One of the more maddening and anxiety-inducing parts of purchasing a car is the specter of so-called “gotcha” fees. Dealers add things such as documentation fees, acquisition fees, and prep fees as a way to pad their profits. Keeping a few simple guidelines in mind will de-stress the situation and get you to a good deal more quickly.
Ask About Fees Before Visiting the Showroom
The advertised price, be it online or in your local newspaper (remember those?), rarely, if ever, represents the final, all-in price of a vehicle. Read the fine print—and there’s always fine print—and you’ll note that the shiny number being displayed omits all sorts of fees.
Taxes, insurance, and fees for registering and plating a vehicle are givens, and not something the dealer has any control over, but things such as documentation—or doc—fees, acquisition fees, dealer prep fees, advertising fees, and market adjustments are controlled by the dealer. It pays to call or email the dealer to get a breakdown on a real, drive-off-the-lot price before being sucked in by a fantasy price that doesn’t exist.
Watch Out for Discounts That Don’t Apply
When advertising new-vehicle prices, dealers often include all of the discounts or rebates available for a given model. Be aware that not all of those price cuts necessarily apply to you.
For instance, if you’re not a veteran or a college student, you don’t have a family member that works for the manufacturer, or you don’t own a vehicle from one of the automaker’s “conquest” brands, these discounts will not factor into your final price. Again, try to get a price emailed to you before you make the trek to the dealer’s lot.
Get the Out-the-Door Price
The best way to avoid the minutiae of fees is to start talking about the out-the-door (OTD) price—the total of everything you’ll have to pay to be able to take the keys and drive home—as early as you can in the process. If you get stuck talking about the price of the car alone, there’s a greater chance some big fees will come out of nowhere and ruin what you thought was a good deal. If you’re trading in a vehicle, make sure that credit is included and that it doesn’t mysteriously change during the process.
In the end, all that matters to you, the buyer, is how much you have to spend. How the dealer divvies up the money is mostly irrelevant. If the dealer won’t lower or remove its “mandatory” fees, go after a reduction on the vehicle’s price. Having a full quote from another store is good leverage, so just ask that they match the competing out-the-door price to earn your business.
Be Prepared to Refuse Add-Ons
There’s one more negotiating tactic that can lower the price of a car. Remember that price breakdown you asked for? Well, when the dealer finally coughs one up, be sure to keep an eye out for line items for things such as paint protection film, VIN etching, all-weather floor mats, and other accessories.
These are all high-profit items for a dealer, and it behooves the salesperson to present them as if they were immutable givens. If you don’t want any of those, say so. Request a new breakdown that doesn’t include these items. Chances are, those extras haven’t actually been installed yet, and even if they have, many are easily removed from the vehicle.
When negotiating with a dealer, focus on the out-the-door price. If it’s not ending up where you want it and the sales manager won’t budge, then don’t be afraid to walk away.
➡️ Skip the lot. Let Car and Driver help you find your next car.
Ever since David was a wee Car and Driver intern, he has kept a spreadsheet listing all the vehicles he’s driven and tested. David really likes spreadsheets. He can parallel-park a school bus and once drove a Lincoln Town Car 63 mph in reverse. After taking a break from journalism to work on autonomous vehicles, he’s back writing for this and other automotive publications. When David’s not searching for the perfect used car, you can find him sampling the latest in gimmicky, limited-edition foodstuffs.