The Dealer Prep Scam
First off you need to know that adding labor cost is not only legal but very much common practice. I still refer to it as a scam because
it's just another way for you to end up paying more money for the car than you expected.
In this "scam" the car dealer will tell you have to pay an extra $500 to cover the labor costs
of the car dealership’s "5-point inspection". Basically, you are paying for the time it took for the dealership to make sure that the car
wouldn’t explode on you in the first week of owning
it.
This "5-point inspection" or "20-point" ---whatever the number is---is simply for the car
dealer to remove plastic from the seats etc, vacuum the car out, and make sure that all the fluids are full and other basic,
common-sense stuff are taken care of....the things you'd expect to be done no matter what!
When factories deliver the new cars to the dealerships the cost of delivery and prep is
already covered...
...so basically you are paying the car dealer for work that's already been done!
If the car arrived in perfectly ready-to-drive condition, it wouldn't take much
to put everything right back in it just so you can be 'legally' made to pay the fee again. Is this done? I
can't say for sure, but it would make for an easy profit-maker for the dealership.
You can avoid this scam by simply asking the dealership to add an extra $500 credit to the deal to make sure you do not have to pay the
money. Make the car dealer suck up that cheap attempt to saddle you with an extra fee.
If they refuse, you can simply tell them you think you may check another
dealership out, but you'll "be right back later". (This usually will make them back off of this $500
add-on.) If they won't take the $500 off, actually go to another car dealer where this "dealer prep cost" can be
negotiated off.
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