Dealer prep charges.

[1st sting]

Hey, planning my stinger purchase this coming summer and I'm wondering if the dealer waves the "prep fees" if I ask them to leave the car as is. I'd rather have a friend of mine remove all protective plastic and then he'll give the car a nice wax and seal. I can't not bring it to him. He's literally the best ive seen.
And I'm super anal with perfection. He's the only guy I know that details Lambos RR Bentley...

 

[Stock_stinger]

there is no prep fee. some have it on used cars. it shouldnt be there on new. all the new cars ive purchased (and used for that matter) i always take it as is off the lot. no cleanup/detail while i do the paperwork. i take it home and clean it myself. some dealers find it odd, some will insist they like doing it, just tell them you wanna do it as its enjoyable to you and they should have zero issues.

only thing to make absolute of, inspect the car well BEFORE leaving the lot. washing it often uncovers small issues you wouldnt have seen unless they washed it.

 

[1st sting]

I'm pretty sure they have fees for this here in Canada. Gonna have to make sure I don't get charged for it lol.

 

[cncBilly]

I'm pretty sure they have fees for this here in Canada. Gonna have to make sure I don't get charged for it lol.

Dealer prep fees are bs. When I bought mine the sales manager insisted they had to charge it. I said not paying it, it’s bs. It went crickets for a bit and the wife looked at him a said “you know he’s going to walk, right”. Manager reached across the table with his pen and crossed out the $500+ prep fee. So DON’T PAY IT!!!

 

[oddball]

That's just one of many BS fees some dealers try to pack onto the bill. Ignore that and negotiate on the final numbers.
That lets the dealer pack their profit wherever they want on the balance sheet. Maybe showing a lower invoice with more add-on fees looks better to them. Maybe a higher invoice with no fees. Maybe something in-between.
You'll waste time nit-picking the total bill buildup. Just come up with a number that works for you (and is low!) and challenge them to meet it.

 

[oddball]

Dealer prep fees are bs. When I bought mine the sales manager insisted they had to charge it. I said not paying it, it’s bs. It went crickets for a bit and the wife looked at him a said “you know he’s going to walk, right”. Manager reached across the table with his pen and crossed out the $500+ prep fee. So DON’T PAY IT!!!

$500? Wow, that's impressive. I'd expect.. well... even a full detail, wax, and god knows what else it's tough to get to $500. Their prep/detail guys don't get paid anywhere near as much as the techs either.....

 

[SKStinger]

Yep. BS. Dealer here had a $750 prep charge. I went to another Dealer that doesn't charge one. Tell them a condition of the sale is that they don't touch the car after it gets off the truck and thus, no prep fee.

No way the process of getting a car ready for sale should be passed on to the consumer. That is a dealer cost. This fee is absolute dealer profit.

 

[SKStinger]

$500? Wow, that's impressive. I'd expect.. well... even a full detail, wax, and god knows what else it's tough to get to $500. Their prep/detail guys don't get paid anywhere near as much as the techs either.....

You get complimentary paint swirls for that $500 too!

 

[cncBilly]

You get complimentary paint swirls for that $500 too!

Ya no kidding. They also offered me free lifetime car washes. Like I would let them wash my car.

 

[Buzz]

Yeah, first thing you do when you get home will be to clay bar it, correct the showroom scratches, then polish the whole car with a mirror glaze, then ceramic coat it.

If they do that for 500 bucks, sure. But they don't - they rub it down with a dirty rag that fell on the floor shoot it with some spray wax.

 

[1st sting]

Exactly why I'll give it to the best detailer I know.

 

[Buzz]

You won't regret it, a lot of these have been in and out of the showroom interior, kids, purses, etc, that's tough on the paint.

Just make sure no scratch is beneath the clear coat - rule of thumb is any scratch that catches your fingernail is probably beyond simple correction, it may be minimized but not excised.