SL/R231: Question About a CPO Purchase...
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From: Nothern Georgia, U.S.A.
'17 SL450, '25 Lyriq, '25 Sonata Hybrid, '96 Corvette GS coupe
Question About a CPO Purchase...
I set a deal in motion for a CPO SL. The sales guy just emailed the numbers to me. One of the items is $800 for a "documentation fee". I'm assuming that this is just a way to boost their profit a bit without raising the asking price of the car. Is this common now? I bought two new cars in 2017 and did not get hit with anything like this...
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From: Rochester NY & Naples FL
SL 400, GLC300, C300
I think it’s just a way for a dealer to pad his profit. It’s probably pre-printed on the contract to help make it look “legitimate” and like “everyone pays it”.
I’d push back on it and see what happens. Let us know!
I’d push back on it and see what happens. Let us know!
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From: Houston Texas
2023 AMG GLE63s, 2017 AMG SL63, 2024 Sprinter, 1958 Chevrolet Corvette
Bob - just to clarify for me, if the "Doc Fee" inclusive of the Gov't License / Reg Fees or is in addition to those ...
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From: Nothern Georgia, U.S.A.
'17 SL450, '25 Lyriq, '25 Sonata Hybrid, '96 Corvette GS coupe
No. That's the other part that I didn't mention. There's also a $149 "electronic filing fee" for the title! It's an out-of-state dealership. I think they should just give me the signed title from the previous owner (now, probably them) so I can deal with the title/taxes/etc. on my end when I register the car in GA. They put an amount for state sales tax on the paperwork that will almost certainly be wrong, as Georgia has an "ad valorum" tax when registering a vehicle. The amount can vary quite a bit, but is based on the state's estimate of the car's value on that day. And apparently, no one knows what the exact amount will be until you show up in person at the service window of the registration office. So, they seem to have pulled that number out of their butts as well. The car is priced quite reasonably, so I guess I can understand why they're trying this nonsense. When I pressed for an explanation on the doc fee, he said "that's what other dealers call their 'dealership fee'". I already know what they call it; I would just like him to admit that it's purpose is actually solely to pad their profit. I had forgotten why the last time I did this was 24 years ago. Now I remember...
Last edited by Dr. Manhattan; Apr 16, 2020 at 11:47 AM.
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Joined: Jul 2017
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From: Houston Texas
2023 AMG GLE63s, 2017 AMG SL63, 2024 Sprinter, 1958 Chevrolet Corvette
Interesting. So 12 months ago I purchased an out of state CPO. TX taxes are a fixed rate and require the out of state selling dealer to handle the Reg and license plate process. I was charged $260.00 for all the Gov't fees to do that. Additionally, I was charged $350.00 by the selling dealer for "Processing Fees" ... "their" administrative costs. I didn't complain much at that as I also relied on them to search the market and arrange for a covered transport for me which they did and I was pleased with that service.
Those two charges were the "add ons" to my Purchase Price from the dealer.
Good Luck on your end
?? what vehicle did you ultimately land on
Those two charges were the "add ons" to my Purchase Price from the dealer.
Good Luck on your end
?? what vehicle did you ultimately land on
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Joined: Mar 2020
Posts: 132
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From: Rochester NY & Naples FL
SL 400, GLC300, C300
No. That's the other part that I didn't mention. There's also a $149 "electronic filing fee" for the title! It's an out-of-state dealership. I think they should just give me the signed title from the previous owner (now, probably them) so I can deal with the title/taxes/etc. on my end when I register the car in GA. They put an amount for state tax on the paperwork that will almost certainly be wrong, as Georgia has an "ad valorum" tax when registering a vehicle. The amount can vary quite a bit, but is based on the state's estimate of the car's value at that time. And apparently, no one knows what the exact amount will be until you show up in person at the service window of the registration office. So, they seem to have pulled that number out of their butts as well. The car is priced quite reasonably, so I guess I can understand why they're trying this nonsense. When I pressed for an explanation on the doc fee, he said "that's what other dealers call their "dealership fee". I already know what they call it; I would just like him to admit that it's purpose is actually solely to pad their profit. I had forgotten why the last time I did this was 24 years ago. Now I remember...
