Never heard of such a thing
There’s destination and I thought that was it
They are notorious for advertising on the web with prices that don’t include the freight, hence nationwide searches will show the cheapest price, I use to see that with VW a lot.
Exactly what I thought…but there are dealers here with MSRP (which clearly shows “freight” or “destination”) and then they give you a discount of x,xxx dollars…then they ADD Freight again under dealer fees for the exact same amount as was already in the MSRP.
I posted that around here somewhere. I have run into it twice. One time at a dealer in NJ where they immediately removed it when I called it out. Another time was via email negotiations with a dealer down south. Can’t recall where at the moment, but I think SC. That salesperson insisted “that is how everyone does it down here, so we do it, too.” After a few back and forths, I just stopped responding to her. And it was exactly as you state, @3melo1980, they were claiming something like a $5k discount, but then adding BACK destination. I told her “well then it is NOT a $5k discount.” Eventually, she acknowledged I’m correct, but “it is what it is.” SIGH. I will NOT deal with dealers who pull these tactics.
EDIT: Ah, here was the other mention of this. Not that it matters, but in case you are interested: Anyone else get one of these $1,500 Jeep Mailers? Potential Gladiator Hackage?
When I lived in NoVA, I got my first lease there and my last one in Maryland. Delaware is also a good choice depending how little you feel your time is worth.
Unless a VA dealer has the one and only car you want, why not a trip around the Beltway?
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- Leasing cars in VA sucks.
- Try to shop with a different dealer
- Stop responding and see if they get back to you.
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I recently ran into this as well after incorrectly assuming it was dealer specific. Apparently it’s an actual thing and is misleading for those not in the know. I called this out twice before my question was acknowledged and got the same response as @Qbrozen (“Everyone does it this way”). I pretty much wrote VA dealers off the list because between that nonsense and the crazy doc fees there’s little incentive to do business with them unless you live there IMO.
Ha! I went into my email and, luckily, I saved it. Turns out it WAS a dealer in VA. It was a nice visit down memory lane. Maybe some of y’all will find it entertaining. These are the emails without the language edited. I just removed names.
From Koons CDJR On Thu, Aug 22, 2019 at 10:23 AM:
I am an Internet Sales Manager at Koons Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram of Tysons Corner. I sent you over a quote and payment calculator for the 2019 Dodge Charger we have here and available for sale.
I saw you asked a common question that alot of our customers ask about the destination fee. It is not being charged twice, we aren’t charging MSRP plus destination. Also when the car is discounted we itemize the destination and the processing fee which are line items. If the car was being sold at MSRP we would back out the destination and then add it back in to show it as a line item. It is the way we prefer to show our prices, which doesn’t stop us for offering the very best deals on our Scat Packs in the region to our customers. I hope this helped clear things up and I am happy to assist you with any additional questions you may have.
My contact information is below - please do not hesitate to use it.
I hope to hear back from you soon, as we would love the opportunity to earn your business.
Best Regards,
Internet Sales Manager
Koons Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram
2050 Chain Bridge Rd
Vienna VA 22182
From QBrozen On Thu, Aug 22, 2019 at 11:46 AM:
Hi,
Could you please send me a copy of the monroney sticker?
Thanks,
Rob
From Koons CDJR On Thu, Aug 22, 2019 at 12:01 PM:
LINK TO WINDOW STICKER
From QBrozen On Thu, Aug 22, 2019 at 12:11 PM:
So, here is a breakdown of the monroney, which includes destination, then your quote, which includes destination again. Just follow the math, and you’ll see you are charging it twice.
