Pesky new car dealer fees

The best way to get around these stupid add-on fees is to walk away. Just think, if 95% of the people did that, the fees would magically disappear in two weeks.
Easier said than done, but in this market with limited supply, if one person walks away, another one will take his place.

And I don't want a used car. I already have one that I'm trying to get rid of. :)
 
Talking numbers with a local (Michigan) car dealer, I see his quote includes:
- Government Fee: $290
- Proc/Doc Fee: $260

I try to get him to drop these. He claims these are required by law and he has no control over them, and won't tell me what exactly they cover.

I know license/registration fees are buried in there somewhere, which is somewhere around $250-ish currently, and I don't mind paying that part.

Just curious if anyone recently bought a new car in Michigan and what fees you had to pay.
I just bought a used car from a Nissan dealer with an $800 dealer fee. They wouldn't budge but gave me $600 off the car. Sales guy story was that he had purchased 6 cars from them and he had to pay it. This didn't cover the registration fees etc. I hate those fees.
 
Document fees are an extra profit line item.

When you deal/buy insist on only talking about the bottom line. It doesn't matter to you which line any costs or fees land, the bottom line is what counts.
Yes, I just remembered something and laughed to myself. It's not funny but it is now that I think about it. My wife and I have a home under construction, we went into contract 08/22 we should be closing in the coming month.

In the contract one of the costs was a "builder fee" I kid you not, we were buying a house for a set price but part of the deal is paying the builder that we are going into contract with, a fee that he charges, because we are buying his house! *LOL*
The salesperson even acknowledged he has no idea why (I know why! *LOL*) but it is what it is. Its just a fraction of 1% and I didnt really care as we were getting a good incentive anyway and quite honestly I think still to this day a great price because we got in at the start of a new phase in the community where no homes were completed yet.

So even now, we have "fee" creep into the home building industry, ohhhhh!!!
Heck, I just thought of a "fee" in the home selling business with a national RE firm but local broker! I signed a listing agreement last year (we sold our house into contact in less then a few days) at a specified commission, since I knew the person I just went with it and skimmed over and signed.
Anyway, upon reading that evening, I saw besides the commission a $500 transaction fee was in the listing agreement!!! *LOL* I called right away ... He removed it right away and whether true or not said that is supposed to be just for the buyers and he didnt know why it was in there, ummmm... I dont believe him as this was a listing agreement. I suspect RE firms will now, if they can get away with it, have you pay the salaries of the staff in fees = more profit!
 
If a fee is something that the buyer can do I see it fit to charge for it, BUT if the fee is required to be performed by the dealer then
it's the cost of doing business and NOT listed as a separate entity, but ought to be included in the % discount when negotiating.
 
Buying a car in early 2021 also in Michigan, these look about right, assuming they include license tab and registration. Mine were higher but included about 15 months until the next tab renewal based on your birthday, assuming a personal purchase. You should be informed of the details in these costs. That is your right. If he is too lazy to provide them, you should be firm and suggest you will not proceed unless they are provided. Not certain but I think it is required by law, here in Michigan.
 
The Doc fees in Michigan are the result of the Secretary of state passing off all their work to the dealers. In the past the dealers had to take everything to the S.O.S office for processing and title application. Now the dealers are tasked with completing the forms and issuing the license plate (they have a supply there at the dealer) Essentially its a hidden tax increase since the dealer now does all the work, charges you for it and the SOS still collects all of the revenue from the plate, title fee and sales tax just like they used to.
As far as a "Govt fee" I never heard of it and I have bought plenty of new vehicles in MI.
 
When my wife and I bought the 4R, the dealer added on the blinking brake light fee. He tried to justify it by saying most dealers charge 2-3k for it whereas they charged $400.

I didn’t know that was a thing. Had I known, I would have said something before we started the deal, but I wasn’t prepared to walk over it either.
 
In some countries you need to pay the correct bribe, if you want to buy something, or want some service.

Here we simply pay "fees". They serve the same purpose. The only difference is their laundered at the point of sale, so no need to carry around a big pile of cash.
 
What you want to negotiate is the "Out the Door" (otd) price. A total, all inclusive price.

If a dealer wants to charge $500 for some stupid fee, tell them that's fine, just take $500 off the MSRP and you're good!
Exactly. A dealer can justify their charges however they want, but as long as I am happy with the final number, it is all that matters.
 
The fees are a way for a dealer to have you pay for their cost of doing business = more profit.
You go to Walmart and they don't charge you a "check out" fee. It's part of the cost of doing business like lights and toilet paper in the bathroom.

The dealer needs to fill out some forms to sell you the car. Part of doing business.
 
Yes, it looks like the "Govt fee" is being taxed, so it's more of a price adjustment than an actual govt fee. How can they get away with being so misleading?
Lack of law enforcement with respect to consumer protection.

Think of the fees as additional dealer markup, because that's what they are. People need to stop caving into the dealers on these.
 
Back
Top