"destination charge" of $820 set by Nissan?

[illusive503]

$820 is in fact destination and handling from Nissan and as stated above we do not get paid on this nore do we get any discount. Destination and handling has went up on all our vehicles through-out our vehicle line up this last year.

 

[planet4ever]

The dealer can charge whatever he likes. You can refuse his quote and try another dealer. The way I look at it, "destination charge" is just something the dealer can tack on after you think you've negotiated a price for the car. Which is why it's important to negotiate an "out the door" price. My Nissan dealer has told me that the quote he sends me (when I'm finally able to request a quote) will be the out-the-door price; it will be the full amount of the check I'll write to drive the car away.

Be careful with this. You will get your quote back on the Nissan website, and so far as I can tell it contains a combination of information provided by the dealer and some boilerplate provided by Nissan that the dealer can't control. Apparently included in that boilerplate is:

Cost of the home installation dock, processing fees, tax title license, destination & handling charges are not included. The value of any trade-ins will be determined and applied at a later date.

My dealer quoted me a "bottom line" price, but when I saw the quote, with the above text still included, I called him back. We ended up having him email me an addendum that the quote "includes tax and fees and is all inclusive". It might have been less messy for him to give me a quote without the additional charges as Nissan apparently expects dealers to do.

 

[Ready2plugin]

I believe the name "destination charge" is a bit misleading. I believe part of that amount is to protect a foreign manufacturer from an adverse change in their domestic currency vs. the dollar. Right now the Yen is quite strong, which makes it more expensive for them to sell the car in dollars.

 

[daniel]

So negotiate an out-the-door price and let the dealer split it into car, options, destination, and trade-in (if applicable) any way he likes. Don't worry about the destination charge. Just the total amount you have to pay.

It seems to me, when I put on my ultra paranoia hat, that if the Leaf turns into an incredibly hot vehicle by December or January, there doesn't seem to be anything preventing a dealer from coming up with some bogus fee (e.g. dealer prep) which would be large enough to make you just walk away from the deal.

That's why you have to be very clear in your negotiations. Buyer beware! There's nothing preventing you from phoning or emailing your dealer (as planet did -- below) to clarify what the quote includes. If he tells you explicitly that X is the out-the-door price, and then he tries to tack on "dealer prep" or whatever, then he's breached his contract with you and he's broken the law. But without that explicit statement, he can always say "dealer prep" was not included.

The dealer can charge whatever he likes. You can refuse his quote and try another dealer. The way I look at it, "destination charge" is just something the dealer can tack on after you think you've negotiated a price for the car. Which is why it's important to negotiate an "out the door" price. My Nissan dealer has told me that the quote he sends me (when I'm finally able to request a quote) will be the out-the-door price; it will be the full amount of the check I'll write to drive the car away.

Be careful with this. You will get your quote back on the Nissan website, and so far as I can tell it contains a combination of information provided by the dealer and some boilerplate provided by Nissan that the dealer can't control. Apparently included in that boilerplate is:

Cost of the home installation dock, processing fees, tax title license, destination & handling charges are not included. The value of any trade-ins will be determined and applied at a later date.

My dealer quoted me a "bottom line" price, but when I saw the quote, with the above text still included, I called him back. We ended up having him email me an addendum that the quote "includes tax and fees and is all inclusive". It might have been less messy for him to give me a quote without the additional charges as Nissan apparently expects dealers to do.

Agreed! You were smart to get a clarification from him, and everyone would be well advised to do the same.

I don't really believe that car dealers are less honest than other people. But they are in business to make money. Capitalism is a dog-eat-dog world.

 

[Jimmydreams]

Agreed! You were smart to get a clarification from him, and everyone would be well advised to do the same.

I don't really believe that car dealers are less honest than other people. But they are in business to make money. Capitalism is a dog-eat-dog world.

I am absolutely not worried about any of this money mumbo-jumbo.

My dealer said "Trust me!" and so I am!!!
:lol: :roll: :mrgreen: