Car dealerships have refined the practice of adding additional "fluff" to the bottom line car price in order to increase dealer profit. The most prevalent, and insidious, is the "doc fee." Why should anyone pay extra for something the dealer is mandated by law to provide? With just a few keystrokes on their computer, the dealer inputs all the information necessary to generate the documents required at the time of sale. The documents are then printed out in a matter of minutes, and they think this justifies charging a huge extra fee?
I have purchased countless new vehicles at dealerships in my time on this planet, and never once have I paid a "doc fee." I tell the salesperson up front that I will not pay whatever it is they want to charge to generate the documents, and if they refuse, I walk out. Yes...there have been times I have walked away from the dealership over this issue, but have always been able to find a dealer who wanted to make the sale. There is plenty of profit built into the sales price of new vehicles without the additional markup, even if the dealer were to sell the car at "invoice." But, as long as people fall for these tactics, dealers will continue to use them.
Be smart, be a savvy buyer, stand your ground, and be prepared to walk away if the deal isn't right.
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