What is a dealer prep fee?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Dec 18, 2012
Messages
1,327
Location
Washington for now
when i bought my car there was a added on dealer prep fee on the second sticker along with all the other BS. i don't recall this fee in the past. I thought the factory already pays the dealer to prep the vehicle and its built into the price.

So is this just another BS fee 100%?
 
Dealer prep is supposed to be; take off all plastic shipping stuff, inspect "all" components for operation, inspect "all" fluid levels, set tire pressure etc. I've been woefully disappointed on every car/truck I've ever bought, not even clean like it's supposed to be. The only saving grace is I get "great" deals from the sale's manager. So I do it at home and I know it's done correctly.
 
A dealer prep fee, like a doc fee, is a made up fee to net the dealer more money from the sale. You are correct, it's a 100% BS charge.
 
As a teenager I was volunteered to help a family friend who owned a Dodge/Jeep/Chrysler dealership. Spent a Saturday washing cars which had just been sold. We washed them, pulled stickers and such, cleaned the interior and wiped down hard surfaces with a spray which had that "new car" smell etc. It's more or less a BS fee but there's an argument to be made that the w/out the fee it would be incorporated into the price anyways.

I was on of the "prep guys".
 
Originally Posted by WhyMe
when i bought my car there was a added on dealer prep fee on the second sticker along with all the other BS. i don't recall this fee in the past. I thought the factory already pays the dealer to prep the vehicle and its built into the price.

So is this just another BS fee 100%?



Put it this way, its about the same as if they you knocked you off the head in a dark alley and took your wallet.
 
Originally Posted by BMWTurboDzl
As a teenager I was volunteered to help a family friend who owned a Dodge/Jeep/Chrysler dealership. Spent a Saturday washing cars which had just been sold. We washed them, pulled stickers and such, cleaned the interior and wiped down hard surfaces with a spray which had that "new car" smell etc. It's more or less a BS fee but there's an argument to be made that the w/out the fee it would be incorporated into the price anyways.

I was on of the "prep guys".



Pssst......dealer prep costs are already figured into the price of the vehicle. For every auto maker. If it weren't, dealer prep fees would be listed on the window sticker instead of a dealer add-on sticker. Use of the add-on sticker usually ([censored] near always) represents just ADM.....additional dealer markup....or ADP.....additional dealer profit.
 
Last time i bought from a dealer I emailed that i welcomed as many BS fees as possible since they didn't count for sales taxes but my check would be for $xxxxx and that would be the total amount. Count it as you wish, the total would be the same.
 
A dealer prep fee is just another fee to rip someone off with, or something for a dealer to use as a negotiation tool. Either way it's BS, and drives their profits higher. Some people pay it though. I tell the salesman right from the get go, I negotiate on the out the door price, no hidden fees, no surprises, the bottom line with taxes, etc. If he/she or they don't like it I'll buy from someone else.
 
The dealer's prep fee is only another fee they tag on to increase profit!
All that others have said has already been paid by you in the shipping & PDI fee/cost
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by csandste
Last time i bought from a dealer I emailed that i welcomed as many BS fees as possible since they didn't count for sales taxes but my check would be for $xxxxx and that would be the total amount. Count it as you wish, the total would be the same.



In Virginia the doc fee is taxable. Last time I went to buy a new car I asked what my $600 was for. I told them if I have to pay a fee what am I getting for the money as I can do the paperwork myself with the manufacturer's certificate of origin in about an hour. Of course they didn't have an answer for me.
 
Originally Posted by madRiver
The key thing is to negotiate price including all fees including doc and prep and whatever.


Exactly. The total amount at the bottom of the invoice is all that matters. How the lines above are broken down is of no concern.
 
Dealer prep is paying the flat rate time to PDI a car(usually "waking" up the electrical system from transit mode, initializing the TPMS, idle learn and a trip to the gas station for $10-20 worth of gas for test drives) as well as the detail staff to peel off coatings, wash and "wax" the car.

When I worked at the dealership one of my jobs was to grab the invoice, verify VINs against the bill of lading and enter the cars into Reynolds with their stock number, VIN, model, etc. The techs would ask me for the keys to do their PDIs. "Detailing" was usually done at the time of sale when finance gave us the OK.
 
Originally Posted by nthach
Dealer prep is paying the flat rate time to PDI a car(usually "waking" up the electrical system from transit mode, initializing the TPMS, idle learn and a trip to the gas station for $10-20 worth of gas for test drives) as well as the detail staff to peel off coatings, wash and "wax" the car.

When I worked at the dealership one of my jobs was to grab the invoice, verify VINs against the bill of lading and enter the cars into Reynolds with their stock number, VIN, model, etc. The techs would ask me for the keys to do their PDIs. "Detailing" was usually done at the time of sale when finance gave us the OK.



I miss Rey Rey. We have Dealertrack and while I am good at the system, it is not anything like Rey Rey. The people that do our new car check in stopped entering the key codes and keyless door codes into the system because "its too much work."
 
It is part of the total cost to the consumer to purchase the car. If shopping, compare apples to apples including the dealer prep and other similar charges. Tax and state registration should be (I would hope) the same at all dealers in that state.

Folks get nuts about this charge, but some dealers quote a lower price on the car along with a high prep charge hoping that the purchaser will not notice the prep fee. It is all part of the overall price.
 
Originally Posted by nthach
Dealer prep is paying the flat rate time to PDI a car(usually "waking" up the electrical system from transit mode, initializing the TPMS, idle learn and a trip to the gas station for $10-20 worth of gas for test drives) as well as the detail staff to peel off coatings, wash and "wax" the car.

When I worked at the dealership one of my jobs was to grab the invoice, verify VINs against the bill of lading and enter the cars into Reynolds with their stock number, VIN, model, etc. The techs would ask me for the keys to do their PDIs. "Detailing" was usually done at the time of sale when finance gave us the OK.


is this not compensated by the factory? i have bought 3 cars within one year and only the Civic had this prep fee .
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top