You Don’t Know What You Paid for Your Car

You might think you do, but you’re probably wrong. You think you paid the advertised price, or the one quoted you by your salesperson, but you paid a lot more. No, I’m not talking about added sales tax and the license plate which you expected to be added to the advertised price. I’m talking about hidden, additional profit to the dealer disguised as government fees and added accessories that you didn’t ask for or even know about. If you bought your car in Florida, you probably paid between $1,000 and $2,000 in added profit to the dealer. You paid less in other states that have some restrictions and limits on hidden fees. Florida has virtually no restrictions and the few they have aren’t enforced.

If you doubt me, look at the signed documents you should have been given when you purchased your car…specifically the Vehicle Buyer’s Order, Installment Sales Contract, or Lease Contract. Near the top will be the supposed “Selling Price” and below that there’ll be several additions. Two are legitimate government fees which are not profit to the dealer, because he must pass these along to the state government. These are sales tax and license/registration. But some of the “fees” are disguised profit to the dealership. Florida has a law that that this added profit must be disclosed to the buyer as such, but this disclosure is disguised and hidden in the fine print. If you look closely, you’ll see “fees” named tag agency fee, doc fee, notary fee, electronic filing fee, dealer prep fee, administrative fee, service fee, and delivery fee. Florida law allows dealers to make up any name they wish and that’s just what they do. The surefire test if a “fee” is really dealer profit, is whether you were charged state sales tax on it. The state does not collect sales tax on a real government fee, just on the true price of the car including the dealer’s profit.

The other bogus price increase, in addition to hidden fees, are dealer-installed accessories. These consist of overpriced, virtually worthless items pre-installed on the car you bought, but not included in the advertised or quoted price. Some examples are nitrogen in tires, roadside assistance, pinstripes, road hazard insurance, fabric protection, and paint sealant. You didn’t ask for these, but you bought them anyway because they were added to your car before you bought it.

I’d love to hear from anybody reading this if they actually paid the advertised or quoted price. Call or text me at 561 358-1474. I’m not concerned about my “phone ringing off the hook” because I know almost everybody was tricked by their car dealer.