How to avoid dealerships to jack up the out of the door price with fees.

[rogerq23]

Can someone explain the ordering process with the dealership after the reservation?
Maybe comment what fees and etc we most likely will incur or expect.

Just curious, because I know that we do get the MRSP when we reserve, but once the dealership takes over, they might add many fee, taxes, and etc to jack up the price of the car and make tons of money there. And give a higher interest fee that you "qualify" for based on your credits and etc.

Some dealerships are very shady & jack up your fees, DMV fees for the most inexperience buyers.
I believe some fees are already set such as Destination fee: $1100.00 (Northern California) already shown when reserving.

I found an article here with each state average DMV fee, doc fee, max sales tax % and etc...
https://www.edmunds.com/car-buying/what-fees-should-you-pay.html

But it would be good to hear from you guys. Any insight to avoid been cheated at the dealership negotiation?

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[macchiaz-o]

If you prefer a set price with minimal negotiation, choose a dealer that is willing to accept x-plan pricing.

Under the plan, the vehicle cost is fixed at a small reduction below MSRP, about $500-$1,000 depending on specific Mach-E configuration.

You must still pay the $1,100 delivery and destination charge. It is non-negotiable.

The dealer may add up to $100 for "documentation fees" and that is it.

And of course you have your state and municipal fees like registration and sales tax. Those are based on where you live and where the dealer is located.

Ok, so then how to compare two dealerships that both accept x-plan in the same market?

The differences will amount to tangible dealer add-ons such as window tinting, as well as financing and warranty options that you agree to sign up for with them, and the value of your trade-in if you are choosing to do that.

You should be able to negotiate these three items pretty easily.

Since it's a special order car, you should consider rejecting tinting, floor mats, and other dealer adds ahead of your vehicle arriving to the dealer. Get this in writing with them.

You don't have to get financing through your dealer. If you need financing, get quotes from other financial institutions so that you have multiple options to select from.

Same with the trade. There's no requirement to sell your car to the same dealer you're buying a new one from. Get competing offers from CarMax, Autotrader, Carvana and so on, or sell it privately.

Hope this helps... It's what I'm doing for myself on this transaction.

 

[Jimrpa]

One phrase - X-Plan. Limits the fees dealers can add on. Don’t feel too bad for the dealer - they still make a reasonable profit on the sale, and you aren’t hammered with all kinds of mystery fees. I think the only weird fee I was ever hit with was a northeast dealers association advertising fee and it was something like $30, so I wasn’t going to whine about it.

 

[jhalkias]

If you prefer a set price with minimal negotiation, choose a dealer that is willing to accept x-plan pricing.

Under the plan, the vehicle cost is fixed at a small reduction below MSRP, about $500-$1,000 depending on specific Mach-E configuration.

You must still pay the $1,100 delivery and destination charge. It is non-negotiable.

The dealer may add up to $100 for "documentation fees" and that is it.

I am going from memory, but I thought X plan on the MachE was 2% off MSRP PLUS $275 documentation fee, and of course the delivery fee.

 

[macchiaz-o]

I am going from memory, but I thought X plan on the MachE was 2% off MSRP PLUS $275 documentation fee, and of course the delivery fee.

$275 is the plan administration fee to Ford. I already factored that in to the $500-$1,000 off of MSRP.

The dealer may charge the lesser of $100 or the municipality/state limit on doc fees.

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