It would seem to me that this is a very good time to be a buyer.
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From: Everett, WA
14 E63S Wagon, 16 GTS Edition1 (Sold), 17 SL450 designo edition
Document fees in my area are just an add on profit generator. The fact is, a dealership can’t legally sell a vehicle without documentation. Its a routine part of their doing business. The fee is always negotiable and I have always refused to pay it.
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From: Hagerstown MD
2015 SL400; 2019 X5M40i
Some states set a maximum that can be charged as a "doc fee". I don't know if there is a state mandated minimum charge. Others allow the dealers to charge whatever they think they can get away with. I would look up what the situation is in the state where you are buying the car. Once you know then you can try to negotiate this fee. If they are not doing the title work for you they shouldn't charge a fee for this service.
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From: Nothern Georgia, U.S.A.
'17 SL450, '25 Lyriq, '25 Sonata Hybrid, '96 Corvette GS coupe
Over in the "450 With ABC Search" thread, allfortheunion suggested two cars in north Florida. It turned out that one of them didn't have ABC, but the other one did, and had every other option as well. Silver with Porcelain. I had a PPI done yesterday...and it failed. I'm still in the market.
Last edited by Dr. Manhattan; Apr 17, 2020 at 01:48 AM.
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From: Nothern Georgia, U.S.A.
'17 SL450, '25 Lyriq, '25 Sonata Hybrid, '96 Corvette GS coupe
Well, now I know to watch for it in the future. A friend just bought a new C7 Corvette GS coupe. The final price on his car was $63.5k, and his dealer dinged him $599. The car that I was looking at was $60.9k and they wanted $799, so they're even pushing the envelope a bit; especially in light of the the full page promo they posted on MB's locator which stated (in large print) "The price you see is the price you pay"...that is, except for the additional and pointless $799 Documentation Fee. You know, if they had just folded that into the original ask I wouldn't have minded one bit. Tacking it on after the fact is pure deception, and not unlike charging you for the nitrogen that's already in your tires. Total scam. It's all moot now, though. I dropped that car for it's condition and moved on.
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From: Clear Lake Shores, Texas
2026 AMG CLE 53, 2026 BMW X5, 1972 Corvette
I’m just curious about what was wrong with the car that caused it to fail the PPI?
Never mind - I found the answer in your other thread. Sorry it didn’t work out, and a good lesson.
Never mind - I found the answer in your other thread. Sorry it didn’t work out, and a good lesson.
Last edited by dan1495; Apr 17, 2020 at 08:13 PM.
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From: Southern Illinois
, 2023 BMW X4, 1991 190E
Its all negotiable, always start with an out the door price. They may say well there's a doc fee and or some fee required by the state, but the state does not direct who pays it. Its not easy to do it this way because you get the well that not our fee, its the financial office fee or state fee. It has caused me to get cross ways right off the bat. Salesman do not like to having to go back and forth between the sales manager and the financial manager but I do not like surprises.
Good luck.
Good luck.
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From: Illinois
S560/SL550/LS460/Q70L 5.6 AWD
Forget about the doc fee, BS by the way, try to negotiate the advertised price, they should be able to come down a couple of thousand dollars at least these days, if not go to another dealer...
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From: Nothern Georgia, U.S.A.
'17 SL450, '25 Lyriq, '25 Sonata Hybrid, '96 Corvette GS coupe
As part of the PPI report, I was told what they paid for the car for at auction. It was only a little over $4k less than they were asking. If you add in the auction fees, the cost of the CPO process (which included a new set of tires), etc., the ask was actually pretty close to the bone already, so I wasn't going to fight them on what was a quite reasonable price. I think now that the price may have been reasonable because the car just sailed through their CPO inspection with no one really looking at it. If anyone had, it wouldn't have made it all the way to the lot in that condition. I mean, forgetting the body damage and poor repair for a moment, there was a 16 to 18 inch strip of very obviously bubbled-up, de-laminated leather on either side of the top of the dash that were both in plain sight of anyone standing near or sitting in the car. It looked as bad as the dash in any Ferrari ever has, and that's saying something. There was over-spray on the stitching and the cloth inserts on the sides of the seats where they had re-painted the worn bolsters. My impression is that someone with real money checked all the boxes when ordering the car, and then proceeded to ride it hard and put it away wet every time they drove it, while leaving it out in the Florida sun whenever they weren't driving it. What a shame...I bet it was a beauty when it was new.
