So you’ve gone back and forth with the car salesperson and finally agreed on a price that you’re kind of comfortable paying. Then you sit down to sign the paperwork and learn about all of the extra fees and add-ons. Before you know it, you’ve committed to paying hundreds or thousands of dollars more than what you thought you were going to. Of course, you may have expected to pay sales tax and title and registration fees. But there are also destination and processing fees.
Dealerships will often want to charge you for things like cleaning the car, filling the tires with nitrogen, or filling the tank with gas. Some will even try to charge you for their TV commercials and the time the car sat on the lot unsold. One of the most egregious things is the dealer markup fees, which is a way of saying, “You know that price you thought you negotiated with us? Well, just add this much to it for the real price.”
Then there are the add-ons they try to sell you, like gap insurance and loan protection. And you don’t want to drive your new car off the lot with the paint unprotected, do you? Fortunately, the dealer has the coatings and treatments to protect your paint, tires, and interior, all for an additional fee. And yes, dealer fees vary by state.
