I live in Texas (DFW aera). Just about to purchase an 05' RX-8. I qualify for the S-Plan. Got a quote from a dealer. Everything looks fine except there is a $292.00 "DFW Assessment Fee". According to the dealer, "This fee is charged by Mazda USA for advertising. This fee is required to be paid by Mazda for all Supplier sales as well as employee and dealer sales." Is that true or BS? Anybody in Texas used S-Plan knows anything about this?

 

Used S-PLan in Atlanta on my '05. Team Mazda gets (and got from me) $499 "doc fee" . Pure f'in profit. You might be able to talk 'em out of it but I doubt it. I spent alot of oxygen trying, but to no avail. Oh, well, its only money and I really wanted this car. I figured, 500 over invoice for the first one off the boat, with no real haggling, ok.

 

well what's the issue if Mazda is the one paying it? :p

 

First the lecture. Read the program literature. Now the answer:

Question #26 from the FAQ:

26. Can I be charged a "document fee" (doc fee) by my dealer?
No. Fees for documentation or similar administration services are not allowed.

(the poor grammar is Ford's, the above is quoted verbatim)

Just so you don't feel bad when the dealer starts whining:

27. Do dealers make a profit on plan purchases and/or leases?
Yes. Dealers receive a commission form Ford Motor Company on each plan transaction.

My dealer tried several times to sneak fees onto the contract and every time, they said that they were "required" to charge them. I said fine, I'm not required to pay them, I'm leaving.

 

I read similar statements as beachdog mentioned. Got me to wonder if the dealer can even ask for those junk fees. I called MazdaUSA and asked. Essentially what they said was that each dealer is autonomous and can do whatever they want regarding fees. The words are but "suggestions". Dealers dont even have to honor the PLans themselves, but few dealers would say no.

 

I just purchased an 05 Mazda 6s (wife's car) on the S-plan from a quality dealer (Mazda South - Austin) - NO document fees at all, except the standard $50 for the state of Texas.

It is certainly not a requirement........

 

OK, but how about destination fee's? Should they be added to the S-Plan price?

 

No fees. Just learn how to haggle better. I even had to get my car shipped in from oklahoma..... nada!!!!

Cant sell the salesman baby!

 

The $520 (in 04) transportation charge for the shipment from Japan to the port is part of the S plan invoice and allowed under the S plan. Any other transpo charges are up to you to agree to or not agree to.

An honest dealer will just pull up the S plan invoice on the computer and print it out. Others will force you to bring in the S plan price sheet and tell them the cost.

 

That's BS. Either the dealer participates in the program or they don't. I didn't call Mazda. I called Ford. They were very blunt about it all and sent me the agreement between them and the dealers. There were no ifs ands or buts about it.

As I wrote before, they can ask all they want. Doesn't mean you have to pay. I've had dealers tell me that a fee was mandatory because it was pre-printed on the form. Just take a pen and cross off whatever you don't agree to. If you don't push back they will charge you whatever they feel they can get away with.

 

That is TOTAL bullshit. The DFW Assesment fee is "holdback" money that they will be getting rebated back to them on their next dealer payment statement. You do not have to pay that. WTF. I have worked for a dealership for 10 years and I see so much bullshit go on like this it's no wonder people think that dealers are scum.

The dealers here in Kansas City even waive the "documentation" fee for A/Z/X/S plan Ford and Mazda employees. You actually cannot charge that fee.

 

Actually guys, Mazda products CAN be charged a document fee, but that is all - absolutely 100% no other fees. FORD says no document fees, however, this is old. It changed for Mazda S-plan. X-plan is ford, thus, no fees of any sort. S-plan (essentiall the same as X-plan) is the Mazda version. This past summer, they issued a notice to say that document fees could be assesed. I got charged $100 when I bought my car this past summer. Trust me, I did the first hand research. I called FORD, and the S/X plan number. They did verify that the S-PLAN can charge doc fees as well as the dealer was even nice enough to show me the written notice and let me read it.

So the ultimate answer:
YES, you can be charged document fees, because it is the S-plan, not X-plan. You CANNOT be charged any other fee, however, PERIOD!

 

Ok, I asked the dealer if " This fee is required to be paid by Mazda", why does it pass on to me. Here is his response:

"Mazda requires that this fee be paid and it is added to the price of
the car. All automobile manufacturers have this fee included in the cost
of the car and all require that the fee be paid."

It sure sounds like BS to me.

I got quote from 2 other dealers. They both happened to have the same price. They don't even show this "fee" separately and just give a S-Plan price of $26773. Base on the S-Plan, it should be $26455 (24817 Base + 1118 Sport + 520 Dest). So, all 3 dealers have this hidden $292 "Assessent Fee". Yes, you have to pay destination fee for S-Plan. And supposedly, they cannot charge you any documenation fee, or any other fee, at least that is what I get from ready S-Plan. I will give Mazda a call.

tpryor, for your wife's Mazda6, did you get exactly the S-Plan price + just the Tax Title License?