Base Price $40,245
OPTIONAL EQUIPMENT $69
Destination Charge $1,495
TOTAL PRICE $41,809
MSRP/Retail Price $41,809
Dealer Discount $5,716
Price Before Rebates $36,093
Your Rebates $4,850
Wow Price $31,243
Destination Charge $1,495
Processing Fee $799
Price Before Tax and Tags $33,537
From Koons CDJR On Thu, Aug 22, 2019 at 12:41 PM:
I actually go through this exact same exercise at least once or twice a day almost every day so you are not alone again in your efforts. Actually even sending over the monroney. And we disclose on website that we add back in the destination after the dealer discount including the processing fee, tax, and tags. We also do not include a bunch of rebates in our prices that people don’t qualify for. On top of that we give you are numbers right as soon as you inquiry. In the end we are still going to post our prices this way which is what every dealer in this region does, and we are still going to offer the best prices in the region and as far as I know in the entire country.
Does it matter how we post our prices if our prices are the best you can find?
From QBrozen On Thu, Aug 22, 2019 at 1:01 PM:
I don’t really follow. Why not just state the dealer discount $4200 rather than $5700? Because that is really what you are doing. Or, if you want to keep doing it this way, don’t call it a destination fee, since that is already accounted for, which is why you have to explain it so often. As I tell people in my business: if you find yourself always explaining something, then you must be doing it wrong.
In any case, thanks for your time.
From Koons CDJR On Thu, Aug 22, 2019 at 1:15 PM:
I am in total agreement with you. But try telling that to at least a 200 dealerships in the MABC that first started doing it this way before we did. So Koons way around it, is to disclose the information early from the first inquiry. When the region starts changing this way of advertising the destination then we will too, but for now until that changes we can’t. Also as the largest Dodge Charger dealer in the MABC it doesn’t stop us from selling so many of these cars, we can’t seem to keep them on our lots, it’s been awesome.
So now that we have gone over this in this detail please let me know what other kind of information I can assist you with?
Were it me, I ejected where the quote ends. My old office in Tysons was a 5 min walk from MB/Maybach and they always had a reputation.
He’s also not wrong that in the war of advertising the lowest price, VA has a problem. Koons trying to model transparency however 
Wtf. Glad dealers in MA don’t do this stuff.
Seriously, I’ve lived in 5 states and have never encountered such a thing…The tax situation is also absolutely ruthless…buying an expensive car here (60k+) tacks on like $75 per month to your payment compared to most states I’ve lived in. You have to pay tax on the entire amount of the vehicle, including dealer processing and everything else.
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Most MD and some VA dealers do it. Just tell them to remove freight from the deal. They will probably stick it back into selling price but you will know to make them reduce it by the freight amount.
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If I lived in VA, I’d just do lease transfers instead of new car leases to save on tax. A customer of mine does this and he saves a ton in taxes
Not to mention “freight” charge, marked up MFs, dealer add-ons like crazy…
Like this is VA specific lol
this is true…Freight I’ve only heard of from Passport BMW in MD
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Koons Volvo, Ourisman Volvo - they all do it.
I’m pretty sure that this just started somewhere as a way to jump to the top of online listings sorted by price and everyone else in the region caught on and copied it. It really doesn’t make any sense at all.
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Yep, they can show $1K lower selling price this way comparing to others.
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I just had to share…one of the NOVA dealerships just got back to me with a monthly, which they quoted at 424…after running it through the calculator I realized the discount was $0. So i responded that this simply couldn’t be, they are advertising a dealer discount of $6,500 and I was told the discount to buy is $6,500, the discount to lease is $0.
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Same just happened to me with a Chrysler Dodge Ram Jeep dealer in Culpeper, VA while negotiating for a 2023 1500 RAM Limited
Hello Flavio,
Our Temporary can be used Nationwide for travel.
There is a Non Prime Incentive of $750 for customers wit a credit score of 620 or below. We assumed that your score is higher thus your ePrice would be $62,495 + TTF.
Per our New Vehicle disclosures our ePrice does not include Destination/Freight (varies by model) Processing Fee, Sales Tax, Tag and Title.
I hope that my explanation is helpful to you.
Thurston A Carpenter Sr
Sales Consultant with Chrysler of Culpeper
Cell 5403088696
Dir line 5404233762