Administration Fee

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mrxsiv

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VetteCoins
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C8
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Hi Everyone,
New here. Place an order in October 2020. On the bill they added an administration fee of $1300. Said they also include free tire and rim protection. Can they force you to take this? I didn't think they were allowed to add an admin fee on cash purchases?
Thanks
 
This topic has been extensively covered on the various Corvette Forums. It comes down to the original agreement you reached with the dealer/salesperson (if any) and the legislation in your area:

1. If your agreement (hopefully in writing) specified (for example) you'd be purchasing the car at MSRP (full stop and no more), then you can successfully argue nothing else is payable. That's what happened to me. If there is no prior agreement on pricing, then you're subject to the whim of the dealer as to its "add-ons" and you should try to work something out with the dealer: either not paying it or reducing the amount. The $1,300 sounds steep. One suggestion is to try to find out what other buyers with your dealer have done, to ensure you at least match that. Or go to the sales manager and point out that you're paying full MSRP (assuming you are) and they're already making a large profit, so you shouldn't be paying their extras on top. If your dealer isn't reasonable, it will tell you to "take it or leave it" since no doubt it will find another buyer for the car.

2. If your Province's consumer protection legislation/regulations deals with automobile sales pricing and these type of add-ons, you may have cause to successfully complain and avoid paying it. But often that legislation looks at your initial agreement (if any) and says its terms govern and no add-ons are allowed if not agreed to. Keep in mind that each Province does have a small required fee for any new vehicle purchase, so you'll have to at least pay that.

One other thing I found is that some dealers will also add on a $100 A/C fee, which is a required government tax they have to collect. But that's already built in to GM's MSRP pricing, so if you pay it to the dealer you're paying it twice and the dealer shouldn't be charging that. So watch for that.

I see you're from Ontario. I suspect your dealer is allowed to ask for this type of payment if you didn't reach an agreement to the contrary. If you're paying "cash" for the car, you may have a bit of room to negotiate, since you're not (for example) paying anything with a credit card where the dealer is losing a percentage on the credit card fee. But that's just negotiation, if you didn't set an initial price. Plus dealers will usually make money off of financing agreements: for example and only to help my dealer out, I agreed to financing at 0% interest, to be paid back in a year...and the dealer still received something back from the finance company. So perhaps ask if financing some of the car (assuming you get a negligible interest rate) will encourage the dealer to waive the $1,300. Hope this helps.
 
The 1300 for admin fees including tire and wheel insurance is reasonable. Many want and take that insurance. For me it wasn't offered and when I bent my rim and cut the tire on a pothole I was lucky that I had video evidence and the township paid for it. YMMV, but I'd get the particulars anyway.
 
Thanks for the replies.
Yes, it does say on the agreement that I will be paying MSRP. The way it was presented to me was that I had no choice and if I wanted to order from them, I would have to pay the Admin fee. They did also add on the Air tax of $100.
 
mrxsiv said:
Thanks for the replies.
Yes, it does say on the agreement that I will be paying MSRP. The way it was presented to me was that I had no choice and if I wanted to order from them, I would have to pay the Admin fee. They did also add on the Air tax of $100.
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In my Province, the regulatory body for automobile dealers is AMVIC: the Alberta Motor Vehicle Industry Council. It's the government watchdog that dealers answer to, so it has "clout". Looking at the AMVIC Provincial Government literature about “all-in pricing” it states: “All fees should be disclosed during the negotiation process and not after the purchase price has been established.” Check to see if you've got the equivalent in Ontario and if so, mentioning a complaint to your regulatory body should convince your dealership to waive an unexpected/unwanted add-on. I see Murray thinks it's not unreasonable and I'll defer to him, especially since he's not only more experienced and likely much better looking than me...but he's in Ontario as well. Having said that (you owe me a beer Murray), be careful with tire/rim warranties and read them carefully. I learned the hard way a couple of new vehicles ago, that most of these warranties only kick-in when your tire is absolutely flat and your rim must be totally unusable (won't hold air). So an unsafe sidewall bulge on a tire or a bad looking bent rim, won't be replaced under the warranty. You have to totally ruin them before they'll be replaced.
 
netsinah said:
One other thing I found is that some dealers will also add on a $100 A/C fee, which is a required government tax they have to collect. But that's already built in to GM's MSRP pricing, so if you pay it to the dealer you're paying it twice and the dealer shouldn't be charging that. So watch for that.
Click to expand...
It's not included in MSRP, but it is on the window sticker if that is what you mean?

