"Administrative Fee"/"Dealer Prep", anybody not getting hosed by their dealers?
I decided to drop by my local Lotus dealer to put a deposit down for the new Elise.
I was about to sign the deposit form (they asked for $1,500) when I was told that I would be charged a $468 dollar "Administrative fee". This fee would be charged when I buy the car. It's also known as a "dealer prep"/"advertising fee"/etc.
I know this fee is totally bogus since I bought my Audi A4 from this same dealership and they tried tacking it on before. I got them to drop it from the Audi sale. They refuse to do it on the Lotus. They claim demand is too high.
My question is this, are people experiencing problems with dealers being incredibly stubborn with these charges?
This dealership wouldn't budge from the $468 dollar fee so I walked out. I don't like being taken advantage off.
I'm in Miami, so I have a few dealers within 400 miles. (3 within 30 miles).
Worst case I have a nice road trip from an out of area dealership and have a enjoy a good dinner with the money saved. =)
Anybody have a similar experience?
Thanks.
BTW: First time poster, been reading this site for a while now. Great stuff.
I decided to drop by my local Lotus dealer to put a deposit down for the new Elise.
I was about to sign the deposit form (they asked for $1,500) when I was told that I would be charged a $468 dollar "Administrative fee". This fee would be charged when I buy the car. It's also known as a "dealer prep"/"advertising fee"/etc.
I know this fee is totally bogus since I bought my Audi A4 from this same dealership and they tried tacking it on before. I got them to drop it from the Audi sale. They refuse to do it on the Lotus. They claim demand is too high.
My question is this, are people experiencing problems with dealers being incredibly stubborn with these charges?
This dealership wouldn't budge from the $468 dollar fee so I walked out. I don't like being taken advantage off.
I'm in Miami, so I have a few dealers within 400 miles. (3 within 30 miles).
Worst case I have a nice road trip from an out of area dealership and have a enjoy a good dinner with the money saved. =)
Anybody have a similar experience?
Thanks.
BTW: First time poster, been reading this site for a while now. Great stuff.