Destination/freight fee after agreed upon price? Legal?

biznut

Hi all. I know that all new vehicles carry destination fees, though I thought those are typically part of the sales price or negotiated price. Is it common for a dealer to sneakily tack that on to your agreed upon price when closing On the deal?

In my case, there was an advertised sales price listed online which include all rebates. No mention was ever made online or by the dealership of a destination fee not being part of that price.

In fact, the only way I figured it out was when the numbers didn't add up for total pricing. Can I challenge this?

Additionally, NY state actually has a consumer protection law in place stating that auto advertisements with prices displayed cannot include any additional fees other than tax, title and registration.
https://www.ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/pdfs/publications/AdGuidelinesForDealers.pdf
(Section III

I really don't want to be confrontational about this or throw the legal card at them; however, they were not up front about this at all, had a sales price advertised, and would not budge.

In fact, I made multiple attempts to call and inquire about every fee required outside of sales price and taxes. I was told $240 total and that was everything.

What do you guys think? How should I handle this?

kyfdx

Hi all. I know that all new vehicles carry destination fees, though I thought those are typically part of the sales price or negotiated price. Is it common for a dealer to sneakily tack that on to your agreed upon price when closing On the deal?


Yes, sneaky... but, it happens a lot.

Have you signed the deal and taken delivery? If so, complain to the dealer. Not a lawyer, but legal remedies would cost much more than they would be worth.

biznut

Thanks kyfdx. I have not signed anything yet, we have just submitted credit information for financing. The plan is to drive up today to take care of the paperwork.

I noticed last night when given a payment amount with APR and term that our numbers were about $800-ish off. That is when I knew they were tacking on the destination fee. I questioned the guy right then over the phone about the fees because our numbers were different -- he outlined taxes, registration, licensing. Nothing else.

To add to the blow, their "special deal" advertisement for this specific car and stock number actually includes the breakdown of pricing:
MSRP: XX,XXX
DISCOUNT: X,XXX
REBATES: X,XXX

Sales price: XX,XXX

Looking at the window sticker (which they provide online), you can see very clearly that the freight charge is added into the total cost -- which equals out to the same exact number that they list in the ad for MSRP (XX,XXX).

stever

You could file a complaint with the consumer protection people and walk away, and try to find another dealer who's more transparent. For the next deal, get "out the door" numbers right up front. And you may want to write a dealer review here and at the other review sites.

If the dealer is pulling this stuff at purchase, what other surprises will they pull at closing and later on down the road?