Are most Scion dealers adding on outrageous extra fees to the price?
 

I was just using TrueCar dot com to get some quick quotes for a new FR-S in my local area (Atlanta). Three dealers came back with prices ranging from $24,888 to $26,535. OK fine, but.....

Each of the dealers then added a $699 "administration and document preparation fee" on top of their price. Is this normal or are these guys just trying to make some easy bucks because the FR-S is a hot selling car? I hate when dealers do this because it leads people to think this is a standard fee. It just seems so shady to me that they would so blatantly rip off customers like this.

Has anybody else run into this type of nonsense?

There is usually a documentation fee, though $699 is on the high side.

There's all sorts of bull dealers do to pad their profit...

> "Documentation Fees"
> "Market Adjustments"
> Rust, body and paint protection
> Dealer Installed options like leather seat covers, aftermarket tires and wheels

... and so on. Find a dealer willing to sell you the car you want, without all the extra bull.

Yeah, I've always seen doc fees when I've bought cars before but nothing close to $699. But hey, at least they're up front about their dishonesty ;). I would think there has to be some room to negotiate that down.

Thanks for the advice. I'm hoping there are some dealers around that will just give me an honest price without the bull.

(BTW, I like your car. :thumbsup: The FR-S I want is Asphalt with a slushbox just like yours!)

Destination charge is only thing extra I had to pay

On top of everything else I mentioned dealers also make money on financing and extended warranties. On scam they'll use is a trick were they offer you a higher interest rate on on loan without the warranty vs. a lower one with "because it shows the bank you're XXXX". Also depending who their finance guy is using to service the loan the dealer may get an additional spiff for each point HIGHER then you qualify.

My Advice - figure out the out-the-door price for the car you want. Calculate what the additional taxes, title and destination fees should be and then go to your credit union/bank and get a loan there. Walk-in into the dealer with the cashiers check in hand.

Thanks for the kind words - BTW. You'll get a lot of flack around here for the AT but it's a really nice unit and you'll enjoy it quite a bit.

I have an AT and when I wanna go a little faster I just turn on using the hand shifters and act likes its a stick

Documentation fee is negotiable. So, negotiate with them if you want to deal with them. The dealer I dealt with for my FRS wanted to charge me $120. I enough paying nothing for this fee.

Good luck with your search. Personally, you are about 2 months from 2014 model, so you should wait out until that time and see what additional features they have on 2014 and decide at that time. If you don't want 2014 model, there should be 2013 model at that time where you can get a better deal.

LOL "hey guys, check me out. I just installed this seat cover. Only took me 3 hours using some really good DIYs I found on the internet."

Hahaha dealerships.

Same here.

my subie dealer added $2000 fee on top of $890 delivery fee and it was at the dealership to begin with.

This. The sales guy for my FR-S was fine, but it was the Finance guy who was a total jerk and tried to bully me into buying a bunch of extra stuff. I think he was trying particularly hard because 1. I'm female and 2. I paid cash for the car. (No I'm not rich nor into anything illegal - just borrowed money from family members who won't be charging me an astronomical interest rate)

Thanks @Art_Mighty for validating my AT purchase :thumbup:

Just out of curiosity, did you not shop around to other dealerships?