1611689877901.png
 
netsinah said:
In my Province, the regulatory body for automobile dealers is AMVIC: the Alberta Motor Vehicle Industry Council. It's the government watchdog that dealers answer to, so it has "clout". Looking at the AMVIC Provincial Government literature about “all-in pricing” it states: “All fees should be disclosed during the negotiation process and not after the purchase price has been established.” Check to see if you've got the equivalent in Ontario and if so, mentioning a complaint to your regulatory body should convince your dealership to waive an unexpected/unwanted add-on. I see Murray thinks it's not unreasonable and I'll defer to him, especially since he's not only more experienced and likely much better looking than me...but he's in Ontario as well. Having said that (you owe me a beer Murray), be careful with tire/rim warranties and read them carefully. I learned the hard way a couple of new vehicles ago, that most of these warranties only kick-in when your tire is absolutely flat and your rim must be totally unusable (won't hold air). So an unsafe sidewall bulge on a tire or a bad looking bent rim, won't be replaced under the warranty. You have to totally ruin them before they'll be replaced.
Click to expand...
I didn't get it myself, but I over pay for everything anyway ;)
 
Denis said:
I’m with Cullen. I paid 249$ admin fee, 80$ for fuel, and 32$ for plates.
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I think I overpaid the fuel for sure. Gas prices in August were no where near high enough to justify it. Oh well.
 
Murray20c8 said:
It's not included in MSRP, but it is on the window sticker if that is what you mean?

View attachment 76940
Click to expand...

When doing the "build" on the GM website and as indicated in the window sticker, the $100 A/C charge is included by GM itself. Then for me, my dealer initial's invoice simply said: $X for the "MSRP" and that amount was made up not only with the GM amount for the car itself, but also the "destination charge" plus the A/C $100 charge although none of that was broken out...it was simply all lumped together under "MSRP". Then there was a separate charge on the dealer invoice for an "air levy $100". Knowing it was a duplication was easily missed unless you realized it was already subsumed in the "MSRP" charge. When I pointed it out, my dealer claimed it was an error and deleted it, but I suspect most dealers include it as a way to scoop another $100, knowing full well it's been charged already and "hidden" in the MSRP amount. And it's interesting it was described as an "air levy" rather than A/C on my dealer's initial invoice, arguably making it different than the government's A/C tax...but that's what it is.

And Murray/Denis I can't believe you'd be charged for "fuel": ALL new vehicles I've ever purchased came with a full tank of gas, including my C8. Oh well...hopefully it's not a trend that catches on with dealers.
 
netsinah said:
When doing the "build" on the GM website and as indicated in the window sticker, the $100 A/C charge is included by GM itself. Then for me, my dealer initial's invoice simply said: $X for the "MSRP" and that amount was made up not only with the GM amount for the car itself, but also the "destination charge" plus the A/C $100 charge although none of that was broken out...it was simply all lumped together under "MSRP". Then there was a separate charge on the dealer invoice for an "air levy $100". Knowing it was a duplication was easily missed unless you realized it was already subsumed in the "MSRP" charge. When I pointed it out, my dealer claimed it was an error and deleted it, but I suspect most dealers include it as a way to scoop another $100, knowing full well it's been charged already and "hidden" in the MSRP amount. And it's interesting it was described as an "air levy" rather than A/C on my dealer's initial invoice, arguably making it different than the government's A/C tax...but that's what it is.

And Murray/Denis I can't believe you'd be charged for "fuel": ALL new vehicles I've ever purchased came with a full tank of gas, including my C8. Oh well...hopefully it's not a trend that catches on with dealers.
Click to expand...
I bought a new BMW last year and was also charged from gas but did successfully negative removal of many other stupid services.
 
Admin fees is the biggest "ripoff" and "cash grab" out there. You can usually negotiate a reduced fee or completely have it removed along with the MSRP negotiations. But unfortunately they got you by the nuts on the C8 due to supply & demand and the current exclusivity of this car. I was told and it was written on my original build of 899 which is total nonsense to begin with but not much I could do if I wanted the car. Then when I went to pick it up it went to 1295 which I said, wtf? They gave my the tire warranty line but I wouldn't have it and said I agreed to the already ridiculous 899 and here's the signed document, so it was put back down. Good Luck!
 
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I was charged $350 admin and nothing for gas. Last year (2019) I looked at the Supra at the local dealer and was told it would be MSRP but, and here’s the kicker, I would have to buy the best extended warranty they sell at over $8000! Well, it’s no wonder that 2 of the 3 Supras are still sitting there a year and a half later.
 
harshadt said:
I was charged $350 admin and nothing for gas. Last year (2019) I looked at the Supra at the local dealer and was told it would be MSRP but, and here’s the kicker, I would have to buy the best extended warranty they sell at over $8000! Well, it’s no wonder that 2 of the 3 Supras are still sitting there a year and a half later.
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$8K... I have no idea how some of these dealers stay in business when they do this shady ass stuff. I get having to pay full pop when something is in demand. But if any dealer has a problem with the margins they make on a unit, they should take it up with the manufacturer, not the consumer.
 

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