waste my time to travel and see the car by misrepresenting the price, because he was dishonest I will not do business with him.


    Now when I find a car I'm interested in, I call first and ask "are you going to tack onto the advertised price some undisclosed fees?" If the dealer fee comes up I hang up. I will never buy a car from a dealer that tries to pull this off. If there are any car dealer members here you may not like what I'm saying, and may have some good (to you) reasons why the dealer fee is a legitimate business practice. In response I say to you that you would get more business from customers like me being honest with the advertised price. As if there aren't enough other complications figuring out the right car choice. It amazes me how this dealer fee gig seems to work for cars only. You'll never see such a thing when you go buy a sofa or a stereo. I don't think I'd have a business if I were to advertise spearfishing gear at one price, then at checkout add a "diving fee".


    I'm curious if this phenomenon is also prevalent in states other than Florida?

    Dan every dealer I've delt with charges dealer fees, tire disposal fee, battery fee etc..and taxes the fees which is BS. I stay away from dealers as much as possible since most cars are quick fixes to make a buck, private sales are the best to find a better deal.

    you are not alone m friend...I was in the exact same position but instead of doing independent research I asked the dealer. I said what is the fee for, since a fee is paid for service, I asked what exact service they were providing me? the dealer said it was "standard" and I said that was unacceptable, I was paying him for the car, I was not going to pay him extra for allowing me to pay him for the car.


    I asked again what service he was providing for us, he had no answer. I said I wasnt going to pay them for nothing and that i wanted to speak to the manager.


    at this point the manager has the audacity to say that they will waive the dealer fee but that they would need to renegotiate the price...I laughed and bid them good day


    what a scam


    I want to ad a fee for everyone who is stupid, just call it that, a moron fee. anyone who pays it is a moron :)

    i like to spear fish

    Quote from japsw

    Dan every dealer I've delt with charges dealer fees, tire disposal fee, battery fee etc..and taxes the fees which is BS. I stay away from dealers as much as possible since most cars are quick fixes to make a buck, private sales are the best to find a better deal.


    I have less of an issue with fees that are associted with costs or services that can be identified...the tire place has to pay to dispose of the tire, if they didn't I would, I dont mind that one, same with dead batteries.
    Also, they will waive the fee and let you keep the tire or battery so you can do it your own way...springfield tire fire here i come

    i like to spear fish

    At my dealer I love when they try to add the "shop supplies fee". The customer never gets to use our shop supplies, HELL I barely get to use our shop supplies. You'd think it would be included in the $120/hr labor rate ass raping these idiots already agree to pay. I could go on and on about the stupidity at stealerships



    P.S. since the cost of scrap has gone up over recent years a lot of places (my dealer included) charge either a core on batteries, something like $15, or the couple buck disposal fee. You can't even keep your own garbage anymore!

    The only way car dealers make money is by overcharging or scamming one way or the other!


    They buy their cars at the dealers auction for 1/3rd of the price then resell it after putting maybe a few hundreds in detailing and some minor fixes.


    Most of the vehicles they sell are ex rentals, leased, vehicles traded in and accident cars that have been repaired..


    When shopping for a used car, it is very important to make sure that the car was never involved in a car accident. Every car that has been crashed before, can never be straightened out 100%. There will be always problems with steering, tires wearing out, transmission, tie rods, axles, etc. Its very easy to spot these cars... This guy got it all down just about right! Great videos to watch if shopping for used cars.



    Buying A Used Car Part 1: Exterior Inspection - EricTheCarGuy - YouTube


    Buying A Used Car Part 2: Under the Hood - EricTheCarGuy - YouTube


    Buying A Used Car Part 3: Interior Inspection - EricTheCarGuy - YouTube


    Buying A Used Car Part 4: The Test Drive - EricTheCarGuy - YouTube

    The average cost for a car dealer to sell a car is about $1,800. Thats right!! Anything below that amount is a loss. Dealerships do not rip people off. They sell and repair vehicles and there is nothing more to this. I have been in the business since 1982 and not much has changed except the cost to sell a vehicle. Dealerships operate on pencil thin margins and the public's perception is far from accurate. Yes dealer fees are added margin. Just like points on a mortage or any other fee that you might pay when you buy something. If you are shopping for the best deal all you have to do is shop the out the door price. You don't have to be a jerk about it, simply ask for the out the door price. It is no more complicated than that. The out the door price includes all fees and taxes and thats it. Plane and simple.
    If a car dealer makes a million dollars a year does that mean that he rips people off or runs an unethical business? If you think so you should buy a dealership. They cost about $30,000,000 and the monthly recuring expenses average about $700,000 per month to run. It is not as easy or as unethical as it looks. Now can we get back on the topic of spearfishing?

