New car “ fees”. Yikes!

[mike calabrese]

"The purpose of nitrogen in normal automotive tires is the separate you from your money." (John)
Think about it nitrogen has been used in racing tires for many years but it is only recently that the option has creeped into the auto buyers options. It is one of the latest BS line items to do exactly what John said in his post.
Doc fee is another one
Here is a link to a father and son team that have the car market pretty well defined in my opinion.
Navigating Car Dealer Fees: Your Ultimate Guide https://caredge.com/guides/understanding-car-dealer-fees#Doc_fee

calabrese55

[Mike Hollingsworth]

We just bought a new car for my wife after spending several days visiting dealerships and shopping on line. I have always felt that car salesmen (and real estate people were liars). After talking to several salesmen my opinion was confirmed. Generally by the time they had finished their second sentence they had lied. Not a single one was completely honest.

When my son was 15 and I brought him into a dealership for the first time, I told him that when the salesman says "hello" he's lying.

[Rich Konopka]

Keep in mind that you don't have to buy locally. If you can save several thousand dollars buying in a different market, do that since the cost of travel to pick it up will not be significant compared with the savings for buying in a more competitive geography. This doesn't affect any warranty/service coverage...dealer service departments are completely different profit centers and the warranty comes from the manufacturer. The latter can be used at any dealer in the country that is authorized for that brand. Getting quotes can at least give you some bargaining power with the local folks, too.

Example...say you want to buy a Jeep Grand Cherokee. About the best price in the country is at Koons in Tyson's Corner VA because of their "group buy" vendor status at the Jeep Garage forum. I'm talking 6% below invoice. If you took a one way flight to DC it would cost you a few hundred dollars and they will pick you up from the Metro station after you take the Metro from the airport. You pay them, take delivery and then enjoy a nice, quiet drive home. That's just one example.

Potentially Not a good idea. What about sales tax? In my county its 6% and the next county its 8%. Thats another $1000 on a $50k vehicle.

[Ron Selzer]

Potentially Not a good idea. What about sales tax? In my county its 6% and the next county its 8%. Thats another $1000 on a $50k vehicle.

Every vehicle I have bought is taxed on where I live not where I buy it. Now have only been buying vehicles for 51 years so may be different where you live.
Ron

[Bill Dufour]

It was interesting to help my sister buy her new ford under the family plan. her FIL was working in Detroit for ford at the time. Only one salesman was authorized to sell under that plan. No one knew anything until we figured out who he was. The fleet sales guy who never talks to individuals buying one vehicle.
Made an appointment and he had a book of prices for the SUV sher wanted. Each option and option package had a price. no negotiation. It was sold under dealer cost, retired union employees in Detroit review each order to verify prices are correct so no cheating.
He explained dealer cost is what the dealer pays but.. He gets rebates if he sells a certain number of cars in a week, month, season, year etc. Total of new cars sold not just the employee discount ones.
So he breaks even at dealer cost but the rebates make him a little profit on employee sales and most shoppers pay more then cost already.
The family plan only allows two? cars purchased per year. The certificate can be given to blood relatives. At least to son or daughter, I think grandpa as well.
Bill D.

[Rich Konopka]

Every vehicle I have bought is taxed on where I live not where I buy it. Now have only been buying vehicles for 51 years so may be different where you live.
Ron

You are correct in most jurisdictions but again I said potentially. Especially, if you purchase out of state and register the vehicle yourself. In Georgia and in Cobb county you will pay dearly. Across counties the taxes are done differently at different rates.

[Jim Becker]

Potentially Not a good idea. What about sales tax? In my county its 6% and the next county its 8%. Thats another $1000 on a $50k vehicle.

Depends upon how that's handled in your state. We have that fun in this area because the City of Philadelphia's sales tax is a point higher than the rest of the state and our county borders the city. Vehicle dealers here know how to handle that. Folks at JeepGarage (a forum) who buy from forum sponsor Koons in Tyson's Corner can do everything right there for any state of residence except Massachusetts, for whatever reason. Sales tax is part of the vehicle registration process, in effect, so it's handled accordingly based on where one lives.

