Experience haggling with Processing fees?

[Flippy]

Seems I'm able to get a really good deal on a new Yaris now -

Bouncing around with three dealers - seems they all want to stick
a three or four hundred dollar "processing fee" on the sale
- and one salesman insists that with TT&L and all it should be about 10 percent of the purchase price extra.

I've negotiated these things before but thought I'd check in with you guys.

Some of these salesmen get so hacked off when a buyer is prepared!

[jambo101]

They can call the $$ add ons anything they want but ultimately it comes down to the out the door final price,if you've done your homework you'll know quite accurately what that price should be,if it isnt as low as you think it should be tell the sales guy what you are willing to pay and if he cant meet that price walk away..

Welcome to the forum..

[nemelek]

It's a good idea to be perpared for the up's and extras after a sales price is reached. Between Dealer Handling D/H, Processing fees, extended warrantee, and other features like tinted windows, alarms, and floor mats the cost of a new car can jump $3,000. Say no to everything. Get them later on your own if you want.

The processing fee can be negotaited sometimes by reducing the sales price. Get the bottom line from different dealers.

The TT&L are fixed by the state and county which you live in. The dealer collects the money and sends it to the proper parties. You might register your car in a state or county with a lower tax rate, if you can get away with it. My 2008 Yaris cost me just over $1,000 in TT&L. Money I'll never get back.

[t2mike2]

Here in virginia ( i bought the car in MD tho) i paid about 550$ in TTL.

I went to carmax dealer which sold new toyotas. They only add a 99$ processing fee.

So at the very least if a dealer tells you they cant go below that amount of 99$ they are lying. they dont even have to charge that.

It seems tho that in some places where there arent many dealers (i live near DC so there are dealers everywhere i look) that you are kind of at a disadvantage, because they know if you dont buy it from them, you wont really be getting it anywhere else. It might be worth it to drive to a big city to buy a car, since there is more competition.
mike~

[bitz767]

I just bought my yaris, and from the beginning we negotiated out the door price. after trade, tax, dealer fees, ect. This way, I could tell them they could give me more for my trade or take it off the price of the car, so it worked out pretty good. They had a 299 documents/dealer fee, but it was the cheapest in town. One was 545 and the other was 399

[RedRide]

How to buy a new car:

1) Tell the sales person what car you mighy be interested in. Never, never tell a saleperson the you "need" a new car!, You are doing them a favor by even walking through the door.

2) Refuse all suggestion that you take the car for a test drive. Tell them you don't even know if you want to buy it yet

3) Negotiate a price.

4) Refuse to pay for all such scams such as "dealer prep" etc. "You want me to pay you make shure the car you want to sell me is OK? I don't thnk so!

5) After all prices are set including proposed interest rates and payment schedules and only then, take the car for a test drive.

Remenber, it is always a buyers market! :smile:

[why?]

I'm sorry but it is a waste to negotiate before you test the car. Negotiations should last for hours, and you are wasting your time if you negotiate and then drive only to find you cant stand the car. Test the car first.

any advertising, shipping fee or other is bs, and if the salesperson really wants the sale they will drop them.

tax title and tags are a must though.

especially if you have 3 dealers do everything you can to drop the price as much as possible.

[specialeducator]

I'm sorry but it is a waste to negotiate before you test the car. Negotiations should last for hours, and you are wasting your time if you negotiate and then drive only to find you cant stand the car. Test the car first.

any advertising, shipping fee or other is bs, and if the salesperson really wants the sale they will drop them.

tax title and tags are a must though.

especially if you have 3 dealers do everything you can to drop the price as much as possible.

I suggest test driving as a separate visit from negotiating. Or better yet, look for internet pricing and minimize in-person negotiating.

[auxmike]

Try before you buy.
You want to make sure you try the exact stock # car you're interested in.
Why negotiate for something you might not want after trying it?
Salesman may not even want to deal till you see if you like the car in the first place!:iono:

[jambo101]

Negotiations should last for hours,

.

