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Old 21 November 2018, 12:41 AM   #1
captainron62
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Another strange car dealer experience....

Bought a new truck from the local dealership the beginning of last month, all was well, they were a bit shady in the dealing, but that is to be expected. A neighbor bought an SUV from the same dealer a week before I did.

He tells me last week that he got a call from them stating the deal didn't balance and they wanted him to write them a check for $1099 and they would write him one back for $1000. He of course refused and they went back and forth and things got a bit nasty until he threatened to report them for harassing him over a closed deal.

Well yesterday I get a letter from the same dealer saying they want a check for $51.95 because the "fees" calculated at the time of purchase were insufficient.

I looked at our contract and we paid $325.00 Lic fee
$114.00 doc stamp
$39.00 electronic filing fee.

I phoned and told them we would not be paying one dime more to them for any such fees. We were also charged $799.00 dealer prep.

They said they would alert management that I was refusing to pay and they would likely be in touch after the holiday.

What the hell??
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Old 21 November 2018, 12:42 AM   #2
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Show them the middle finger
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Old 21 November 2018, 12:47 AM   #3
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Insane. Report them to the BBB.
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Old 21 November 2018, 12:55 AM   #4
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too bad for them. it is a contract. now if the math was wrong on the actual contract then it is a dispute. but what are they really gonna do for $52??
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Old 21 November 2018, 01:00 AM   #5
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I'm a retired GM dealer (a Methodist minister now in retirement). I find your post appalling. The dealership should be ashamed. We were a 4th generation store before we partners (I'm in in-law) retired. We knew our generational customers for 97 years. You don't treat customers the way you were treated. We weren't perfect (no one is)...but that, no way is that an honest group.

I'm sorry for your troubles, my friend. Wish I could help beyond this statement of support.
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Old 21 November 2018, 01:13 AM   #6
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I'm a retired GM dealer (a Methodist minister now in retirement). I find your post appalling. The dealership should be ashamed. We were a 4th generation store before we partners (I'm in in-law) retired. We knew our generational customers for 97 years. You don't treat customers the way you were treated. We weren't perfect (no one is)...but that, no way is that an honest group.

I'm sorry for your troubles, my friend. Wish I could help beyond this statement of support.
Thank you, I felt I was on solid ground just over the principle of the matter. It really isn't the money it is more that I feel offended that a place I have done quite a bit of business with over the last two years would treat me this way.

I just heard from my neighbor that another customer in the neighborhood got a similar letter asking for additional money after the deal is closed. I cannot believe this, this is a large Cadillac/Toyota dealer that does a ton of business in our neighborhood.
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Old 21 November 2018, 01:26 AM   #7
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If you have a signed contract that details the charges then you should have no issue with not paying.
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Old 21 November 2018, 01:26 AM   #8
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Get all of the neighbors together that this happened to and send your findings to your states Attorney General or local TV station.
It sounds as if this is a tactic of the dealer to nickel and dime customers after the fact. A one time mistake I can understand but when its multiple people and a common occurrence then its just bad taste and im sure its illegal. I wonder how many people they intimidated into paying it because it was a low dollar amount already.
Its time to expose this shady dealership.
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Old 21 November 2018, 01:36 AM   #9
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Get all of the neighbors together that this happened to and send your findings to your states Attorney General or local TV station.
It sounds as if this is a tactic of the dealer to nickel and dime customers after the fact. A one time mistake I can understand but when its multiple people and a common occurrence then its just bad taste and im sure its illegal. I wonder how many people they intimidated into paying it because it was a low dollar amount already.
Its time to expose this shady dealership.
Yes, and it is especially disturbing that we live in a retirement community. I am one of the youngest in the hood at 44. I know most of these folks just send a check because they are scared of problems.
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Old 21 November 2018, 02:10 AM   #10
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This sounds more like someone running a scam under the dealer’s name. Have you spoken to the GM to see if all these are legit?
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Old 21 November 2018, 05:04 AM   #11
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This sounds more like someone running a scam under the dealer’s name. Have you spoken to the GM to see if all these are legit?
Yes, I phoned the dealerships direct number and reached the author of the letter. He is the "Title Clerk Manager". He told me the finance guy made an error and they need me to pay the difference. This deal occurred almost two months ago, so the whole thing is strange. I requested to speak to someone in upper management and he said he would pass along the message, but most are gone this week due to the holiday.
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Old 21 November 2018, 03:12 AM   #12
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They should just eat the fees that they themselves miscalculated.

Could you imagine any other business doing this.
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Old 21 November 2018, 03:23 AM   #13
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Originally Posted by captainron62 View Post
Bought a new truck from the local dealership the beginning of last month, all was well, they were a bit shady in the dealing, but that is to be expected. A neighbor bought an SUV from the same dealer a week before I did.