 

I purchased my RX8 under the S-Plan in July and was curious when they tried to charge me a $500 doc fee so I wrote the s-plan people and here is the response I got................



Thank you for contacting Ford Motor Company on 07/13/04. We appreciate
the time you have taken to write us.

With Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury, the X-plan specifically excludes
administrative fees, advertising, and destination charges. However, with
the premium brands of Land Rover, Mazda, Volvo, and Jaguar, there may be
additional charges as directed by the individual brand's corporate
structure.

As of 10 June 2004, Mazda has directed dealerships that they may charge
a reasonable administrative or documentation fee; this fee is
permissible under plan guidelines. The new information is currently
being reviewed for updating to the website.

At Ford Motor Company, we consider the satisfaction of our customers as
one of our most important objectives. If you have any other inquiries
or concerns, please feel free to contact us and we will be happy to
address them.

Thank you for contacting Ford Motor Company.

Sincerely,
Marc
Ford Motor Company
Customer Relationship Center


So they can charge the doc fee but not an advertizing fee. If they aren’t charging you the doc fee then the advertising fee seems a bit cheaper than what I paid.

 

Just got of the phone with Ford X/S plan (fordpartner.com), the guy told me that last summer, there was a clause added to the S-Plan agreement that the dealer could have the optional to add additional fee. Which concurs with what DMBfan said. Bummer! I will try haggle not to pay for it. Thank goodness I also have the Graduate rebate.

 

X-Plan is a Ford partner program and is not in any way similar to A/Z plan for employee/retiree plan. In some cases X-Plan is more than invoice, always ask the dealer to see the invoice. I show them every time. There are however some rebates that are available to X-planners that retail customers cannot get.

 

Exactly correct.

 

I got the same email as DMBfan's when I queried Ford about the doc fee. This actually diminishes the S-plan's cost savings for this car because it is not too uncommon for people to get one at invoice, if not below invoice. If you bring up the S-plan, your negotiation point begins at invoice plus the bullshit fees. If you approach it as a normal buyer, you can probably negotiate starting from a point below invoice and get a better deal.

 

This is true for 04 models. Using S-plan for 04's would not be in the buyers best interest. However, if you use the S-plan for an 05 you would get a better no-haggling deal than the average buyer would get walking in off the street. Dealers are not wheeling and dealing the 05's, yet.

 

Called Ford X/S Plan twice, pretty much got the some answer: dealers have the optional to charge additional fee. One of the three dealers I asked for quote faxed me their invoice. The S-Plan pricing listed there is $26773 (the $292 assessment fee is part of the price) which is the same as the quote from all 3 dealers. Now it leads me to wonder what the S-Plan price on Ford X/S plan website includes?

tpryor, is the S-Plan price you paid for the Mazda 6 the price listed on the S-Plan pdf file (21470 for 6s Sport and 24069 for 6s Grand Touring) ? How does it compare to invoice listed in Edmunds?

Anybody bought an 05' RX-8 with S-Plan can share how much he/she paid for?

I think I am just going to pull the trigger when I receive my Capital One auto loan check later this week.

 

I paid the exact number that was on the pdf file. I also had a file from the dealer stating the S-plan price, and it matched the pdf exactly. When we signed the papers, I checked again - same price, no additional charges.

I wish the S-plan would have been available when I bought the 8.........

No idea. I'll check in the morning and let you know.

 

Great thread. Thanks for all of the info.

 

Dude.....READ WHAT OTHERS HAVE POSTED. I as well as DMBFan gave you the exact information. As well as you've admited to Mazda telling you the same information TWICE. What aren't you getting? The dealer CAN CAN CAN charge you a doc fee. Whatever they want to call it is there issue! You'd think you'd have gotten this after 3 dealers gave you the same pricing....or maybe after 2 people posted here that you can be charged a fee....or maybe after Mazda told you 2x a fee can be assesed. If you don't want to pay the fee, don't get the car. You're already getting it under invoice!

 

My dealer charged a fee of $295, and said that he wouldn't sell the car without it. I wanted the car he had, and was able to bargain for some free oil changes, so I paid it. I figured, as some have mentioned here, that getting it close to invoice for an '05 was good enough, and it was not worth driving around to five other dealers (and haggling with them if they, too, had this fee) so I could possibly save $295. I saved more than the fee in was worth in terms of time, effort, and aggravation.

 

I'm a salesmgr in Wisconsin and I tell you that there are way to many dealers that charge a fee to do the paperwork and or a PDI fee and I can let you it's bullshit and we will not charge the fee . But for the Adv. there are some markets that have the fee as well as a parts fee if anyone would like we will sell any new 2004/2005 Mazda in stock for S-plan please just pm me . With no other fee's just taxes and dot fee's .