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Are dealer-added fees driving you crazy? Join Ralph Estep, Jr., as he delves into the hidden costs of car buying and shares 3 steps to avoid dealer added fees.
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Ralph:
So here's the question for today.
Ralph:
Have you ever felt duped by those obscure charges tacked on to your auto purchase or lease?
Ralph:
If so you're not alone.
Ralph:
I had this very issue a few months ago when my wife and I were buying a new Toyota minivan, and boy was I annoyed.
Ralph:
So stay tuned today as we explore the frustrating, fine print.
Ralph:
Of dealer fees And more importantly, what you can do to combat them be prepared.
Ralph:
Ralph's going on a rant today.
Ralph:
Welcome to our wacky Wednesday show.
Ralph:
I am so glad you chose to join us.
Ralph:
I just want to thank you for listening and supporting the program.
Ralph:
I'm Estep Farm in the beautiful Saggio Accounting studio today.
Ralph:
Let me put on my podcaster hat and put down those overalls and shove that adding machine to the side.
Ralph:
And let's get into some financial wisdom from a Christian perspective today, we're talking about the bane of many car buyers existence.
Ralph:
Once dealer added junk fees.
Ralph:
These pesky charges for navigation systems rust, proofing, window etching, and more can quickly add hundreds or even thousands of dollars to your automobile purchase.
Ralph:
I'll share my own frustrating dealer fee stories today.
Ralph:
Some common schemes to watch out for, and most importantly, tips to fight back against these schemes for fair treatment.
Ralph:
Don't forget to subscribe to the show and join our email list.
Ralph:
You do that at askralphpodcast.com so you don't miss tomorrow's show tomorrow.
Ralph:
We're going to be talking about gift taxes, what they are and how do they impact both the giver and the receiver.
Ralph:
It's a topic you don't want to miss folks.
Ralph:
So let's start today with our Bible verse today's Bible verse comes to us from the book of Proverbs chapter 13, verse 11, and it says this.
Ralph:
This is a great one.
Ralph:
Dishonest money dwindles away.
Ralph:
But whoever gathers money, little by little makes it grow.
Ralph:
What a great verse as we seek to grow our finances, little by little.
Ralph:
As we discuss questionable dealer fees today, may this verse remind us of the value in ethical financial dealings that build trust and prosperity.
Ralph:
Buying or leasing a new car should be an exciting time for your financial journey, whether you're upgrading your ride.
Ralph:
After years of driving old Betsy.
Ralph:
Our purchasing your teenager's first set of wheels, a new vehicle often symbolizes possibility and freedom.
Ralph:
I remember when I was 16, it was such a thing of freedom to get behind a wheel.
Ralph:
Unfortunately, the bliss of a new car ownership can quickly shift to buyer's remorse.
Ralph:
When you realize the final price, bore little resemblance to the advertised sticker price, that's assuming you can even get a real copy of the sticker price.
Ralph:
Believe me, I've been there.
Ralph:
A few years back when money was really tight, I found what seemed like an unbelievable lease deal on an SUV for my growing family.
Ralph:
However, after four hours of sitting into dealership, they wore me down with ad-ons like an overpriced alarm system, nitrogen filled tires Who knew that you needed nitrogen filled tires and paint sealant.
Ralph:
By signing the dotted-line exhausted late to pick up my kids.
Ralph:
I'd realized I'd been bamboozled.
Ralph:
Into paying several thousand dollars above sticker price.
Ralph:
Whatever happened to truth in advertising.
Ralph:
While my ego was bruised.
Ralph:
I learned a lot about common schemes.
Ralph:
Dealerships use to inflate profits.
Ralph:
These include things like slipping in various junk fees during finance negotiation.
Ralph:
Refusing to remove these charges when called out and waiting till the 11th hour, when buyers are worn out before presenting the real price, shady.
Ralph:
Sad, but all too common.
Ralph:
Since that I'm pleased to say I purchased a new car and new or used vehicle without paying a dollar in junk fees.
Ralph:
So how did I do that?
Ralph:
Well, that's what we're going to talk about now.
Ralph:
I followed these three key steps and these really are the three key steps
Ralph:
first.
Ralph:
You've got to do your homework before ever stepping foot in a dealership.
Ralph:
consumer sites like edmunds.com.
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Breakdown, what the fees are, legitimate fees in your state, the average pricing for different models and what incentives you likely qualify poor.
Ralph:
I printed all of this data, including fair market purchase price ranges for easy reference.
Ralph:
I printed it and took it to the dealership.
