Letter to PAG- please join in!

[gusfraga]

My Dealer in NJ is charging $290 as document fees plus the $250 for title and reg.

[smartpeople]

When you buy a vehicle in the USA there are fees you pay. It does not matter what brand you buy (Honda, Mercedes Benz, Ford, Toyota ect.ect.ect) state tax, doc, plates. This is how you buy a car. Any fees over that I can understand your complaint.

[Lewis]

My dealer is Catena- just like you gus. You know this whole discussion is baloney- I bought a Mazda last year in NJ- NO FEES. Catena is demanding over $500 for absolutely NOTHING. Just because they think they can. Well maybe they can right now but NOT from me they can't. So the reality is - write your own letters to PAG- a form letter is usually ignored. And furthermore unless we get a gut check and walk - nothing can happen either. THIS IS THE CAR BUSINESS guys- they don't give a sh*t about anything but $ and if they feel theatened on $ they MIGHT do something at PAG and put a stop to this. All it takes - as I've said- is ONE phonecall from PAG to the dealer threatening the dealer allocation and those fees will be gone immediately. Right now PAG cares more about the goodwill of their sleazy dealers than the goodwill of their customers because they have this wonderful waiting list. Well guys until they're frightened by losing some of this waiting list- no action will be taken on their part. Remember the smart company must have a success in the USA to survive- we have a lot more power than you think- but power only exists if it is exercised!

[gusfraga]

Dear smartpeople
Let me disagree with your statement
Smart USA states very clearly that the price of the car is MSRP (meaning no negociations) and is total price Excluding tax, license, registration, destination charge, and dealer installed accessories. “Nothing about dealers fee or documents fees”

[bmx43]

Originally Posted by gusfraga

Dear smartpeople
Let me disagree with your statement
Smart USA states very clearly that the price of the car is MSRP (meaning no negociations) and is total price Excluding tax, license, registration, destination charge, and dealer installed accessories. “Nothing about dealers fee or documents fees�

you should read through some other threads on this board. several people have responses from SmartUSA stating that they have no control over any "doc" fee that a dealer decides to ad. PAG regulates the price of the car only. beyond that, we're screwed.

[gotwavs]

Being from CA, you won't have the problem as CA law caps the fee at $55. I think WA caps it at $50. OR caps it too but I'm not sure what the cap is. It used to be $35 in 2006. It's hard to find the factual laws about this.

Here is a link to a 2006 article about this:
http://www.edmunds.com/advice/buying...4/article.html

I found a more recent example from the Florida Senate website of other states with limits:
http://www.flsenate.gov/data/Publica...2008-107cm.pdf

It gives these examples of limits on fees:
Arkansas--$129
California--$55
Illinois--$55 (was raised to $150 in IL as 01/01/08 !!!) -Thanks E-SMART
Louisiana--$50 ($35 documentation fee plus $15 notary fee)
Maryland--$100
Michigan--$170
Minnesota--$50
New York--$45
Ohio--$250
Oregon--$50
Texas--$75
Washington--$100

[Ativan]

Hell, we should be happy it is only 500 since the demand is so high. I have one of the top ford dealerships in the nation here and they charge up to 10.000 over sticker for the new Mustang GT 500!!!!

[Lewis]

I'm sorry Ativan a promise is a promise- No gouging means no bogus fees. PERIOD.

[gotwavs]

If anyone pays 10,000 over sticker they should be shot.

[E-SMART]

Originally Posted by gotwavs

Being from CA, you won't have the problem as CA law caps the fee at $55. I think WA caps it at $50. OR caps it too but I'm not sure what the cap is. It used to be $35 in 2006. It's hard to find the factual laws about this.

Here is a link to a 2006 article about this:
http://www.edmunds.com/advice/buying...4/article.html

I found a more recent example from the Florida Senate website of other states with limits:
http://www.flsenate.gov/data/Publica...2008-107cm.pdf

It gives these examples of limits on fees:
Arkansas--$129
California--$55
Illinois--$55
Louisiana--$50 ($35 documentation fee plus $15 notary fee)
Maryland--$100
Michigan--$170
Minnesota--$50
New York--$45
Ohio--$250
Oregon--$50
Texas--$75
Washington--$100

was raised to $150 in IL as 01/01/08 !!!