On a lease, what exactly is the doc fee and how much SHOULD it be?

 

lease companies and banks have an "Acquisition fee" that can range from $495 to $695+ depending on the lender(American Honda is $595). This fee is charged directly by the lender and does not represent profit to the dealer.

A "doc fee" is usually the dealer's fee for processing paperwork and getting the vehicle ready for sale. These can range from a couple hundred to $700 and even higher. It all depends on what is customary in your area and also dealership aftersale ammenities can factor into how much the dealer charges.

Hope this helps.

 

Thanks Pierce... e.g. one of our leases has $40 for the doc fee, and another has $775 as the doc fee. I guess I should have noticed this when we signed the papers. Different dealers - not the same brand - but still. I was just curious, and a little annoyed now - as this seems to be a charge that should be much less.

 

775 dollars for a documentation fee is RIDICULOUS.

www.edmunds.com has EXCELLENT advice and articles on purchasing cars. Read up on it.

 

Is the acquisition fee for Acura put into the doc fees? Or should this be part of the capitalized cost reduction?

 

Lease co. or bank "aquisition fee" is always broken out and listed separately on the contract.

The aquisition fee is added to the capitalized cost(selling price) and factors into the monthly payment as they are not usually part of your start-up(inception) fees. From what it sounds like the numbers you are asking about are the dealer's documentation fees. BTW $700+ is steep for either fee(aquisition or dealer doc.).

Pierce

 

I got a breakdown of it. I was not reading the print closely it says "Doc fees/ ACQ" Apparently they charge a $170 doc fee and acura has a 595 acq fee. Also according to the offer that I rcvd from Acura (the special lease offer) - the numbers add up. So I am not worried about it.


Thanks for your help guys.

 

mine was $45