He tells me last week that he got a call from them stating the deal didn't balance and they wanted him to write them a check for $1099 and they would write him one back for $1000. He of course refused and they went back and forth and things got a bit nasty until he threatened to report them for harassing him over a closed deal.

Well yesterday I get a letter from the same dealer saying they want a check for $51.95 because the "fees" calculated at the time of purchase were insufficient.

I looked at our contract and we paid $325.00 Lic fee
$114.00 doc stamp
$39.00 electronic filing fee.

I phoned and told them we would not be paying one dime more to them for any such fees. We were also charged $799.00 dealer prep.

They said they would alert management that I was refusing to pay and they would likely be in touch after the holiday.

What the hell??
Willing to lose a customer over $52, that's bad business.
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Old 21 November 2018, 03:32 AM   #14
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Another strange car dealer experience....

This dealer is a clusterfuck and I would get all your neighbors together and send an email to the GM of the dealership pointing out every single example you can site of someone’s incompetence or intent to extract illicit funds from the dealership.

Sounds like either and incompetent business manager or a comptroller that may have some ill intentions.

To have someone go thru that first scenario for so little money is stupid. Unless someone was going to pocket the check the dealership received after (maybe) sending the clients check.


This smells like some sort of ponzi scheme.

Edit: I don’t know the specifics of fees and plates in Florida, but $800 prep/doc fee is ridiculous in my parts.


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Old 21 November 2018, 05:05 AM   #15
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This dealer is a clusterfuck and I would get all your neighbors together and send an email to the GM of the dealership pointing out every single example you can site of someone’s incompetence or intent to extract illicit funds from the dealership.

Sounds like either and incompetent business manager or a comptroller that may have some ill intentions.

To have someone go thru that first scenario for so little money is stupid. Unless someone was going to pocket the check the dealership received after (maybe) sending the clients check.


This smells like some sort of ponzi scheme.

Edit: I don’t know the specifics of fees and plates in Florida, but $800 prep/doc fee is ridiculous in my parts.


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I agree I phoned a friend who is an exec for a large dealership chain in Ohio. They charge $350, he said most states regulate this fee, but apparently Florida does not.
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Old 21 November 2018, 05:15 AM   #16
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Is this a big dealer or small dealer
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Old 21 November 2018, 05:47 AM   #17
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you guys really dont think a dealer can charge ucc-1 filing fees and doc stamps? did you finance the car OP? if so, it's reasonable for the dealer to put everyone on notice of his interest in the collateral.

pitchforks coming out for no reason. if the OP didnt like the dealer fee he could have asked for it to be out. dealer fees are the dealers way of screwing you. it is well known most won't waive the fee and they are legal to charge.

if it was a math mistake you should have no problem paying it. if it was not a math mistake do not pay it.

i loathe car dealerships so this is no knock against you. the amount of monday morning QBing of your contract in this thread is quite absurd. i cannot fathom how you, the OP, willingly signs a contract and then complains about fees. im baffled really. i would think you would dispute it before signing and if you accepted it by signing why complain? baffled i say.
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Old 21 November 2018, 06:04 AM   #18
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you guys really dont think a dealer can charge ucc-1 filing fees and doc stamps? did you finance the car OP? if so, it's reasonable for the dealer to put everyone on notice of his interest in the collateral.

pitchforks coming out for no reason. if the OP didnt like the dealer fee he could have asked for it to be out. dealer fees are the dealers way of screwing you. it is well known most won't waive the fee and they are legal to charge.

if it was a math mistake you should have no problem paying it. if it was not a math mistake do not pay it.

i loathe car dealerships so this is no knock against you. the amount of monday morning QBing of your contract in this thread is quite absurd. i cannot fathom how you, the OP, willingly signs a contract and then complains about fees. im baffled really. i would think you would dispute it before signing and if you accepted it by signing why complain? baffled i say.


I have no problem with a properly disclosed fee Eliot. But this dealer fee is a LOT. At least in the several states that I have lived in the max allowable fee is no where near this high. I think $350 is about the highest I have seen. Of course any license fees should be paid by the purchaser.

But you are right. The buyer had every right to go somewhere else. Wonder if all the doc fees are that high in Florida?

But back the the point here. There is either bad math or bad business occurring here and I would want to get to the bottom of it if I were you.


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Old 21 November 2018, 06:21 AM   #19
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I have no problem with a properly disclosed fee Eliot. But this dealer fee is a LOT. At least in the several states that I have lived in the max allowable fee is no where near this high. I think $350 is about the highest I have seen. Of course any license fees should be paid by the purchaser.

But you are right. The buyer had every right to go somewhere else. Wonder if all the doc fees are that high in Florida?

But back the the point here. There is either bad math or bad business occurring here and I would want to get to the bottom of it if I were you.


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800 dealer fee is pretty standard in florida.
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Old 21 November 2018, 06:25 AM   #20
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800 dealer fee is pretty standard in florida.


