Dealer "Fees": what to ask your dealer

[jwight]

NOTE: this is 2005 info; the ceiling for dealer fees in MI may be higher now

"Effective Jan. 1, 2005, the documentary preparation fee maximum was adjusted to $170, as allowed by Section 13(2)(a) of the Motor Vehicle Sales Finance Act. The fee may not exceed 5 percent of the cash price of the motor vehicle or
$170, whichever is less. If you have questions about documentary preparation fees, please contact the Department of Labor and Economic Growth, Office of Financial and Insurance Services at (877) 999-6442."

Another case where the state government has capped these fees in an effort to protect consumers. Go Michigan!

[sharonlee]

At first I said holy cow can't I have a closer dealer? Bloomfield is about a 40minute drive from here. Little did I realize how far others have to go. Then I read a review from one person who picked up his car there. It was a straight forward deal...no hanky-panky...and he said he was going to love doing business with them. Now I feel fortunate that I will be taking delivery from Penske headquarters.

[OC1Dave]

No hanky panky? Does the Bloomfield "Penske Headquarters" dealership charge a Doc Fee or something similar? If they do, that would explain why PAG, smart importer extrordinaire, would hesitate to stop the rest of the 71 dealers, which include quite a few PAG dealers, from charging these bogus Doc fees.

[bmx43]

Originally Posted by OC1Dave

No hanky panky? Does the Bloomfield "Penske Headquarters" dealership charge a Doc Fee or something similar? If they do, that would explain why PAG, smart importer extrordinaire, would hesitate to stop the rest of the 71 dealers, which include quite a few PAG dealers, from charging these bogus Doc fees.

that's a good point. does anybody know if any of the FL dealers are Penske owned?

[OC1Dave]

9 dealers in Fla - Scion and Toyota in Orlando, and 7 in West Palm Beach (see www.penskeautomotive.com). Could someone local give them a call and ask about "Doc" & "Prep" etc ? The answer could be enlightening!

[vanslam]

Check my response this may help.

http://www.smartcarofamerica.com/for...2014#post32014

[Carnut]

Originally Posted by bmx43

that's a good point. does anybody know if any of the FL dealers are Penske owned?

None are Penske owned, at least South Florida.

[OC1Dave]

The "bad" news is that the home office of smart, Bloomfield Mich,which is of course a Penske PAG dealership, is apparently charging a $180 DOC FEE. No wonder PAG won't do anything about the rest of the dealers!

[BossHogg]

I was in to see them last Saturday and I asked my assigned dealer about the prep or doc fees and they say that their prep fees are just $50.00.

[Sunnyhere]

Originally Posted by CruisingAZ

...
I e-mailed her back and told her I would move my order to California, I wil let youknow if she responds.

If you don't mind, could you give us an update? The Smart Center Las Vegas is about to open, and I suspect they will try soaking the customer with additional dealer profit, i.e. doc fees, prep fees and so on. I'm considering a change to a southern California dealer.