I remember shopping for a RAV4 for my mom and the dealer(Sun Toyota NPR Fla.) refused to talk about the car until i gave him my name,phone number and address, when i refused to give him this information he refused to negotiate with me:iono: so i bought the car at a different Toyota dealer up the road (Village Toyota ,Homossassa Fla):iono:

[tomato]

Seems I'm able to get a really good deal on a new Yaris now -

Bouncing around with three dealers - seems they all want to stick
a three or four hundred dollar "processing fee" on the sale
- and one salesman insists that with TT&L and all it should be about 10 percent of the purchase price extra.

I've negotiated these things before but thought I'd check in with you guys.

Some of these salesmen get so hacked off when a buyer is prepared!

Here in CA it's about 10% too.

They can call the $$ add ons anything they want but ultimately it comes down to the out the door final price,if you've done your homework you'll know quite accurately what that price should be,if it isnt as low as you think it should be tell the sales guy what you are willing to pay and if he cant meet that price walk away..

Welcome to the forum..

+1

Welcome to the forum!

Also, I would suggest test driving the car first to make sure you really like it. Don't waste your time trying to negotiate first, just go for a drive and enjoy. Then, if you're ready, negotiate.

It really is OK to try out cars and not buy immediately. A car is a long term commitment so you want to be sure you enjoy it, first.

[Kal-El]

Yeah, you have to test drive before starting a long negotiation process especially on a used car where it is unique. The negotiations can take a while. You have to know first that you are interested. If you are, just don't look excited and anxious in front of the salesperson.

OK, as for the main topic of haggling processing fees...

Sure, there is some flexibility. Part of it depends on how much you haggle down the retail price of the car. A lot of people demand to pay only the dealer invoice price or just slightly above. Where does the dealer make their money if they get squeezed by not getting anywhere near retail and then not getting processing fees either?

I don't like fees anymore than the next guy but people need to remember the whole concept of a "business". The paychecks of about 20-30 people at a dealer is generated by the margin of a car sale. Yet customers are demanding that they get direct wholesale like prices. And we wonder why dealerships are closing one by one.

The processing fees aren't there to rip you off. There is indeed a lot of processing that takes place. Lots and lots of paperwork. A technician that oddly enough has to be paid for working on the car. Auto detailers who don't like to make a car showroom ready for free. A salesperson who isn't there doing volunteer work. Never mind the million other expenses involved in keeping a brick and mortar business running. But I think we get the picture.

Just something to keep in mind.

[tomato]

Well, you gotta pay taxes, DMV fees and part of their overhead. I kind of agree with Kal-El, there.

In CA, for example, the 10% is mostly sales tax. The "processing fees" are not much at all.

They can't just sell everything at loss, to everyone, anytime, otherwise, you do the math.

I think they really get you with service though. Even if they don't make much selling you the car (profit margin may be small), they seem to make plenty when you go back for oil changes and stuff. :frown:

[Kal-El]

Well, you gotta pay taxes, DMV fees and part of their overhead. I kind of agree with Kal-El, there.

In CA, for example, the 10% is mostly sales tax. The "processing fees" are not much at all.

They can't just sell everything at loss, to everyone, anytime, otherwise, you do the math.

I think they really get you with service though. Even if they don't make much selling you the car (profit margin may be small), they seem to make plenty when you go back for oil changes and stuff. :frown:

True, service is the only thing that keeps a dealer in the black. If they had to depend on sales only, they wouldn't survive.

[tomato]

hmmm.. never mind, the post I was responding to was deleted. :iono:

[why?]

Salesmen and dealerships make money off of sales from volume bonuses. They really add up to huge amounts of money. Anything else is just gravy. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

[RedRide]

Try before you buy.
You want to make sure you try the exact stock # car you're interested in.
Why negotiate for something you might not want after trying it?
Salesman may not even want to deal till you see if you like the car in the first place!:iono:

That is exactly the point. Your position should be that your not shure you even want to buy the car so why test drive it?
It is the salman's job to convice you to want it and test drive it by striking a good deal with you.

From experience, sales have found that once a persone test drives a car they are more likely to purchase it. IMO, you weaken your bargining power a bit once you test drive it.

If a salman wont deal with you until you test drive it, see anouther salesman as the first one is really inexperienced. I don't want to deat with a saleman who thinks it's too much trouble to give me a good deal unlees I take the bait of test driving the car in question.

