[Looby]

Destination fee is the dealers cost to haul the car to their lot on the truck.

Exactly! The destination fee (i.e., the one listed on the Monroney sticker)
is a Real™ expense charged to the dealer. He CANNOT avoid paying it --
so, one way or another, he passes it on to you. In full.

Of course, money is fungible -- so it's a complete waste of time to try to
identify which dealer-dollar flows into/outof which profit/expense pocket.

...Bottom Line: Only the bottom line matters,

Looby

 

[subiesailor]

read the Edmunds car buying tips.

Also keep in mind that all dealers can beat the fixed club pricing you get through Costco. The trick is knowing if dealers in your area are refusing to negotiate lower than those club prices. In some high demand locations the Club price might be the lowest you can get. Other areas your leaving money on the table if you go to a dealer with a club price like what Costco offers.

It's all in the negotiation skills. As for used cars priced like new cars - simple there is a used car shortage and dealers make FAR FAR more money off used cars today than they do new cars so they can price em high and sit on them longer for a bigger pay off.

I bought two used cars last summer which was not quite as bad as today but nearly. I found that 07's and older for the Sequoia and G35X premium was about the drop off point in the obsurd high pricing by dealers. Both were purchased from private parties for about $5000 less than what the dealers were asking for the same car with zero history and purchased at the auction lot. Both cars I purchased were single owner with all records and complete cream puff vehicles.

If you buy used today NEVER purchase from a dealer!

 

[GasGuzz]

$1K Dest Fee<O</O
$1K HK/AWP<O</O
If they knock off Dest Fee but you pay HK/AWP sticker, what did you really get?<O</O
Simplify the equation… Dest Fee is part of full Sticker, how far you get down from it is really the game - bottom line.<O</O
Same condition as with ‘Dealer Fee’, doesn’t matter what they call or charge for it, you’ll still only be accepting their final offer/bottom-line.<O</O

 

[G-Omaha]

Special pricing from Costco, USAA, etc program normally cost the dealer an additional $300 or so for their finders fee. Even though I could use USAA, I didn't and we split the difference - a real win win deal for both of us when I purchased my 2012 Impreza and 2013 OB SAP (both at invoice - minus a few bucks).

 

[DieselOx]

Did you pay MSRP minus the Destination/Delivery charge? If so, it wasn't a free-bee as the cost difference between Invoice and MSRP is greater than the Destination/Delivery Charge. Also some dealers have a separate "Destination" fee over and above that required by Subaru (great profit maker) - was that the case for your purchase.

Never mind, found your original post on this:



2013 Base Outback has a 22,918 Invoice price and that does include the $795 destination fee. Sorry Charlie; but you actually did pay the destination fee.

Mines a 2012, for starters and it's a Base plus all weather package, (aluminum rims, heated seats, etc, plus, mud guards and rubber mats. mats). I call it 10% off msrp, don't care what actual invoice is, its a non existent approximate number if you include dealer incentives. My salesman got some bonus from Subaru for every car over some number that month, bought mine on Feb. 29.