Documentation Fee!

[furygoat]

So I finally found my Sonic and I'm negotiating a price. I got them down 1200 off the sticker and felt pretty satisfied with myself. I get the written offer from them and find a 500 dollar documentation fee tacked on. What the hell man. Is this standard practice or am I getting the shaft here? I feel like they are just trying to make their money back from coming off of the price. What should I do? I want the car but this is nearly 3% of the cost we settled on. It's like paying taxes twice. I'm just wodering if yall had to pay these "fees" also!

 

[opsethb]

You have to willing to walk away. Remember you can buy a car from any dealership.

 

[TIEfighter]

Yes, if you are going to buy a new car at any car dealer there will be a 'doc fee' also known as the documentation fee. This price varies depending on the dealer. It is basically a fee that the dealer charges to file all the paperwork of selling the car. When I was looking at new cars, I went to a Hyundai, Scion, and Chevrolet dealer and they all had doc fees for buying a new car. I don't know if the doc fee is negotiable or not.

 

[SteveSonic]

A small dealship local to me was asking a $99 doc fee [but was likely never going to produce the LTX 1.4MT I wanted]. The big dealership from which I bought my car levied a $499 doc fee and I paid it. But, boy did I b***h about it when it came to the final price on the car, and I also made sure they knew that I had traveled a far ways to them versus working with my small local dealer. I set a maximum acceptable drive away ("out the door") price after my trade-in value was $$$ below what my local had offered me. They kept their $499 doc fee and found $$$ more value in my trade-in, and the deal was done.

The doc fee must (??) be posted in plain view to all customers when they enter the front door of the dealership. Or, that's the way it is in Virginia, anyway.

 

[laborsmith]

We have it Michigan, varies from dealer to dealer. I generally work with two dealers, one charges $20 and the other $115. The $115 dealer usually offers a better trade-in, so my thinking is it evens out. But $499 does boggle my mind, unless it is balanced by a great trade-in value. In the end, until the Retail Sales Order is signed by both sides, everything is negotiable except the destination charge.

Laborsmith

 

[rdss]

Garber Automall here in Greencove Springs, FL, did the same to me. My wife brought up that the last two cars we bought for here were dropped down to 75 bucks because of prefered customer/credit union membership.

 

[furygoat]

Ok, to update things a little... After telling me it wasnt negotiable and they were set on their price, she finally agreed to come off another hundred to offset some of the fee. I'm going to take it just because the LTZ turbo has been so hard to find. 395 makes me feel a little better than 495 so its a moral victory for me lol. I still feel like I'm getting a good deal, So hopefully here pretty soon I will be the next Sonic owner

 

[Savage_383]

Ok, to update things a little... After telling me it wasnt negotiable and they were set on their price, she finally agreed to come off another hundred to offset some of the fee. I'm going to take it just because the LTZ turbo has been so hard to find. 395 makes me feel a little better than 495 so its a moral victory for me lol. I still feel like I'm getting a good deal, So hopefully here pretty soon I will be the next Sonic owner

Exciting! :banana: Be sure to post pictures!

 

[GM_6T40_Trans_Engineer]

Doc fee should be anything over $100. Even at that, it's total BS. Remember, what does it cost you to transfer or title a vehicle you bought off the street? $30? It's simply a baked in fee for free money they tag on there.

Even at $395, they are taking you for a ride. Hope you got a hell of a deal.

 

[furygoat]

Doc fee should be anything over $100. Even at that, it's total BS. Remember, what does it cost you to transfer or title a vehicle you bought off the street? $30? It's simply a baked in fee for free money they tag on there.

Even at $395, they are taking you for a ride. Hope you got a hell of a deal.

I guess It depends on what you consider a hell of a deal. I'll say that I ended up paying less than I expected to, even with the 395 tacked on. So in my mind I think I got a good deal. I was only able to find two 1.4L mt turbos with LTZ package within 250 miles of where I live so they aren't exactly easy to come by.

 

[laborsmith]

In that case, I would say you got a good deal. In the end, particularly when there is a trade, it is the difference that counts.

Laborsmith

 

[Izzytoo]

Here in NY the documentation fee is set by the state.

At my dealer, there was a $395 dealer fee preprinted on the paperwork, but since I had asked several times about their fees, they took it off.

I'm pretty sure they just hope you don't ask them to.

 

[furygoat]

Exciting! :banana: Be sure to post pictures!

Picking my Sonic up when we go to Panama City next weekend I'm super excited! She will get her first trip to the beach and Road trip test all in the same week! I can't wait. I'll take some pics but she's just your regular old Black Sonic. No mods yet! I can't remember ever being this excited about a car. Thanks for all the advice and help I got from everyone on here. This has been a very informative forum!

 

[sonic hotness]

my doc fee was $100

but they got me on lowjack for $350

 

[TIEfighter]

my doc fee was $100

but they got me on lowjack for $350

Why do you need lowjack if the Sonic comes with OnStar for free the first 6 months [GPS locate for stolen vehicle]?