I have been working with a salesman from a little dealership in Tennessee on buying a newer dodge truck with Cummins etc.

So we worked back and forth on the price and the trade in and got it where I was comfortable.

Today he sent me documents to sign and he has included a Doc Fee of $499.

WTF?

I told him I don't do Doc fees and he has indicated that he is ready to walk away from the deal over it.

What is all your experiences with Doc Fees?

When I bought my VW in Tennessee the dealer put them in and I declined to pay them. So he lowered the sale price to cover them.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Let him walk. You agreed on a price.

He probably discovered your ancestors fought on the Union side.

__________________
“Whatever story you're telling, it will be more interesting if, at the end you add, "and then everything burst into flames.”
― Brian P. Cleary, You Oughta Know By Now

What does the doc fee cover? If title and plates are included, its at least somewhat fair. If it's his charge for putting on his pants that morning, no deal.

The plates and title work were separate.

Its for putting on his pants.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

For the ream of paperwork involved in buying a house these days, ok. For a truck, I don't think so.

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

Interesting, a local Atlanta TV and radio personality named Clark Howard recently covered fees that one could and could not negotiate out of a new car deal. Doc fee was one he recommended you try to negotiate out.

Stick it out Tom. It is his loss, not yours. There is no shortage of Dodge trucks for sale. ANY doc fee is outrageous to me let alone a $499 one. It is simply the cost of doing business.

Its added profit.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

For a moment I thought we were talking about doctor fees.

But yeah, I'm not a fan of surprise fees either.

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http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7271/7...144c3fc1dc.jpg

I think the term "out the door" will get someone around some of this nonsense and make the salesperson do the math ahead of time.
To me (and the last few car salesmen I dealt with) when I ask for an 'out the door' price it means the total cost of minivan+taxes+any fees the dealer likes to stick on there. It might not include a fee that they cant change (if you get financing through a 3rd party).

So I try to roll like this:
"Hello, I see you have a Odyssey for sale, Ive taken a look and driven, and I am ready to pay $XX,000 out the door. Will that work for you ?"
(their answer is always no ,but it establishes that there will be no/fewer surprises later).

-John

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2009 Kia Sedona
2009 Honda Odyssey EX-L
12006 Jetta Pumpe Duse
(insert Mercedes here)

Husband, Father, sometimes friend =)

I have dealt with these people before.


Many licensed sales people on Ebay do the same thing.
It's insurance for profits.


Walk away. There are other trucks.

__________________
Strelnik
Invest in America: Buy a Congressman!

1950 170SD
1951 Citroen 11BN
1953 Citroen 11BNF limo
1953 220a project
1959 180D
1960 190D
1960 Borgward Isabella TS 2dr
1983 240D daily driver
1983 380SL
1990 350SDL daily driver alt
3 x Citroen DS21M, down from 5
3 x Citroen 2CV, down from 6

Tom,


If you are buying a Dodge truck, come to Michigan.
They'll include anything you want with the sale, they are desperate to sell trucks here.

__________________
Strelnik
Invest in America: Buy a Congressman!

1950 170SD
1951 Citroen 11BN
1953 Citroen 11BNF limo
1953 220a project
1959 180D
1960 190D
1960 Borgward Isabella TS 2dr
1983 240D daily driver
1983 380SL
1990 350SDL daily driver alt
3 x Citroen DS21M, down from 5
3 x Citroen 2CV, down from 6

Doc fees are just another way to collect some $$'s at the end of the sale. Its no more than sending either the title and state paperwork to state DMV or the MSO to the state. Its usually done by a $10 an hour clerical person who may do dozens a day. This to me is much like the airlines charging for baggage. Sure most dealers use a bonded title agent when necessary and it is an expense but this has gotten pretty greedy of the last ten years. Dealers are trying to make a profit center out of every aspect of the deal.

I allow a reasonable fee in most cases up to $200 but not when its just a simple title hand over.

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BENZ THERE DONE THAThttp://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...c/progress.gif
15 VW Passat TDI
00 E420
98 E300 DT
97 E420 Donor Car - NEED PARTS? PM ME!
97 S500
97 E300D
86 Holden Jackaroo Turbo D
86 300SDL
(o\|/o)

So today he says he is working with management to reduce the purchase price so they can preserve their precious doc fee and meet my price. We'll see.

I like this truck as it is nearly identical to mine, meaning the Mrs. and I can get in and out without doing the Tarzan routine. It is an 08 but only has 15,000 miles on it. Its a stick and has the 6.7 liter Cummins. It looks like a new truck so its apparently been parked inside. Unfortunately it has manual seat, windows and door locks. But it looks unused. I asked about it and the salesman said it had been used by the dodge dealer for something for the first 8 years of its life. Its white and had the grey grill and bumper but I got them to paint the front white too. Looks alot better than black.

So maybe the deal is back on.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Delete that DPF if it's in the cards.

Save you tons of headache later on down the road.

__________________
-Justin

91 560 SEC AMG - other dogs dd
01 Honda S2000 - dogs dd
07 MB ML320 CDI - dd
16 Lexus IS250 - wifes dd

it's automatic.