@Lel wrote:
When I was auto loan shopping last summer, B of A said that they would charge a fee of a couple hundred bucks if I chose to get a loan with them. But it would have been paid by me, and wouldn't have affected the sale price at all. I've never heard of a fee that would add 40% to the purchase cost of a car.
In my opinion, this dealer is being dishonest with you. First they increase the sales price by 20% over what it was initially offered or advertised (did they ever give you a legitimate explanation?), and now they're trying to increase the price even more. I'm willing to bet that the interest rate offered is also pretty lousy.
What are your scores like? Have you considered approaching your bank or joining a credit union to get better rates? It's always a good idea to have outside financing lined up before going into a dealership.
On the lot the salesman said he thought the car was $10k. We drove it around and liked it. Head inside "Oh, I was wrong, it's $13k." At that point I was questioning it but that's still not a terrible price for what it was (fully loaded and then some, less than 40,000 miles). Two hours later he comes back with this mysterious fee. We walked away.
At the time my score was 650 or so. It's up to 750 now, so I have zero fear of not getting a car loan.
