Dealer Fees

[rwj53]

I live in Kenosha Wi. The closest smart dealer is 54 miles from my house. Another dealer is in Lake Bluff IL which is 22 miles from my house. Does anyone live in my area and been to both dealers to compare all the costs? Just wondering which state has the best deal.

[jwight]

Gonna move this over to the Midwest area; lots of info there.

[Smart#3]

The dealer fee in Lake Bluff was $149.00 Tax was 6.75 if that helps you any...

[jwight]

Originally Posted by Smart#3

The dealer fee in Lake Bluff was $149.00 Tax was 6.75 if that helps you any...

Could you post in the dealer fees thread in the Delivery section if you haven't already? Thanks!

[jwight]

Here's some general info on dealer "doc" fees in Ohio:

ORC SECTION 1317.07 INCREASES DOCUMENT SERVICE FEE TO $250

On June 30, 2006, an amendment to section 1317.07 of the Revised Code, which governs retail installment contracts, took effect.

That section now provides that a seller entering into a retail installment contract can charge a fee of up to two hundred fifty dollars for preparation of documents related to the sale. Previously, the maximum fee that could be charged for document preparation was one hundred dollars.

As a result of the amendment, motor vehicle dealers selling motor vehicles to customers under retail installment contracts can charge the customer this two hundred fifty dollar document preparation fee in addition to other fees associated with the sale of the vehicle (taxes, registration fees, etc.). It is important to note that the dealership is not required to charge the document preparation fee.

The Department of Public Safety, Bureau of Motor Vehicles did not play any role in the adoption of the amendment to section 1317.07, and receives no portion of the document preparation fee. Instead, the fee is retained by the motor vehicle dealer.

9/06

http://www.bmv.ohio.gov/dealer_licensing/news.htm#ORC

Here's what our legislators did in June 2007 (from a Columbus Dispatch article):

Ohio law for 60 years has let businesses collect a "documentary service charge" when a buyer pays for something in installments. The first ceiling, set by the General Assembly in the 1940s, was $5. That ceiling has risen faster than a hot-air balloon, thanks to "anti-tax" Republicans and go-along, get-along Democrats. The "documentary service" maximum is now $250. And yes, credit is a privilege, not a right.

But now, there's this: Sandwiched inside the state's 1,867-page budget, passed virtually unanimously in June, was sweet news for motor-vehicle dealers:

The budget decreed that dealers may charge a documentary service charge not just if a vehicle is sold on an installment plan - but also if it's leased or even if buyers pay cash or arrange their own financing. That's what dealers seemingly had been doing, law or no law. That is, to suit their purposes, legislators simply decreed a gray area to be black and white.

Legislators also decided there's no need to trouble consumers with boring details. So, while documentary service charges "shall be specified in writing," they can be specified "without itemization of the individual services provided."

Legislators determined that a dealer "may contract for" the documentary service charge. In plain English, that means a buyer can haggle to cut or waive the fee. But there's no apparent requirement to tell car-shoppers that ** and any dealer who does tell customers has to be a candidate for sainthood. One estimate is that buyers who pay the charge without noting it or without dickering over it are paying an extra $360 million a year for motor vehicles.

[I've added underlining and highlighted certain text.]

So, now we know - bargain over the document fee!

Hope this helps future Ohio smart buyers.

[saltydevildog]

st. louis 195.00