Ralph:
Secondarily, when the finance manager starts slipping in charges for theft deterrent systems.
Ralph:
Nitrogen filled tires or exterior paint production.
Ralph:
Camly ask them to remove each item.
Ralph:
If they refuse, remind them that you have thoroughly researched fair pricing for this make for this model and the trim selected.
Ralph:
If needed pull out your printed reference sheets, commonly restate that you will not be paying anything or added products at this time.
Ralph:
Listen folks, this is where these finance guys make money.
Ralph:
And I don't begrudge them making money, but you have the right to buy what you want to buy.
Ralph:
And finally, if the dealership still refuses to budge on, removing junk fees, stand up politely and tell them, you'll take your business elsewhere.
Ralph:
Then turn around and walk out the door.
Ralph:
With internet research on fair pricing, you can quickly visit another dealer and reference the first's inflated charges as a reason to earn your business.
Ralph:
It worked for me more than once.
Ralph:
That's the honest to God truth.
Ralph:
Now, this has been a bit of an issue for the past several years, since the shortages of inventory with COVID.
Ralph:
But I had dinner with a friend who works at a dealership this weekend and he told me the inventory is actually starting to grow.
Ralph:
And he's seeing more haggling in the dealership where he works.
Ralph:
So there are positive changes coming to the auto purchase process.
Ralph:
beyond these specific tips, as we said, Proverbs 13, 11 offers guidance.
Ralph:
dishonest money dwindles away, but whoever gathers money, little by little makes it grow again.
Ralph:
What a great.
Ralph:
Verse
Ralph:
unethical business practices may generate short term gains.
Ralph:
Sure.
Ralph:
The dealer might make that sale.
Ralph:
They might get those extra ad-ons, but the truth is they erode customer trust and loyalty over time.
Ralph:
Dealer seeking faithful customers focused on value.
Ralph:
will tread carefully on fees, seen as deceiving buyers.
Ralph:
They need to be honest with you.
Ralph:
They need to present all these things to you as something you don't have to buy.
Ralph:
One of the things that really annoyed me, we just recently bought a minivan.
Ralph:
We cart our two German shepherds around him.
Ralph:
And unfortunately, one of those things that have been on order for a while, when we got to the dealership, they had already added this flashing light on the back and etching and this and that, and the other thing.
Ralph:
And I basically said to him, look, I don't want all those things.
Ralph:
And they politely said to me, well, Ralph, if you don't want it, we've got other people lined up to buy it.
Ralph:
So unfortunately until all of these inventory issues resolve themselves, you're just going to have to look and do some comparison shopping.
Ralph:
Now here's the deal folks.
Ralph:
We should extend grace, but also stand firmly for fair treatment.
Ralph:
When being taken advantage of in that case, I basically had to buy those things because truth be told there wasn't another dealer who had the same vehicle that I could go and buy.
Ralph:
So before we wrap up Ii want to remind all of our listeners to visit our podcast page at askralphpodcast.com there you can leave us a review, share your thoughts, Or even send a message with questions for future episodes.
Ralph:
If you want me to take a rant on something, share what's going on in your world.
Ralph:
While you're there.
Ralph:
Make sure you join our email list so we can send you our daily email with what's going on with the show.
Ralph:
And if you need some specific guidance.
Ralph:
You're welcome to schedule a consultation with me right there.
Ralph:
Now if you know someone who's in the market for a car.
Ralph:
I'm going to encourage you to share this episode with them and help them avoid being taken by these dealer junk fees.
Ralph:
And ad-ons sort of my personal mission for today is to try to educate people and bring them to a level of awareness about these ridiculous fees.
Ralph:
So let's do a bit of a recap.
Ralph:
In this episode, we explored the frustrating world of dealer added junk fees.
Ralph:
They're often slipped into car purchases and leases, right at the last minute from alarm systems to paint sealants.
Ralph:
Another thing they put on these fabric coating.
Ralph:
Things these charges can add thousands to your automobiles purchase price.
Ralph:
We covered my personal stories of being duped by dealers.
Ralph:
We talked about typical junk fee scams and specific negotiation tips to refuse these fees and drawing wisdom from Proverbs 13:11, listen folks, the key is doing your homework on fair local pricing.
Ralph:
firmly refusing added products and be willing to walk away and buy elsewhere.
Ralph:
Listen, it's an emotional experience.
Ralph:
I get it.
Ralph:
But you've got to stand your ground and do what's right.
Ralph:
So please visit again askralphpodcast.com for more financial advice, grounded in godly wisdom.
Ralph:
May God bless you.
Ralph:
Abundantly.