[why?]

Why waste the time negotiating then? Negotiating is not a 5 minute thing, to do it right it takes a ton of your time, and unless you are like my father and find negotiating with car salesmen entertaining use of your time, what is the point?

Seriously, my dad loves it. He once negotiated for 3 hours on a conversion van, getting the price from $40,000 sticker to $20,000, and when he walked out the salesmen came running after him. lol.

[RedRide]

You are missing the point.
You are negotiating a price fror a care that you actually want and was shown by the salesman.

You just don't let on to the salesman that you really want it which would include not test driving it at this point.

It's buyer's market and you have to let the salesman know that you know it.

[why?]

uh, not quite. 99% of the vehicles that get test driven do not get purchased.

A test drive is just the first step, like going into a clothing store and trying clothes on, it doesn't mean you are going to buy them.

[RedRide]

uh, not quite. 99% of the vehicles that get test driven do not get purchased.

A test drive is just the first step, like going into a clothing store and trying clothes on, it doesn't mean you are going to buy them.

Perhps, although I don't know where you got that figure.

On of the first thing any sales person wiil do is to to try and get you into the car for a test drive. They don't do this just to put miles on a new car. From experience, they know that once someone test drives a car, they are more likely to buy it.

Granted, there are those who just have a passing interest in a car and test drive it . I have done that. However, how many negoshiate before test driving?

When I bought my Yasis, I was constantly bombarded by "lets take it for a ride". However, I kept resisting until he wittled the price down and removed all the exra charges to my liking. He knew that was the only way to get me into the car.

[DevilGirl]

Perhps, although I don't know where you got that figure.

On of the first thing any sales person wiil do is to to try and get you into the car for a test drive. They don't do this just to put miles on a new car. From experience, they know that once someone test drives a car, they are more likely to buy it.

Granted, there are those who just have a passing interest in a car and test drive it . I have done that. However, how many negoshiate before test driving?

When I bought my Yasis, I was constantly bombarded by "lets take it for a ride". However, I kept resisting until he wittled the price down and removed all the exra charges to my liking. He knew that was the only way to get me into the car.

The problem I see with that theory though is that I don't want to waste my time negotiating with the dealer over the price of a car that I may not be that interested in, which I wouldn't know until after I took it for a drive. There have been numerous cars/trucks/SUV's that I thought I wanted, but after driving them, I decided they weren't right for me.

By your theory, I should have spent hours negotiating with the dealer about a car that I would end up not liking anyway... Major waste of time IMHO.

[why?]

Perhps, although I don't know where you got that figure.

On of the first thing any sales person wiil do is to to try and get you into the car for a test drive. They don't do this just to put miles on a new car. From experience, they know that once someone test drives a car, they are more likely to buy it.

Granted, there are those who just have a passing interest in a car and test drive it . I have done that. However, how many negoshiate before test driving?

When I bought my Yasis, I was constantly bombarded by "lets take it for a ride". However, I kept resisting until he wittled the price down and removed all the exra charges to my liking. He knew that was the only way to get me into the car.

The number is from experience and some observations. I worked at a dealership. They keep numbers on how many people walk through the door compared to how many people buy. Almost everyone that walks through the door tests drives at least one or two cars. I believe average sales is around 10% of that.

A salesperson wants to get you in a car first because they know there is no chance of getting anything done before that. Almost no one wants to negotiate for something they don't know.

The majority of people walking into a dealership have no idea what they want, or just a basic idea, like better gas mileage or such. They don't know which car they want, most couldn't even name most of the car models beyond Camry.

[RedRide]

A salesperson wants to get you in a car first because they know there is no chance of getting anything done before that. Almost no one wants to negotiate for something they don't know

Exactly. They want you into the car first as they know once you test drive it, they can get "things done" They want the upper hand.

[specialeducator]

As I previously posted, I suggest test driving at a separate visit with the intention of entering no negotiation during that visit. This also makes buying through an internet transaction (as my wife did with her '10 Yaris 3 door).

[t2mike2]

Actually the processing fees ARE just there to rip you off. The dealer does NOT need them. The invoice price is rarely the price the dealer pays as rebates often accompany the purchase of the vehicle from toyota.

