RE: Destination Charge (was New $4)

[JustaxPHX@aol.com]

> I'm curious. Has anyone ever told a dealer to eat the destination charge, as
> in "you want to sell the car to me, you better deliver it, and I ain't
> paying you to get it here." Just wondered ... always thought about it,
> forgot to try it when I bought my car.

The destination charge is an averaged shipping rate charged by the
manufacturer to each dealer, with the idea being that dealers located further
away from the factory shouldn't be penalized relative to those that are
located closer.   I believe it also makes it easier for manufacturers to
coordinate their national advertising since they can quote one price in their
ads instead of several.

That said, I don't know why it wouldn't be subject to negotiation like
everything else on the sticker ... and even if it's not, there's nothing to
prevent the dealer from knocking off a few hundred bucks elsewhere to
compensate.  What annoys me are the software companies that have exhorbitant
shipping charges ... I just bought some business tax software for $998 and was
charged a flat $40 for shipping.  By my calculations, that works out to just
over a 400% markup from UPS...

JG