At this point, while I wait for dealership to open, I'm still not sure if I want to keep the Fiesta or not.
It's possible, IF he takes off the $199 etching fee, that I will keep the car.
However, I found something else that concerns me.
On my copy of the window sticker for the 2012 Ford Fiesta SES, there are 3 options shown. One of them is an extra $820 for the comfort upgrade package, which includes the heated seats, alarm and some moldings.
I went back to Ford Motor Co. website and “built my own” 2013 Fiesta Titanium. (The Titanium is the new name for the highest model in the Fiesta line; it replaced the SES). I noticed that the heated seats, alarm etc are all included as STANDARD in the 2013 model. So why am I paying $820 for it in the 2012 model????
The dealer may respond yeah it’s included in the 2013 model, but it’s more money, too. When I finished “building” my car online using all the same options and add-ons that are on the 2012 Fiesta I purchased, it came to $19,994 (which includes sales tax, all incentives and my trade-in value), so that’s about the same as the $20,000 price that I negotiated with the dealer.
It’s that $20,000 figure that, when broken down on the sales agreement, includes the $199 for etching.
I remember the dealer saying at one point when the cost was down to $20,426, what will it take for you to buy this car? If we bring it down to an even $20,000, will that seal the deal? I agreed.
So now they may say, look, what do care whether it includes etching or not, because you’re still paying a total of $20,000, which I am. It’s just that when they wrote it up on the purchase agreement, they list the price of the car at $19,280, sales tax $1188, conveyance fee $399, etching $199 and transfer fees (DMV paperwork) $101.
I can’t figure out why they chose to list the car price as a lower figure on the purchase agreement and included those extra fees in there when they could have just said $20,000 for the car, period, since that’s what I said would work for me.
Monday Morning - Before the Call
May 20th, 2013 at 01:39 pm
May 20th, 2013 at 02:29 pm 1369056569
Good luck today...whatever you decide to do.
May 20th, 2013 at 03:06 pm 1369058818
These fees are NOT their costs! Etching can be done at no charge or at most $20, by your local police department.