Last edited by Dr. Manhattan; Apr 18, 2020 at 03:57 PM.
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From: Illinois
S560/SL550/LS460/Q70L 5.6 AWD
As you probably already know the CPO add another year to the existing warranty, if still available, it may be worth if you drive the car all year long if not I don’t think it is worth paying or even looking at one car with...
Jusy my 02
Jusy my 02
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M8 convert + model Y
GA 'allow' dealer to charge 0-800 fees. So, some dealers trying to go all way with $800 and some actually don't charge it at all.
It's negotiable and it's totally obnoxious to try to charge legit customer that fee now.
It's negotiable and it's totally obnoxious to try to charge legit customer that fee now.
Thread Starter
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Joined: Jul 2018
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From: Nothern Georgia, U.S.A.
'17 SL450, '25 Lyriq, '25 Sonata Hybrid, '96 Corvette GS coupe
They're in Florida. I'm in Georgia. So, you're saying that GA caps the theft at $800? Interesting...
Last edited by Dr. Manhattan; Apr 20, 2020 at 06:58 PM.
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From: Virginia
2020 SL 450
I set a deal in motion for a CPO SL. The sales guy just emailed the numbers to me. One of the items is $800 for a "documentation fee". I'm assuming that this is just a way to boost their profit a bit without raising the asking price of the car. Is this common now? I bought two new cars in 2017 and did not get hit with anything like this...
"Dealer documentation fees (also known as doc fees), cover a dealer's administrative costs related to title, registration, and other paperwork involved with the car purchase.Doc fees range from $0 to nearly $1,000 depending on which dealer and state you purchase from. Some states such as California limit the maximum amount a dealer can charge for this fee, but most have no limits.You cannot negotiate a dealer's doc fee because they are required by law to charge the same amount to every customer. You can, however, ask them to reduce the price of the vehicle to compensate for a high doc fee."
I added the last bit in bold because my recent buying experience confirmed this. I was negotiating a price for a 2020 SL 450 between dealers in MD and VA and noted to the VA dealer that his Processing Fee was $499 while the MD fee was $200 (interestingly, MD caps the fee at $200 while VA has no cap). The VA dealer agreed to lower the price of the vehicle by $299 to match MD's, but said he had to leave the $499 fee intact in order to avoid a class action suit.
Usually there is enough profit in a car for a dealer to lower the car's price by the Processing Fee and most times they will. However, I recently tried to buy a used truck and asked that the price of the truck be reduced by the amount of the $799 Processing Fee. The dealer said no. I told him I knew how much he had paid for the truck and walked out the door (it was a trade in from a friend and I noted that he was asking 50% more for the truck than he paid for it). He didn't run after me and I didn't look back.
Thread Starter
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Joined: Jul 2018
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From: Nothern Georgia, U.S.A.
'17 SL450, '25 Lyriq, '25 Sonata Hybrid, '96 Corvette GS coupe
According to REAL CAR TIPS' website:
"Dealer documentation fees (also known as doc fees), cover a dealer's administrative costs related to title, registration, and other paperwork involved with the car purchase.Doc fees range from $0 to nearly $1,000 depending on which dealer and state you purchase from. Some states such as California limit the maximum amount a dealer can charge for this fee, but most have no limits.You cannot negotiate a dealer's doc fee because they are required by law to charge the same amount to every customer. You can, however, ask them to reduce the price of the vehicle to compensate for a high doc fee."...
"Dealer documentation fees (also known as doc fees), cover a dealer's administrative costs related to title, registration, and other paperwork involved with the car purchase.Doc fees range from $0 to nearly $1,000 depending on which dealer and state you purchase from. Some states such as California limit the maximum amount a dealer can charge for this fee, but most have no limits.You cannot negotiate a dealer's doc fee because they are required by law to charge the same amount to every customer. You can, however, ask them to reduce the price of the vehicle to compensate for a high doc fee."...
