I can understand the dealer fee (freight, preparation, etc.), but that is a huge laundry list of extra fees. Some of them may be mandatory for your State, but I'd push to get most of them struck off. Like, what the hell is the stamp fee?

 

Jim,
B) I don't know if you can do better, but the dealer fee is BS!

You are already paying $600+ destination charge which is built into MSRP...

Check Edmunds.com...The Invoice is about $21.5k...True Market Pricing is about $22k. You can print that out and take it with you...

I am paying $22.1k for a silver '08 w/o navi! That's pre-tax&tags. I called AAA car buying service and they hooked me up without any of the dealer BS. If you are a member, you can call them to get a quote. If nothing else, you get some leverage withe dealer.

My AAA rep said that HCH's are super rare with:
a) the tax incentive running out 06/30
b) gas prices at $4
c) the cars are only made in Japan
d) Honda isn't producing enough to keep up with demand

He also said that Honda is raising the MSRP $400 in response to the demand.

If they won't drop it, you have to weigh the tax incentive versus the dealer fee and availability of HCH's. The incentive drops $525 on July 1st. Does Maryland have a tax incentive? I know South Carolina will match 20% of the federal incentive.

 

I live in the Chicago area and bought a 2008 Civic Hybrid (no nav) for $23,859.00, final price. Price includes tax, dock fees, plates and title and everything. $21,924.00 quoted price from sales person. Purchase date was April 7th. Gas was about $3.50 gallon at that time.

I started with a price for a Honda Civic Hybrid from Edmunds.com and called 5 dealers in my are and said that "I travel all the time and have only this day to find the best price and will drive to only one dealer and purchase and drive home the car today"!

I got financing approval for $25,000.00 from my insurance (USAA) and presented the paper as cash.
Time on phone including waiting for call backs: about 2 hours.
Time at dealership: about 1 1/2 hours.
Great price and easiest buying experience I ever had!

 

Hey guys,

Thanks for the responses. Want to see what happened when I tried to get the Dealer Fee removed? LOL!!

I sent the following email early today after the advice of others here to try and get it waived:

===============================

Dear (Name of Rep removed out of courtesy),

Good morning.

I was filing some email in Outlook earlier today and I was looking over the line items you quoted me on Tuesday…

MSRP $23,235.00
Battery Fee $5.00
Waste Tire Fee $1.50
Dealer Service Fee $599.00
Total Taxable $23,840.50
County Tax $25.00
Sales Tax $1,430.43
Lemon Law Fee $2.00
Tag $150.00
Balance Due $25,447.93
Doc Stamps $101.79
Total Price $25,549.72

I pulled my paperwork for the Odyssey I bought last year from (Dealership name removed out of courtesy)…and the description of the Dealer Fee reads:
“This charge represents cost and profit to the seller/dealer for items such as inspecting, cleaning, and adjusting vehicles and preparing documents related to the sale”

I can understand where this fee is somewhat explainable if this were a used vehicle that must be completely detailed and fixed up to be put on the lot or new inventory that sat on the lot for weeks or months and had to be periodically washed and then prepped for delivery. I worked as a detailer at a dealership while I attended college and I understand that the carrying and prep cost is real.

However, the selling price of $23,235 on the top line is comprised of the Base MSRP of $22,600 and the $670 Destination and Handling Charge. Since there won’t be any need for “inspecting, cleaning or adjusting” the Civic and the destination and handling charge is already included in the price of the vehicle…and, I just paid (Dealership name removed out of courtesy) a $599 dealer fee 11 months ago when I bought the Odyssey, I am respectfully requesting that this line item be reduced to $0.

While I am acutely aware of the demand for this vehicle, I also know that Total Dealer Invoice on this vehicle is $21,746 (including destination and handling fee). I also know that the dealer holdback from Honda on this vehicle is $678. So before the $599 Dealer Service Fee ever enters the equation, Coggin will make a premium of $2,489 on the sale of a vehicle that will drive off the truck pre-sold and leave the dealership the same day. I didn’t quibble with the dealer service fee back in July when I bought my Odyssey. I figured that the vehicle had been in your inventory for a while, that (Dealership name removed out of courtesy) had added Mudflaps, wheel locks, and some other basic options, and that it had to be completely detailed and prepped by your staff before I took delivery. I am just not willing to pay this fee twice in one year. I have been bringing my Acura and Odyssey to (Dealership name removed out of courtesy) for service for the three years that I have lived in this area…even though (another dealership) is 5 minutes away and (Dealership name removed out of courtesy) is 20 minutes away. I plan on continuing to bring my business and hopefully more referrals to your dealership for years to come.