    I apologize if my post was offensive.


    There are used car dealerships that do put work into their cars and even offer warranties. Buying a used car with a warranty that is in good condition from a reputable dealer can be wiser than buying it cheaper from a private party.


    Having said that, a lot of the small time 5 car lot dealerships who don't have proper facilites for repair are scammers.


    A good example is a few month ago I went out car shopping with my friend and we looked at this particular car..


    1999 CADILLAC STS LOW DOWN PAYMENTS!!!!


    Doesn't look bad right?


    He never mentioned the mileage in the ad and when we spoke to him over the phone he said the car never been in an accident and had no body work done..


    We weren't going to look at it but decided what the hell since we were close by.


    This car had 140 000 miles, been repainted (overspray in all the wrong places) and had evidence of water/flood damage..


    He wanted originally $4500 for it, I said I wouldn't pay $500 for it and he said he can let it go for $1000 :laughing3:


    A car like this at a dealers auction can be sold for as little as $500.

    Eli, I want a new car maybe I can take you with me to look at cars. I loved your last post! :laughing3:


    RedTide: If you're a car dealer, I apologize before I write this post. As in all walks of life, there are good people and then there are shitbags. You may not know me but I know of you and have only the utmost respect for you. This is only my experience and if you are a car salesman you're probably one of the good ones but my experiences give me a bad taste in my mouth and make me defensive with all of them including the good ones.


    I bought an Infiniti G35 4door Sport in 2008. As I was shopping for it, my co-worker tells my wife and I that her husband was the sales manager at a local Infiniti dealership and told me to meet with him. He did the usual that most car salesman do. He smiled and tried to charm his way. He gave me his "word" that he would take care of me and would give me the "best" deal because I was a friend of his wife.


    Unfortunately for him, smiles and charm don't mean anything to me. I did what I usually do and emailed 5 local Infiniti dealerships on a Monday. I told them that I would be purchasing a car by Saturday and said that whoever gave me the best price by Friday at 5pm would win. All dealerships were included on the same email and all fought for the business.


    After all was said and done, the sales manager who was the husband of a co-worker of mine. The same person who gave me his "word" and who said he'd get me the "best" deal only hesitantly matched the best offer I got because I told him that I was dissapointed that he didn't take care of me like he said he would. Like he "gave me his word" that he would. He matched it but gave me an ultimatum that the offer was only good until that Saturday. I politely told him to go F himself and bought the car elsewhere. I felt bad because my wife and I loved his wife and thought only the most of her, but her husband unfortunatelywas nothing like her. (I guess opposites do attract lol)


    Sorry, every car I've bought is new and most salesman are shitbags.


    The only positive experience I had was at Acura of South Florida where an older gentleman sold my brother and I brand new cars. He gave us a price and told us we wouldn't find it anywhere else. He was right. Kudos to him. We bought two cars and sent 5 more friends to buy cars from him.


    Not all car salesman are shitbags but most have been in my experience.


    Just like the dealerships that put decals on the cars with their dealership name, or the license plate frame holder with the dealership name. I tell them to take that sh*t off unless they're going to pay me to advertise for their dealership. I feel my blood boiling so I'm going to stop writing lol

    Edited 12 times, last by Muckdiver ().

    "business is war", "business and friendship, oil and water" etc. But if you expect to be treated like a friend you should reciprocate. A seller has a family and must make a living too. So the deal should be, as a good friend of mine often says, a win-win situation. My problem is specific to cars being misrepresented IMO as far as the price.


    We ended up buying a 2008 Dodge grand caravan, from a used car dealer. I did make sure there was no dealer fee on the phone before going to see the car. When we sat down to make the payment the dealer tried to tack it on anyways, and I had to remind him of our phone conversation.


    For a 2008 the car was dirty as hell with dings here and there, but I can see through that. In it's favor it was being used by the dealer's wife driving their seven kids around. This was true as I had to wait for her to arrive, unload the kids, and later take all the kids stuff out of the vehicle.


    I didn't haggle much because I hate that shit. All I said was the price doesn't reflect the condition of the car, and to give me his best price and I'll think about it. The dealer offered $1500 less, I said ok provided he clean the car real good. He promised to make it like new when we pick it up Monday. When we returned Monday the car was not detailed. I hated that because I knew my wife will clean it herself, but we needed the car so we took it as is. At least it runs good and looks good after a thorough cleaning. I would've preferred to buy private for a better price and buying experience, but could not find one of these cars for sale privately. There were many sold by dealers and without exception all had 100k + on them.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member to leave a comment.

Register a new account
Sign in now