The Car
Dealer Price
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 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.
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