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I've heard of that around here when we had a "49 over" dealer. They sold new vehicles for $49 over their invoice price (and the buyer was given a copy of the invoice). The dealer retained the $49 and the "Holdback Amount" that most manufacturers pay the dealer after the vehicle is sold as his profit on each unit. The Holdback normally equates to 3% of the vehicle's invoice amount. Dealers that work under "cost-plus" systems often add miscellaneous fees like that in an attempt to recover some lost gross profit.
Unfortunately for most consumers who do business at "cost-plus" dealerships, they quickly learn that you usually do get what you pay for when they need service. Dealers working on narrow profit margins cannot afford to keep a lot of parts in inventory and it has been my experience that the better techs in the area don't work there because they don't pay as much as other dealers in an attempt to keep their costs down. And don't bother asking for a loaner while you wait for the techs to diagnose the problem and then for the ordered parts to arrive via the slowest, least expensive method.
One of the oldest Chevrolet dealerships in the country and also one of the largest is Sutliff Chevrolet in nearby Harrisburg, PA. Greg Sutliff graduated first in his class from Harvard School of Law but went into the Chevrolet business in his uncle Leo's parts department and later bought the dealership from his estate. Mr. Sutliff would never allow addendum window labels for rustproofing, paint sealant and such on his stock units and referred to them as "sucker stickers" in his advertising. He also would not sell any vehicle, no matter how hot it might be, for more than MSRP. I can recall seeing a ZR1 Corvette in his showroom with nothing on the windshield but the GM price label for $56,000 while the dealership across the Susquehanna River had a sticker adding a $15,000 "market adjustment" to the price of their ZR1!
The bottom line is that quality dealerships do not need to add miscellaneous charges to their vehicle prices.
Ed
Unfortunately for most consumers who do business at "cost-plus" dealerships, they quickly learn that you usually do get what you pay for when they need service. Dealers working on narrow profit margins cannot afford to keep a lot of parts in inventory and it has been my experience that the better techs in the area don't work there because they don't pay as much as other dealers in an attempt to keep their costs down. And don't bother asking for a loaner while you wait for the techs to diagnose the problem and then for the ordered parts to arrive via the slowest, least expensive method.
One of the oldest Chevrolet dealerships in the country and also one of the largest is Sutliff Chevrolet in nearby Harrisburg, PA. Greg Sutliff graduated first in his class from Harvard School of Law but went into the Chevrolet business in his uncle Leo's parts department and later bought the dealership from his estate. Mr. Sutliff would never allow addendum window labels for rustproofing, paint sealant and such on his stock units and referred to them as "sucker stickers" in his advertising. He also would not sell any vehicle, no matter how hot it might be, for more than MSRP. I can recall seeing a ZR1 Corvette in his showroom with nothing on the windshield but the GM price label for $56,000 while the dealership across the Susquehanna River had a sticker adding a $15,000 "market adjustment" to the price of their ZR1!
The bottom line is that quality dealerships do not need to add miscellaneous charges to their vehicle prices.
Ed