Car dealerships and hidden charges

Looks like the shark lawyers are looking for your help in earning them a few more million dollars.

The fact is, it is illegal in every state to charge MORE than the actual fees to register a vehicle, obtain a license plate, issue or transfer a title, record the title lien, etc., or to obtain any duplicate or replacement for any of the above. In most states it is also illegal to charge more than a specified amount, say $50 or $75, to complete the forms required by the government entity when purchasing a vehicle. If you suspect your were overcharged by a dealership, simply notice the DMV or it equivalent. As to how much a dealership chooses to mark up a dealer install option, it a matter of buyer beware, not illegal. If you believe that $15 accent stripe on your Toyota is worth $195 because you believe Toyota uses better tape that is your dumb fault.

mike hunt

Kr wrote:

My dealer charged an advertising fee. I didn't bother arguing about it. It was a small amount compared to the cost of the car. The Dealer actually got me a better interest rate at my own bank than I could have gotten from the bank myself. And as far as various fees for going the DMV and the insurance company, it was well worth it to me. I just signed a few papers at the dealer and they transfered the plates. I didn't have to drive to my insurance company or DMV for anything.

Generally speaking, dealer add ons are a waste of money. If it didn't come from the factory then it should be installed by a dealer. I made that mistake once. Never again.

I th>Looks like the shark lawyers are looking for your help in earning

in my opinion the worst canadian dealership would have to be slave lake ford it has been my experience that small 7 bay shops have had a hard time making rent thus rip off tatics are used

just my opinion what you think jim ??

hurc ast

I think you are wrong again.... I've never heard of Slave Lake Ford.

If you really want to see nusiance add on fees, then try the service dept. You get all kinds of shop fees, and environmental fees, etc.

Some of those fees are reasonable. They represent the cost of doing business.

Some of them aren't.

Jeff

Listing them as separate fees that you charge each customer is petty and deceptive. If it is the cost of you doing business, raise your hourly rate by $x an hour and stop harassing your customers. If you can't compete on price you better damn well be able to compete on quality, not fudging the numbers.

A simple hourly rate that covers ALL costs is much simpler and goes along way toward helping remove the stench of the stereotypical shyster "used car salesman" that many repair shops, dealer service departments, and the same goes for the fees with the dealer sales groups.

When I apprenticed (years and years ago) the shop that I worked in charged $52.00 when the dealers were charging $30.00 per hour

We had no hidden or added charges but we did have a 2 week wait for customers b/c it was so busy (customers tend to prefer honest garages)

Some dealership simply raised their shop rate to reflect the extra cost of meeting ever increasing environmental regulations, placed on them by the government. Others have chosen to add those costs as separate items on your bill, so buyers would understand it is NOT the dealership making more money but the cost of government mandates. It costs money to dispose of tires, batteries, solvents, antifreeze, paint and item like the rags and containers used in relationship to those products that become contaminated. It also costs money to train employees in their proper use and disposal and for the special equipment, required by OSHA, used by those employees

I personally prefer that approach. When I was still in manufacturing the federal laws that required us to meet emission and safety standards that doubled the price of a small car, COULD NOT by law be listed separately as federal required mandates on the price label. The opposite was true of gas guzzler tax. The manufactures could not simply raise the base price of a model so effected. The tax by law had to be listed separately on the sticker. People should have the right to know what actions, taking in their name by their government, are costing. There was a time when the price of gasoline and the federal and state taxes was listed separately on the pump to show the total listed on the meter. That too is no longer allowed so people do not know the average state gasoline tax is .29C and the federal tax is .185C. In some states they also pay a 6% or mare sales tax, as well, included in the meter rate. Simply put governments to not want you to know that they earn more per gallon then the oil company on the price you are paying for gasoline. The state with the most cars, which normally would crete greater competition amount retail outlets to keep prices down, has the highest price for gasoline. Most Californians have no idea that it is their state stringent environmental laws that effect the price. Laws that unduly restrict the normal production, storage, transpiration as well as the composition of the gas they burn, in addition to the taxes account for the much higher price. Sparsely populated neighboring states with less competition that should normally make prices higher are actually lower. The average gas station leans about six cents a gallon profit, about what the earned when gas was 25C a gallon. The refiner companies make a smaller percentage of the price, in profit on gasoline, than they did twenty-five years ago.

mike hunt

Jeff wrote:

I found the following program of great interest regarding dealership financing and closing cost scams. Hidden camera segments show some of the disreputable sales people scamming customers. There is a video clip available on the webpage in addition to the text article.

Tricks of the trade

Dateline NBC hidden camera investigation reveals deception at some dealerships

Actually, listing all the fees allows the customer to see that we don't have an overinflated door rate. Recycling antifreeze.... there are labour costs, equipment costs, consumables... ditto for R134a.... the costs associated with disposing waste oil and oil filters.... antifreeze that is not suitable for recycling.... products used for mitigating oil spills. Even with our "up front" tire tax, there are costs associated with disposing of used tires. Using this train of logic, we should all quote our prices with any taxes included and really look like shysters.

All of our fleet accounts prefer to have any environmental charges listed separately.

Let's pause for a brief second and remember who it is that created all this stuff that needs to be disposed of...... tire companies don't make used tires and oil refineries don't make used oil. We, as consumers, are busy creating all thsi stuff and we, as consumers, are the nes that are bound to sign the cheque...

I disagree. If it costs the store $2 to dispose of oil, I don't see why that shouldn't be added to the cost of the oil change.

And if it costs $2 to dispose of whatever waste is generated during the average repair, I don't see any reason why a $2 shouldn't be added to teh cost of the service.

However, the shop should be upfront about the charges.

Sometimes life isn't so simple.

jeff

But some do re-tread them....

But some do recycle/re-refine (and there are used oil burning furnaces in some shops)

agreed.