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!

[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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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!

[jambo101]

Originally Posted by why?

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 so i bought the car at a different Toyota dealer up the road (Village Toyota ,Homossassa Fla)

[tomato]

Originally Posted by 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!

Here in CA it's about 10% too.

Originally Posted by 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..

+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.

[Kal-El]

Originally Posted by 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.

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.

[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]

Originally Posted by 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!

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.