Since you have come this far, you are acutely aware the car dealer price of the car that is stuck on the window is really only the dealer’s asking price.

Actually there are about three different prices the vehicle will carry with it; the manufacturers suggested retail price, the car’s sticker price, and the car dealer costs or the factory invoice.

Every new car will have a window sticker showing the manufacturer’s suggested retail price for the car (this is known as the Monroney sticker).

This sticker will contain all of the information about the car.

At the top of the sticker you find the manufacturer’s suggested base price for the car with standard equipment only. Just below that you will see a list of optional equipment the car possesses that was installed by the factory.

Also included on the sticker will be the destination charge the dealer must pay the auto maker to get the car shipped. At the bottom of the sticker will be the total manufacturer’s suggested retail price for the car including the options on the car and the destination charge.

Many times stuck somewhere else on the window will be the additional dealer add-ons to the factory sticker price. This sticker, to put it bluntly is loaded with profit!

The dealer add-ons may contain something that you may want on the car, but the markup on these items is huge. The profit from these add-ons many times represent cash bonuses for the salesperson as well as the gravy for the dealer.

Don’t pay for these items. It may take some digging in on your part, but don’t don’t pay for dealer add-ons.

Let someone else pay but not you.

These items add no additional value to the car whatsoever. If the dealer isn’t willing to drop these charges you should go somewhere else.

You might even see such terms as value adjustment, additional dealer markup (well at least this one is truthful), documentation fees, dealer preparation fees, etc.

These are just blatant profit for the dealer. You should not have to pay for this arrogance… in fact, refuse to pay for this stuff. You may experience difficulty getting this done if the car you are looking at is in great demand and the dealer knows that chances are the next person will pay for them.

Try as you might, if you don’t have these add-ons removed to your satisfaction, try a different dealer, a different time of the month, a different time of year, or take a look at a different model.

If you elect to pay for these items with the large mark up and car dealer price, they could end up costing you a bunch of money up front and don’t forget you will pay finance charges in the form of your interest rate each and every month if you are borrowing to purchase the car.

A look at new car incentives next…