So I had my name in with three dealers in my area. The Wilmington NC one called me this morning with a Package 4 touring available. We went in and test drove it. I told the guy that I wanted a TWO eco, Sea Glass Pearl/Beige. He found one, but it had 2 options that I didn't want (Floor matts, and a wires package that cost $69). It should arrive Feb 1 (about 2 weeks from now). I asked him to reduce the MSRP by the price of those options, and he agreed. He came back with the cost printouts, and there was a $649 documentation fee. I asked if that was something that they pay, or if it went to the dealership. He said that it goes to the dealership, and that they have to legally include it. That doesn't make sense to me (with my Ph.D. from a top 40 business school...). So I asked him to reduce the MSRP by that much and he refused. We had been there for about 2 hours by then, so I suggested to my wife that we go to lunch and contact other dealers about their documentation fees. I asked if I could take the printout with me, and he said no. We walked away and had lunch. A "manager" called as we were on the way home, and I recapped what happened. He offered to not only reduce MSRP by the cost of the unwanted accessories, but also by the dealer fee. He insisted that the dealler fee had to stay there. Here is the e-mail that I got from him: Dr. Furner Msrp $25943.00 Discount $1017.00 Selling price $24926.00 Tax $767.25 Tag $97.30 Dealer admin $649.00 Total price $26439.55 The discount includes the items we spoke about, this is the sea glass pearl with harvest beige fabric Prius TWO ECO. ------ I put down $5K on a credit card. Here is hoping that there is no funny business... I am sure that the number I saw included the 895 delivery/processing fee. Anyway, I will let you know what happens from here.
Yes, it includes a few iPhone wires (I use android) and two cigarette lighter to USB charger cables. The Washington NC dealer wanted 190 for the same package. Junk.
Good luck with the local Toyota dealership. When I bought my car back in 2009 I was turned off by their sales staff BS and found my car in Fayetteville. I used them for some service at first and still use their parts department. I have no problem with these two departments. I just do not like their sales staff culture, though.
Ah, so you tried to buy from Wilmington too? Did you encounter any issues that you care to share? I just want to make sure I am not missing anything. Thanks!
FYI, in NJ the Documentation Fee is $349. So this charge is not unique to NC. Although the $300 differnce suggests NC requires a lot more documentation!
The times were different in that I bought mine during the Cash for Clunkers campaign and Prii were hard to find. I wanted a Winter Gray color and they had one in the pipeline so I put a deposit down. Somehow this car got taken and when I went to check out the car it was Silver Gray. When I declined to accept the car I was told I would lose my deposit. The deposit clearly indicated a Winter Gray color and I told them I was in no hurry and when they had a Winter Gray on the lot I would accept it. Since they did not have that color in their pipeline they attempted to force me to accept the Silver Gray, especially since they had brought the car from another dealership. When I refused they finally returned my deposit and I went to Fayetteville and bought the car I wanted. The interesting thing is both dealerships were owned by Rick Hendrick. My encounter does not help you now but from what I have seen the sales culture has not changed. The Fayetteville store was 180 degrees in culture and professionalism.
^^ That is why I hate salesman. (No offense to anyone is who is a salesman of course) I bought my car through Carmax, and if I remember correctly, documentation fee is $80 there. iPhone ?
Surprised you were surprised by the dealer paperwork fee. Bet it won't happen again. If it were medical it would be 40%
The document fee on my purchase last month in PA was $134. I lived in NC for about 10 years and bought several cars but at the time didn't pay any attention to the details. $649 seems slimy to me.
Yes, I am convinced that they inflated that because I had the price of the carpet floormats and the wire package taken off. The lesson here folks, don't be afraid to walk away.