Wow. There are a couple places around here with zero dealer fee. And one constantly advertises “Never charged a dealer fee and never will”. Don’t get me wrong, they are making their $ elsewhere.

I think the last couple cars we bought we paid an average of $350???? Which I thought was on the high end.


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Old 21 November 2018, 08:13 AM   #21
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you guys really dont think a dealer can charge ucc-1 filing fees and doc stamps? did you finance the car OP? if so, it's reasonable for the dealer to put everyone on notice of his interest in the collateral.

pitchforks coming out for no reason. if the OP didnt like the dealer fee he could have asked for it to be out. dealer fees are the dealers way of screwing you. it is well known most won't waive the fee and they are legal to charge.

if it was a math mistake you should have no problem paying it. if it was not a math mistake do not pay it.

i loathe car dealerships so this is no knock against you. the amount of monday morning QBing of your contract in this thread is quite absurd. i cannot fathom how you, the OP, willingly signs a contract and then complains about fees. im baffled really. i would think you would dispute it before signing and if you accepted it by signing why complain? baffled i say.
In now way did I complain about the fees. I simply stated what the fees were to show the absurdity of them asking for another $51.95 on the premise they did not collect enough to pay my registration fees. If you are baffled it is because you read more into it than I wrote.
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Old 21 November 2018, 08:25 AM   #22
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To answer a few of the questions, yes the $800 range is pretty standard around here for dealer fees. I checked three dealers and they were all at or around that figure. This is a large dealer, they sell Toyota and Cadillac, a really nice facility as far as looks go.

UPDATE: A manager phoned and at first he was pretty rude, said he had to collect this or they were going to hold my title and registration. He went onto say they "estimated" my registration costs and the guy estimated too low. I told him that was in contrast with what the title guy told me, he told me the guy just entered "325" and not "375". I also told him we already received the title and the plates about a month ago. He apologized and said he knew it seemed as we were being "nickeled and dimed" and that a finance guy they hired only lasted about two or three weeks because he made a lot of errors and now the other employees were being tasked with balancing the books and collecting the debts. He got pretty aggressive with me stating it was in the fine print that I agreed to satisfy any shortages, etc.

I told him it just seemed shady like when they wanted my neighbor to write them a check for $1000 and they would write one back for $1099 to "balance" his deal. I explained to him my deal was two months old and I already had the plates so that statement he made that they couldn't pay for my plates and thus were holding things up was not even true. I checked the fee schedule on the DMV website and what I paid was accurate. I told him I can't see where it makes any sense to collect more money from me. My fees were paid correctly.

He eventually agreed and said he would drop the matter as it seemed they were not really sure why I would owe them additional monies and they certainly couldn't back it up. He said he wished I would remain a customer and hoped this didn't change my mind about the dealership.

So, in the end, the whole thing just doesn't make much sense. Sounds like they had a really bad employee and now they are scrambling to figure out all his errors and correct the havoc he caused. Thanks for everyone's input!
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Old 21 November 2018, 06:42 AM   #23
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I spoke to soon. I randomly pulled out my docs from a car purchase in 2016 while at my desk and remembered I had to pay an additional $56 after the transaction. It was for collegiate license plates which I promptly paid as it was at my request, and the funds go to the school.

Side note, the Dealer prep fee was $299.
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Old 21 November 2018, 07:04 AM   #24
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I've heard of many shady dealings in the Tampa and south Florida area

My experience has been primarily with exotic cars. Many times there would be undisclosed issues with the cars or unauthorized repairs. As with watches, I always buy the seller first.
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Old 21 November 2018, 09:02 AM   #25
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That's insane. Very poor on their part really. I had something similar happen way back in 2006 on a watch purchase from Scottsdale, Arizona (eBay store purchase).

All was paid, item shipped FedEx overnight, arrive as described, authentic, etc.

However, a day later I got an email from the store owner saying I owed them $200 USD, it made no sense. I disputed it and they eventually said not to worry...

Albeit slighly different with car dealers there, it's a great way to make customers go elsewhere for the next purchase.
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Old 21 November 2018, 02:35 PM   #26
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They have no legal right to the $52. Maybe if they accidentally sold you a car for $6000 that clearly should have been $60,000. But "We forgot to charge you $52 extra on a car, so please pay us" is a joke.
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Old 21 November 2018, 03:04 PM   #27
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I think the fact that Dealers pull this kind of stunt probably tells us that most customers just go "Oh, OK, here's another $100."
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Old 21 November 2018, 05:11 PM   #28
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Very petty of them
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Old 21 November 2018, 11:20 PM   #29
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For $52 they are getting themselves a ton of bad publicity.
Maybe they should hire someone with a mathematics degree......
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Old 23 November 2018, 04:09 AM   #30
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For $52 they are getting themselves a ton of bad publicity.
Maybe they should hire someone with a mathematics degree......
Too bad there is not a degree for common sense.
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