My wife and I had negotiated a price on a new Toyota Camry. The salesman, Gary, accepted our offer and put it in writing. He also got the approval of his sales manager, Mark Smith.
Gary escorted both of us to the Finance and Insurance man to do the paperwork. I noticed at the bottom they had added what they called and "Acquition Fee" of $199. To the cost of the car. I protested and said that was not the price we agreed on and I asked him how he could justify adding a fee of any kind AFTER the price had been agreed to by both parties. He said "All dealerships charge such a fee" and "It's just standard in the industry.
I reminded him that I was not IN the "industry", I was a customer and that I knew that "ALL" dealerships do not engage in such practices. I said all fees need to be disclosed up front either by the salesman or on the sticker of the car. How else could a price be negotiated in good faith?
He then added that the fee WAS in fact disclosed to me in the written deal sheet. He showed me the sheet that showed the price followed by " TF". I told him that the sheet had been altered because I remember looking specifically at that area when we accepted the price. When I saw the price, it said, " TT" (Taxes & Tags). Someone had added a flag on the second "T" to make it read "F". The alterations are clear.
As we walked out of the dealership, Gary said he'd pay half the fee. I said no.
I suspect the alteration of the deal sheet, the failure to disclose the "Acquisition Fee" until AFTER the price is agreed to, and the padding of the dealer's profit at the point of closing is all condoned, calculated, and trained by the owner. They also own Scion of Cleveland, Honda of Cleveland, Jeep City Chrysler of Cleveland, and Village Volkswagen of Chattanooga.
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