I bought my yaris brand new from carmax. As you all know THEY set the price. OUT THE DOOR it was less than invoice price. I couldn't talk my dealer down to within 300 of that price however... until i told them i was going to car max. Then they could magically beat it... All of a sudden their "necessary" dealer fee wasn't so necessary.

Don't pay more than invoice, period. You simply do not have too.
~mike~

[specialeducator]

My wife ended up getting her 3 door through internet pricing $200 less OTD than Carmax, but the closer distance was an important factor too.

[pawsplus]

IMO you should research the particular car online first (not just generally but THAT car with THOSE options that you are actually looking at). Email the dealership and ask about cars w/ those options. In my case, I wanted a 5-speed 3dr w/ NO options but the least they had was one w/ the convenience package and the weather package. I priced it out on Edmunds--MSRP and invoice. I then decided what I would be willing to pay ($800 below invoice). Don't worry about adding charges or whatever. THIS is the price you are willing to pay OUT THE DOOR.

I went in and stuck to my guns. They messed me about a good bit, but I refused to deal. I finally wrote my final offer ($13,000) down on a piece of paper w/ my phone number and email and left.

The next day the sales guy emailed me with an offer in writing that was actually LOWER than my bottom line ($12,768). It had language like, "The manager says he'll try to get this price for you," etc. I sat on it. 3 hours later an other email arrives from the manager offering me $500 "last chance" offer off the last documented offer I had received.

So I wrote back saying that was fine -- I would take it for $12,268 (the salesman's offer minus the last chance offer). They were all, "OH, we didn't mean that!" I was all, "too bad--it's an offer."

I had to go to the customer service VP and the general manager, but I got it for that -- which was $800 less than I'd been willing to pay 3 days earlier. ;)

MORAL OF STORY: Get to your number, STICK TO IT, and NEVER, EVER buy the same day you go in to drive the car. :)

[eht13]

Just to clarify, when "processing fees" are being discussed here, are they basically the same thing as what is often called "delivery" or "destination and handling" fees, or something else?

[pawsplus]

I believe those are different, EXTRA add-ons they try to convince you they "have" to charge you. Just get a bottom-line out-the-door number and don't budge. :)

[STC]

Huh? Other processing fees? More processing fees? The 'Documentation Fee' is really the processing fee. Don't want to pay this processing fee twice. You also want to avoid any dealer preparation fee... This is a scam! Avoid paying at all costs. :smile:

There are the certain fees that are unavoidable, though. Those being...
1. Destination charge
2. Title and Registration
3. Documentation fee, and
4. State Sales Tax

That is all that you should pay... period! And if, the dealer adds something else? Then question the sales person and dealership.

I paid all these unavoidable fees! The documentation fee is a modest charge for processing documents establishing the registration and title. This fee should be around $50 to $100. Anything over you should question. I paid the high end... $100.

The dealership did slip in a $5.00 State Tire Tax on my purchase. Now I have to look at PA State Law and see if this is kosher! I might of been taken? :iono:

Cheers...

[bkrownd]

The dealership did slip in a $5.00 State Tire Tax on my purchase. Now I have to look at PA State Law and see if this is kosher! I might of been taken? :iono:


I wouldn't consider it worth my $$$ time to even begin to "research" a $5 fee, but YMMV :laughabove:

[STC]

I wouldn't consider it worth my $$$ time to even begin to "research" a $5 fee, but YMMV :laughabove:

I hear you! :laugh:

[DevilGirl]

As far as I remember, that "tire tax" is generally to recycle used tires... Not for buying a car with new tires on it... I could be wrong though... PA is weird...

[STC]

As far as I remember, that "tire tax" is generally to recycle used tires... Not for buying a car with new tires on it... I could be wrong though... PA is weird...

Yeah! I thought the tire tax was for recycled tires? I should find out, but as pointed out... is this worth the time? It's only $5 bucks.

[nemelek]

It's only 5 bucks. Worth fighting for. Probably not. However, 5 bucks here, 5 bucks there and soon a person is living pay check to pay check. I once had a dealer tell me that it's only 50 bucks on a difference in price. I responded "If it's only 50 than you pay it". He eventually did.