I work for a market-leading Online Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Solution. Our customers pay an average of $64 user/month to subscribe to our hosted CRM. I think the $599 dealer fee is very much like our CRM company deciding that in addition to the subscription fees customers pay to access our hosted solution we should also charge a $4.99 monthly hosting fee so that we can offset the cost of our servers and bandwidth. The hosting fees are built into the cost of the subscription prices they are already paying…just like the destination and handling fees are already built into $23,235 selling price of the Civic.

(Name of Rep removed out of courtesy), thank you for your time and consideration of this matter. I look forward to speaking with you again soon.


Regards,

Jim

====================================

HERE IS THE REPONSE I GOT:

====================================

Dear Jim,

Thanks for the email and the offer however. The current market on Civics and more so on hybrids is allowing
dealerships to ask for as much as $2,000.00 over msrp plus, plus, plus.


As a marketer I'm sure you understand the concept of high placement items. This is that item. Thank you for your
offer and at your request I will release your previously held hybrid back on the open to sell list.

Sorry, I was really looking forward to assisting you and the offer did include my Warranty at no additional cost.

==========================

****...SMACK...Thank is what I get for trying to haggle one line item. Not even a "do you want me to refund your deposit and allow someone else to buy the car?" Just, "I will release your previously held hybrid back on the open to sell list."

That ought to paint a pretty clear picture about the dealership position on this vehicle. I have serviced three cars at this dealership for the last three years and bought a $34,000 Odyssey from them 11 months ago...and I got the middle finger when I dared to question one line item.

Sheesh.

 

Man, this is exactly why I won't screw around with car dealers anymore. They are all exactly the same. My stress level went up just reading the reply email.

They should at least split the difference, but they know they have you and they know they can sell it to someone else.

EDIT: Oh, you could stipulate that if they don't deliver it to you by June 30th, that they give you $525 off.

 

" I will release your previously held hybrid back on the open to sell list."

"Smack" is correct. The dealer is responding to your attempt to negotiate by punishing you. It's a sales tactic that they all learn in various weekend seminars they attend.

Don't fall for it. Don't offer any response at all. Definitely don't buy a car from them.

If the tactics are this strong, then this is the wrong time to buy a HCH. You should hang on to your current car until the new hybrid models come out next year. Honda is supposed to make at least one new hybrid for the 2010 model yar (late 2009).

When they do, you'll have the choice to buy that one, or buy your HCH for a discounted price. And if you're lucky, the price of gas will have cycled back down to about $3/gal., which will help you even more.

Life is too short to take crap from car dealers.

 

This is just a clear indication of the high demand for this car. This type of demand doesn't come along often for dealers. There are other customers that are willing to pay more than you, so it's gonna be sold to the highest bidder, within reason. That's capitalism at it's best.

If you read through this message board, people that bought their HCH II in March were generally paying dealer invoice or lower. If you buy one today, you will be paying right around MSRP. Now they're talking about selling them over MSRP. This is a case of the early bird catching the worm.

 

I feel like I've said this before, but in the Memphis area, dealers have been putting ADP stickers on all of their HCHIIs prior to me buying one. I happened to swoop in at the end of January (Honda's slowest month in several years) and pick one up below sticker. Even then, my choices were limited...nav/no nav, Silver/White/Mag Pearl.

This is not news...there was anticipation of high demand over 6 months ago, and now the market is bearing it. On a whim, I called last week and all 3 local dealers are out of stock for the next 60 days (Priuses are even further out) and have waiting lists.

In fact, Civics in general are in short supply right now. If you want an EX 4-door in Memphis, you may have to wait.

I can only speak for the region I live in, but it sounds like a similar story across the country.

It really becomes an issue of desire and economics. Do you want it bad enough and are you willing to pay. Just because you bought yours several months/years ago for invoice doesn't mean that you will be able to do it now. There will always be someone who wants an HCHII more, and their willingness to pay may be greater than yours.

Don't get me wrong...I'm not a huge fan of car dealerships, but I'm not going to cast any stones at them for responding to supply and demand.

 

I'll second that motion.

I searched high and low for HCHs and Priuses. Some sales reps were jerks, because they had plenty of demand. Others recognized the high demand and still tried to work with me to find a solution. I'll remember which ones did what, and I'll revisit the good ones when it's time to buy again.

 

Wrong time to buy guys...
I sensed this day coming, closed the deal on a 2008 Silver HCH II w nav - 23.5 OTD in Northern VA. Now I see folks paying 3-4K over that. Let the market settle a bit.

Funny story, my neighbor is a sales guy for Rosner Toyota. As of last weekend, he holds the record for "highest markup" on a sale. Some guy with more money than sense walked in and paid $3800 over sticker on a Highlander hybrid. That's the buying mentality right now...