poser

I am finding that most/all dealers are adding on a documentation fee that is in the $250 range. Is it just me, or is that totally absurd. What is the doc fee for? Is it negotiable, or is it really mandatory as they make it sound. Sounds like extra profit to me.

HeavyDuty

It's a "just because" fee, or "let's keep the lights on" fee. Dealers in my area range between $499 and $695. It was explained to me that once "invoice" became common knowledge on various websites, that information started to erode dealer profits so a documentation fee was instituted.

DerwoodEE

Doc fees are what they refer to as the costs involved in preparing all the paperwork for the sale.

poser

sounds like a grocery store charging you for printing a receipt.

What kind of paperwork is there that warrants a $200+ fee?

nj2pa2nc

they are negotiable-

HeavyDuty

Some of these terms can be confusing. Doc stamps are a part of the processing fee when taking out a loan on a car (in FLA, at least, of you're buying outright, there's no doc stamps fee.) Then again, the dealer fee, pro-pac, handling/processing fees are just additional dealer profit.

Craig-D

It's pure dealer profit. I can't think of any documents for a car that would cost hundreds of dollars to prepare in materials and labor. It's all pre-printed forms, so it's not like someone is typing everything from scratch. My doc fee here in NJ was $200 and they would not budge on it.

nj2pa2nc

dealers near me in NC charge $399.00

Colin

In our neck of the woods, a doc fee is treated similarly to a license fee. This means that it is not subject to negotiation. If we charge it for one person, we must charge it for all. You may be able to negotiate a comparable amount off the vehicle, but it will always show up on a contract. I believe it is RICO that says it must be applied evenly to all transactions.

Craig-D

That's what I did. I negotiated $200 off the car's price to cover the doc fee because they refused to remove it and I refused to pay it and was going to walk.

White92

You're right. I pay it. I charge it to my parents. It's not negotiable. A few years ago there was a class action suit filed because some of the dealers around here were making it negotiable. Some paid it. Some didn't. The courts came down and said if you charge it to one person, you must charge it to all. Every contract that comes out of this place shows a doc fee charged to the deal.

That being said, if it becomes a huge issue, I discount the car another $239. That hasn't happened for awhile though because of the prices people have been paying for cars. There isn't another $239 to discount.

GA Peach Too

I purchased 2 months ago and disputed the $595 fee. I asked them to justify sneaking in that fee. Call it what it is, unnecessary. But, all dealerships here in Atlanta are charging the same amount. Anyway, I got them to increase my trade in number to reflect a 50% return on that fee. I don't care where you deduct the fee, just deduct it.

ressling

True that. Also, GA is a pain in the @$$ with the whole car tax stuff. I just got my vehicle registration notice (tag fee)... $450.04. Ridiculous...

kristy7911

I work at a Credit Union, a lot of the loan contracts I have seen (I used to work in the funding department) have doc fees of only about $55.

Colin

They can charge anything that they want (there may be an upper limit that may vary by state) but they must be consistent within the store. If you are seeing different $$ from the same store, they are in violation.

AustinJay

That is the maximum you can charge for a doc fee in CA. So, naturally, every dealer charges $55. Sorry for the other states. +$100 doc fees are a little extreme.

bradykp

a friend of mine manages a honda dealership, i'm gonna ask him about his dealership, but i noticed a wide range of "documentation fees" at NJ Acura dealerships when I shopped around. It's just something they're trying to squeeze a little bit of profit out of after the "discount" your MSRP when you negotiate...I don't blame them, but everything is negotiable, even if they must have it as a line item on the receipt, it can come out somewhere else, or you can get all weather mats for free....just be creative.

poser

What are the actual documents that you pay for with a doc fee?

Only documents I remember being important had to do with title and license plates... and those are already covered by license and title fees.

bradykp

get over the fact that it's called a documentation fee. it's a fee dealers throw in to cover some of their costs of doing business, to increase profit, to be able to bump up the price slightly after everything is negotiated.

bradykp

this is a good read:

http://www.edmunds.com/advice/buying...4/article.html

GA Peach Too

You got that right. Advalorum taxes stink in this state. I'll find out what mine will be in February '10 -- I'm hoping that living in Cobb County gets me a better rate since my other cars have been decent compared to other counties like Fulton.