Is there such a thing as 'California Ad Assoc Fee'???
11-26-2001, 08:25 PM
#1
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Is there such a thing as 'California Ad Assoc Fee'???
I'm about ready to pick up my '02 and I see on the price sheet $150 for Cali ad assoc. What in the world is that? Plus another $45 for document fee!
How do I get them to take it off? Thanks much!
How do I get them to take it off? Thanks much!
11-27-2001, 08:09 AM
#4
If you are looking at the dealer's invoice and not an MSRP
you will see the ad fee near the bottom. This is a legitimate fee that is applied by AoA to the dealers in that area to pay for general advertising done in magazines, TV ads, and newspapers. It is done only in larger urban areas.
The doc fee is what the DMV charges the dealer to file your paperwork. It is in every contract out there whether itemised as such or not. If you don't want to pay it, you can leave the car on the dealer lot and go stand in line at the DMV to pay and file for yourself before going back to pick up your car. Your choice.
Sounds like your dealer is trying to be upfront with you. If they were trying to sell you undercoating, "paint protection", or some other such crap, I would be very suspicious. Dealers aren't dumb. If people keep trying to get out of a legitimate invoice cost like the ad fee, dealers are going to learn to not be upfront. Customers will have screwed themselves.
It is highly illegal for a dealer to show a falsified invoice. If a dealer shows you one, it has a 99.9999% chance of being real. If they show a fake, the entire sales dept gets shut down at that dealer pending legal proceedings.
PS. In Ca, the PDI fee, is paid by Audi.
The doc fee is what the DMV charges the dealer to file your paperwork. It is in every contract out there whether itemised as such or not. If you don't want to pay it, you can leave the car on the dealer lot and go stand in line at the DMV to pay and file for yourself before going back to pick up your car. Your choice.
Sounds like your dealer is trying to be upfront with you. If they were trying to sell you undercoating, "paint protection", or some other such crap, I would be very suspicious. Dealers aren't dumb. If people keep trying to get out of a legitimate invoice cost like the ad fee, dealers are going to learn to not be upfront. Customers will have screwed themselves.
It is highly illegal for a dealer to show a falsified invoice. If a dealer shows you one, it has a 99.9999% chance of being real. If they show a fake, the entire sales dept gets shut down at that dealer pending legal proceedings.
PS. In Ca, the PDI fee, is paid by Audi.
11-27-2001, 09:47 AM
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If they can tack on fees for ads, why not add fees for other BS overhead items??
An advertisement is a company's choice to pay for, designed solely to increase the volume and/or margin of sales. That's crazy to say a customer should pay a separate ad charge. If a dealer or association of dealers want to advertise, it comes out of their profit, it shouldn't get tacked on to the consumer.
11-27-2001, 09:57 AM
#7
So you are saying that Audi should just bump up the invoice by X dollars ?
And the consumer will be none the wiser ? It's taken huge advertising dollars to get the ball rolling. You will pay for it one way or another. Every car company has advertising fees. Every person who buys the car, pays it. So what if Audi actually itemizes it ? The dealership spends an average of $200 per car sold in addtition to what Audi spends, to bring in buyers.
Everyone pays it. Does it matter whether it's direct or indirect ?
Everyone pays it. Does it matter whether it's direct or indirect ?
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11-27-2001, 10:09 AM
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Absolutely it matters, because it's at the dealer's discretion
We shouldn't pay for itemized advertising any more than we should pay for their pencils, desks, or electricity. I understand that it all comes out of the same bucket in the end, but if dealers can swindle people out of "ad" fee, it makes no difference whether those ads are effective or not!! They're getting them paid for one way or the other. Dealers are competitive with one another, and so if a dealers gets higher volume but less profit by advertising, that's the way it should work.
11-27-2001, 10:12 AM
#10
Ahem. The ad fee comes on the invoice from Audi. The dealer has no part in
creating the invoice. The invoice comes from Audi and it is what the dealer must pay Audi for the car. Negotiation is not allowed.