Open invitation to dealers or sales reps

[jwight]

There have been many comments concerning dealer document fees on the forum over time; many of them in this thread:

http://smartcarofamerica.com/forums/...ead.php?t=3048

Most of the comments are from the customer perspective, so I thought I'd offer an invitation to any smart center manager or sales rep to comment on the fees in general or your fees specifically; it would be very informative to see a breakdown of what a dealership's document fees entail, e.g., total fee $399; filling out forms @ $20/hr x 4 hrs; visit to title office @ $15/hour x 1.5 hrs, etc.

We all assume the people doing these things receive wages anyway, so it makes the fees even more difficult to understand.

Hopefully, someone will be willing to shed some light on this issue and thanks in advance.

[dancote]

I'm not a dealer or a sales rep and I don't even play one on TV but I'll take a shot.

Dealership sells 10 cars in a day. Collects $3,990.00 in Doc fees.

Cost to fill out paperwork. Finance Manager collects data as an essential part of the transaction and database software does the rest. Essentially FREE unless the FM is being paid by the number of transactions completed.

Trip to the DMV or DOL. Lot Boy takes paperwork for 10 transactions to Titling office. 1 hour at Minimum Wage ($8.50?) Returns later to pick up Registrations/Titles. 1 hour at Minimum Wage ($8.50?)

So: $3990.00 - $17.00 leaves $3973.00 in profit.

You just have to wonder how all those dealers who only charge $50 or less for their Doc Fees stay in business.

[jwight]

Thanks for the input but this is really the place for the smart center folks to step in and clarify the dealer fees issue if they choose to.