Sales policy

X-No-Archive: yes


Did Saturn abandon their whole "no negotiation necessary" fixed sales
price policy? I never hear about it any more.

 

Nope. Just saw a commercial emphasizing it. Though my parents dealer also
charged a $299 docs fee. The car they wanted L300 wagon will not be made
any longer and is hard to find so they paid it. They did get a $3k rebate
from Saturn though.

 

Still have the same policy, they just end up giving me more for my
trade in, which I like to think of them knocking it off the price,
since my old car wasn't worth what I got for it!

 

Yep, they discontinued the L series, your parents were lucky to find a
remaining wagon, they were great wagons. Yep, there is that commercial
"What's the catch" emphasizing the no hassle no haggle policy still in
effect. We still are like that. The $299. standard dealers fee is standard
nowadays at any dealership anywhere, be it Saturn or Ford or whatever. Gotta
love those incentives, $3K back is kinda nice, huh?
Finally they started giving incentives on the ION Redline now too.

marx404

 

The problem with the fee is that the dealer adds it to the contract AFTER
the deal is made. If they really need to charge this, it should be a line
item in the invoice. I had to pay a "paperwork" fee of $185 that also
included the inspection sticker. To me, these fees are a cost of doing
business and shouldn't be added as an extra.

 

It was $50 "documentation fee" for me in 2002...

 

I did not bitch about the $299 fee because of the incentive of $3k. I had
some info that not all dealers were giving the incentive on the wagon and
called Saturn and they seemed to be saying it was up to the dealer on the
wagon.

 

Hmm, true that the dealer fee has gone up in the past 10 yrs, but what
hasnt? Our dealerships are straight up front" about the dealer fee and dont
hide it to add it later, we are quite honest about it, and actually let the
customer see that in writing. I guess some dealerships do things
differently. hmmm.

marx404

 

I'm in Chicago. What's a "dealer fee?" I mean, I guess I know what
it is, but how do they explain it?

Illinois put a limit on doc fees (I think it's $39 now.) Kind of like
regulating the scam - kept the price down but added legitimacy. Oh,
the law says you can negotiate it. Thanks.

 

I buy a new car every year. i tell the dealer after the price is negotiated
that i refuse to pay the DOC fee. I have never been refused a deal by

 

I wanted to buy a Mitsubishi Outlander back in February. However, the
dealers wanted an additional $1200 for paint sealant, Scotchguard, and
a tiny paint stripe. I went back to Saturn.

$299 for the docs fee is absurd. The fees here in Austin for the 3
Saturns I've bought were around $50 or $60. But if you're happy with
the car and the other charges were in line, it was worth it.

 

I just tell the dealer what the total I will pay before tax. Told them
they can write it up anyway they want to and that includes any fees and
plates.