12-04-2018, 02:33 AM
apex1, yep, they do that all the time. They can't eliminate the doc fee, so they reduce the OTD price by the equivalent cost.
In the end, it doesn't make much sense to focus on the selling price as the key component of the negotiation. For car purchases, sure, that's fine, since there are no hidden fees charged by the dealer other than the doc fee, which is non-negotiable, but motorcycle purchases are an entirely different ballgame, with dealers successfully adding all manner of added mark-up fees under the guise of freight and set-up charges.
Forget all that nonsense. Focus your negotiation solely on the OTD total. You know you have to cover the selling price, state tax (which is based on the selling price, assuming your state has a state tax), documentation fee, and registration (licensing fee). That's your real-world total. Let the dealer work out how they're going to absorb all their phony fees. You just focus on the OTD number.
In the end, it doesn't make much sense to focus on the selling price as the key component of the negotiation. For car purchases, sure, that's fine, since there are no hidden fees charged by the dealer other than the doc fee, which is non-negotiable, but motorcycle purchases are an entirely different ballgame, with dealers successfully adding all manner of added mark-up fees under the guise of freight and set-up charges.
Forget all that nonsense. Focus your negotiation solely on the OTD total. You know you have to cover the selling price, state tax (which is based on the selling price, assuming your state has a state tax), documentation fee, and registration (licensing fee). That's your real-world total. Let the dealer work out how they're going to absorb all their phony fees. You just focus on the OTD number.