Question on Advertising Fee & Fuel Charge

[stevesmith1328]

Good morning. We ordered our 2016 Limited Explorer today with the below specs. We are getting $1250 under invoice price before any rebates or private offers. My question is that I saw on one of the sample invoices the salesperson showed me for another vehicle there was a section for advertising assessment ($716) and fuel charge ($48.26). Is this something that can be negotiated as well or are those fixed costs that they won't go down on? I noticed these fees were in the invoice side of the column and nothing was in the MSRP side for those charges. I have never special ordered a vehicle and I am sure I paid these fees on my prior purchases I just never paid attention.

I think $1250 below invoice is a pretty good deal especially since they are ordering it and it is not something out of their current inventory. Let me know if the advertising fee and fuel charge is something they through in their to cover going below invoice or if these are charges you guys have been paying and are not negotiable. I didn't bring it up at dealership because I wanted to consult with you all first. Thanks.

 

[patsy1099]

My understanding is that they are technically not negotiable since they are fees charged by the manufacturer to the dealer but depending on "how much money is in the deal" (the dealer is making) they might tell you they are lowering that fee to make you feel better even though the money might be coming from their holdback or other incentives. The advertising fees are a little over $1000 in the Northeast and I believe the gas is more as well so that might also make you feel better.

Document Fees are also something that vary a lot, from $99 up to $900 and if you look at the paperwork it lists the fee as "optional". It's not really optional since the dealer has paperwork to process but I have found that anything more than $300 in document fees contains a lot of "padding". So depending on how much you've beaten up the dealer you may/may not be able to further bang them on this number.

There are other ways the dealer can make money on your sale by hitting certain quarterly sales figures, etc., so it's impossible to know exactly what your specific dealer will make on your specific sale but I don't think it's fair for us to drill down to that level of their business anyway. They have to profit somewhere. IMO

Lastly, you have to factor in any trade-in you might have and if the dealer gave in a good price or a bad price on the trade. This way you take the entire picture into consideration.

Sounds like you already have a very tight deal at $1250 below invoice which includes most of their holdback. As long as you doc fees are less than $400 I say call it a day. Most importantly enjoy your purchase!

 

[stevesmith1328]

I agree on not trying to beat them down. Everyone has get paid at end of day. Was just looking for clarification on these fees.

 

[stevesmith1328]

I looked on the last two cars I bought from same dealership and the doc fee both times was $122.50. However I am getting a lot more below invoice on this purchase than I did on those so who knows if that doc fee will change now.

 

[blwnsmoke]

Ford charges every dealer a fuel and advertising fee for every vehicle. This is not something the dealer "makes up". If they do negotiate it, they are just eating out of their profit since they are legit charges.

Don't nickel and dime the dealer... they will remember that in the future.

Here is an example of my DORA for my F350..

 

[patsy1099]

sounds like your dealer keeps their fees very reasonable and also gave you a great price on the car. Lots to feel good about.

I would also do your homework before the truck arrives on whether or not you want the ESP, maint plan, tire/wheel damage,financing. You don't want to leave that decision till the time you get into the "Finance" office.

People's opinion vary on the above. I personally don't think maint plan or tire/wheel damage is worth it (IMO). The ESP might be worth it especially given all the electronics but you want to make sure to shop the price of the ESP ahead of time so that you can go into the dealer armed with that info. If they can meet the online price, great buy it from them, otherwise just buy the plan online (there is a thread here somewhere). This can wind up saving you hundreds of dollars (if you are going to buy the plan).

The financing rate Ford currently has seems solid but you can always check online (bankrate) or with your credit union, etc. because financing a vehicle this expensive can add up to a lot of interest. Want to make sure that rate is as low as possible.

 

[stevesmith1328]

I did the tire and wheel on my last one as it was only $200 and it covered any damage to the RIM which can be expensive to replace. Also did oil change/tire rotation package which was very reasonsable compared to doing it other places. I like the idea of taking it to dealership as each oil change they do an inspection and my last time in with my current vehicle they determined that my battery was bad and replaced it under the factor warranty which was set to run out in less than two months. I didn't noticed any problems with battery, but they said it tested bad during the inspection. I also usually always do the ESP. I did however read a lot of VERY helpful postings on her about ordering from other locations online for a savings which I have never done. I used to always get it in the dealership. Probably the reason they gave me such a great deal on this car cause I have been paying about twice what the same ESP cost from the online sites. I saw a lot of positive posts about ESP through Flood Ford. I am going to give the dealership a chance to get close to the Flood Ford ESP pricing since they have been very good to me on the vehicle price. I haven't seen anywhere on the Flood Ford or other similar sites where you can get the tire coverage and other stuff they offer you so I am not sure if that can only be done through the dealership or if there is a way to purchase similar tire and wheel protection online.