Hi,

New to the club here. I'm looking to buy the STi, but I have a question. Has anybody heard of an AD fee that the dealers are charging?



You still need to ad the AD fee of $250 plus if there is any additional equipment from the factory. Here is an example of one we have pre sold that is incoming.

2004 Subaru WRX STi
$30,995 Base cost MSRP
550 Freight
250 AD Fee
145 Armrest Ext
39 Wheel locks
230 Security sys
$32,209 Plus taxes, tags, and $95 process fee

Ben

-----Original Message-----
From: Erwen Tang
Sent: May 28, 2003 6:00:15 PM EDT
To: Ben Greer
Subject: Re: Paul Brothers Of VA



I've never heard of an ad charge with any other dealer. Here's what I see.

$30,995 msrp
+ $550 freight
---------------------
$31,545
+ $987 3.13% tax
-------------------
$32,532
+ 38.50 tags
+ $95 processing fee
------------------
$32,665.50 out the door


Ben Greer wrote:
That is all factored in the total MSRP price. They are charges Subaru has to help cover freight and there advertising expenses.

-----Original Message-----
From: Erwen Tang
Sent: May 28, 2003 3:51:01 PM EDT
To: Ben Greer
Subject: Re: Paul Brothers Of VA



Why a $250 ad fee? Are you saying that if I walked in the door to place my order, I wouldn't be able to buy this car at MSRP?


Ben Greer wrote:

If you were to give us a $500 refundable deposit right now your looking somewhere in the December timeframes.
Base MSRP cost is $30,995 plus Subaru charges a $550 Freight fee, and a $250 Ad fee plus any addtional equipment that may on the car. From there you have to add State tax(3% depending on state it will be title in), a local tax of .13%, new tag and title fee($38.50 depends on state titled in), and $95 process.
Right now with good credit history banks are offering rates in the low 4's.
There are no items that are being thrown in on the car, some dealers are selling the car over MSRP, we are not here.
Let me know if you have any other questions.

Ben

 

Ad fees are BS and totally bogus. They are nothing but dealer markups for more profit. He is basically trying to sell you your STi for MSRP + $250 markup, even though your contract says an STi for MSRP. Don't let them tell you any different.

Many dealers will sometimes try to pass off "ad fees" to customers as a "legitimate" charge, since it sounds better than "greedy *** dealer markup". It's complete bullshiznit and a lie, that's all it is. I'm sure the salesman and sales manager will tell you that all of their customers have to pay that on all of their cars. Bullshiznit again...the only customers that pay it are those who are ignorant of the charge or too lazy to argue against it or who want the car SO badly that they don't care about paying it.

When I deal with dealerships, I tell the salesman right up front that I don't want any BS fees like dealer prep, ad fees, vin etching, body undercoating, etc.. If they have any of these charges on the car, I tell them to take them off. If they refuse, then I walk. Period.

The salesman KNOWS that you are in a tight position after waiting for the STi for so long and it just being out, and he is gambling that you are willing to pay an additional $250 (to pad his commission) to avoid the hastle of waiting to find another STi at another dealership weeks or months later. So, basically, he is screwing you.

 

Thanks for confirming my suspicions. That sounds bullshiz to me from the beginning.

 

whooaaaa 3.13%!!!! where do u live i want to move there!!!
in CA the tax rate is 8.25% and i think its going to be raised to 8.5%...this sucks for us

 

Fairfax County, Virginia. Actually, I think the dealer may be ripping me off there too! Because I did a net search and I think it's only 3%. That translates to an extra $41. If I'm in a really bad mood, I'll fight it. But $250 for their advertising fee is a total ripoff.

My response to his last e-mail
-----------------------
Can I contact this fellow future to be sti owner? Is he on www.i-club.com or one of the many other sti-related forum sites on the internet? I believe that many dealers are selling for MSRP + tax, tags, and freight from a quick scan of the message boards. I have bought other vehicles and have heard no mention of an Ad fee. Any advertisement fee in any business is the cost of doing business for the business owner, not the consumer.