[Rick Potter]

Maybe that works some places, but if I buy a car and license it out of state for the first year, then register it in CA the next year, they still tax on the current value, like you just bought it here. I think it even works that way if you move to CA. and register your car.

Please tell me if I am wrong, I would love to be.

[Lee DeRaud]

Maybe that works some places, but if I buy a car and license it out of state for the first year, then register it in CA the next year, they still tax on the current value, like you just bought it here. I think it even works that way if you move to CA. and register your car.

Please tell me if I am wrong, I would love to be.

If you're a CA resident buying a car in a different state, it's the same as use tax for any out-of-state purchase: if you paid sales tax on it in another state, you can deduct that from the CA tax owed. (You only have 20 days after you bring it into the state to register it, so I'm not sure how you're doing that "license it out of state" thing.)

Moving to CA and bringing your car with you is a different animal. Part of the registration fee is based on the current value, but it's much less than sales tax (0.65% as of 2020).

[Rick Potter]

Thanks for the corrected update Lee. I have never registered one out of state, but I have sure been tempted. I have a condo in AZ, and it would be possible to register a car for use there, but I never have.

Another way is to register in my name and/or my son's name in Texas, where he lives. We could trade off using it every six months. I suspect that would be entirely legal.

CHP cracks down on people with out of states every once in a while, as a lot of RV's and toy cars carry O/S plates, usually AZ. I know a guy with a warehouse of muscle cars and hot rods registered in Utah. He says there is no sales tax there.

[glenn bradley]

The only way to stop abusive vehicle sales practices is to not accept them.

+1. I have had pen in hand hovering over the bottom line and stopped and walked out. They come chasing after and the "fees" magically disappear if it means 'no deal'. I've gave dealing with sales up and dealt directly with the fleet services folks to get my last few cars. Today there are many online solutions that avoid the dealership nonsense.

[Jim Becker]

Maybe that works some places, but if I buy a car and license it out of state for the first year, then register it in CA the next year, they still tax on the current value, like you just bought it here. I think it even works that way if you move to CA. and register your car.

Please tell me if I am wrong, I would love to be.

Different states have different rules. That's what makes things "interesting", err...complex. Some states collect tax on registration; some only on sale. Part of it is because some states tax vehicles as personal property; sometimes annually.

I just sold our second vehicle to a friend this week. She lives in Florida. She will be paying the sales tax in Florida when she does the registration next week after she arrives home with the title in-hand. The only tax we paid in PA was when we bought in 2020. Our registration is about $80 for two years, although there is an annual safety and emissions inspection required which costs about $60, give or take.

Of course, none of that is related to dealer fees which are a separate thing from taxes that everyone pays if they are required by a jurisdiction.

[Patty Hann]

+1. I have had pen in hand hovering over the bottom line and stopped and walked out. They come chasing after and the "fees" magically disappear if it means 'no deal'. I've gave dealing with sales up and dealt directly with the fleet services folks to get my last few cars. Today there are many online solutions that avoid the dealership nonsense.

How do you deal with fleet services? I don't mean the nuts and bolts of making the deal.
I mean how do you go about being able to approach them in the first place.
Do you contact/walk in a dealership and say [something like] "I'd like to talk with your fleet sales person." ?

[Bill Dufour]

My brother the mechanic bought and sold many cars over his life. Normally when buying he paid half in cash and half by check. He reported the check to the DMV as the sales price and paid tax on that portion only.
Bill D

[Lee DeRaud]

My brother the mechanic bought and sold many cars over his life. Normally when buying he paid half in cash and half by check. He reported the check to the DMV as the sales price and paid tax on that portion only.

The legal term for that procedure is "tax evasion", which tends to be frowned upon.
And given that the seller is required to file a REG138 form with DMV reporting the sale price, not particularly bright.