Is $500 reasonable to pay for title and transfer fees ?

Beatricemom

Looking to buy a 2015 Honda Civic with less than 10,000 miles from a dealer. He won't budge on the price (14,500). And he wants to charge $500 for title and transfer fees. (I think he mentioned "destination fee" also). Is this a reasonable amount to pay in the state of Pennsylvania?

28firefighter

Pennsylvania dealers are now allowed to charge up to a $389 documentation “fee” on top of initial registration costs, which run ~$180 now.

Although I no longer live in PA, my family is still there and, anecdotally, it seems every dealer now charges that $389 doc fee one way or another.

My advice would be to shop around a bit and survey the market, then decide if the price of the car with the $389 doc fee is still a good deal.

oldfarmer50

Why would you have to pay a destination fee on a car that’s already here? The bottom line is how much do you want the car?

pensfan83

Registration fees are set by PENN Dot so that's non negotiable and the cap on the doc fee was raised late last year from $144 to $389. @28firefighter nailed it on the purchase too, if you like the car you'll need to decide on whether it's an issue

gtornaci

Admin I have more of a general question. California Orange County. For a 39 or 42 month lease do they offer prorated registration fees or a refund for the rest of the year you did not use and returned your car?

gtornaci

Or always have to pay the full registration fee?

kyfdx

gtornaci said:

Or always have to pay the full registration fee?

I don't have a definitive answer for you, but anecdotal reports are that the CA fees are NOT prorated. And, that is definitely something to take into account when considering a lease for a partial year.