ilikebeans

Im new to buying cars (im 19 yrs old :P) and i just wanted to ask some of you for your words of wisdom. Im on the verge of buying myself a BEAUTIFUL LS400 so i just wanted to ask which of these fees are legit : "Sales Tax, Title, License Fee, Registration Fee, Dealer Documentary Fee, Finance Charges, Emission Testing Fees and Compliance Fees".

I know the first three are TT&L which are normal for any car purchase right? And some of the other fees seem like unnesessary charges just to steal the most money from me... dealer documentary fee? the hells that...? finance charges? Cant i go somewhere to get the emission testing done myself instead of paying them directly? compliance fees?
Any help is greatly appreciated!!! Thanks!

timmy0tool

iTrader: (7)

places like this (usually dealership) do have these things, but you really have no choice if you go through them. yes you can have the car smog checked yourself, but doing so will slow down your registration paperwork (in CA you need to smog a car when transferring titles). the question is will they even allow you to do that? all the other "fees" are there since they have overhead stuff that may be out of your control.

these cars are old enough where in reality all you need to pay for is the transfer fee, tax, and the price of the car, unless you are financing it. then smog the car and she is golden! the rest is just a price you pay for going through them.

jb2wheels

Get them to itemize it because a few of those sound the same.

TX is pretty easy - you can probably go to TXDOT and get the exact cost:
Sales Tax = based on price of car, state actually uses a set value for the car. For example, I bought a 96 Crown Vic a few years back for $300 but had to pay tax on approx $2000.
http://www.txdmv.gov/vehicles/titles...tive_value.htm
Title = title application fee, like $35
Licens fee, registration fee = should not be two, I pay $65/year for registration on each of 5 different cars in Williamson County
Dealer Documentary Fee = dealer profit
Finance Charges = if you're financing you pay this but not if you're paying cash
Emission Testing Fees = set price for all cars depending on the county, some counties don't even have emission testing
Compliance Fees = is this for the annual safety inspection? The safety and emission inspection are done at the same time but might be itemized differently.
Basically, if you have to get a safety/emission combo, it's like $40.
Just a safety inspection is like $15.

Let the dealer do the inspections and make the sale contigent on passing. One stop shopping and you'll get charged the same anywhere.

Most of these are fixed values. If you've already negotiated the "sales price" instead of an "out the door" price, you might not have much negotiating room. Get the list of fees and the description and the amount and compare to the list above.

Check with you county tax office about what the actual fees should be.

Good luck!
http://www.txdmv.gov/vehicles/titles/faq.htm
http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/vi/Misc/faq/insp_faq.htm

RA40

iTrader: (6)

If this car is being bought through a dealer or dealer agent, you will have those fees. If you are not financing the vehicle, it is not applicable. As with any of these documents that you will be signing for, verify the costs before putting a signature on them. Ask these questions before signing away. In CA, there is no "cooling off" period so once you sign, it is a fully binding purchase contract effective the moment you finish.

ilikebeans

thanks you guys are awesome! such quick responses! im gonna go ahead and ask him to break down the price like you said and see what happens. So i have to pay them finance charges even if im financing with the bank?

jb2wheels

If you're not financing through the dealer, they should not get any finance charges.

whit3b0y

all those sound legit. I've worked at a dealership, financed cars from dealers, and financed through a loan company without a dealership involved. Any way you go to it someone else gets a cut. Only way around that is cash money The title / license / registration fee... you can title the car, and you get a title in your/lien holders name. then you can license, you get a set of plates. and then you can register , and you get stickers for the plates