I like the no haggling, too. All the prices I saw were just like the web site. But everybody had fees that appeared when they wrote up their purchase orders.

When I questioned the first dealer's high fees, because of Pure Price, they said look around, and so I went to another dealer and saved $547 on the same car.

 

These stories of fees that don't appear until the purchase order is written up seem to be more frequent than they used to be. Dealers are supposed to post their prices, no hidden fees. If this practice is becoming more widespread, I wonder if it's because Scion is not enforcing their policy (or can't). That would suck.

It would also appear to be false advertising, since the "Pure Pricing" rules are part of Scion's own promotional material:

"Here's how it's done: Scion's Pure Price purchase experience means no haggle, no hassle. The price you pay for all products and services offered equals the dealership's posted and advertised price. Price menus are clearly posted in the dealership showroom for all products and services. Dealers are free to set their own prices."

RichC

 

to really find out what they charge go to Scoin's find a dealer, Click on your local dealer web site, Then click on the "about us" menu & click on dealership pricing, Select your model in the filter, Scroll down & actually look at everthing. The prices are different for a lot of things. You also need to specify Factory/Distributor Installed Price because it is normally cheaper.

Good Luck on getting a new car.

 

That was interesting. That high priced dealer I did not buy from, had their fees buried in their website where you predicted. And those were:
Special Benefits Package (i.e. extra profit for dealer) 598.98
Sales Consultant Fee (i.e. extra pay for saleman) 250.00
Docment Fee 99.95

 

Yeah the pure pricing is for the MSRP of a new Scion only!!! I researched the info for about 7 months prior to ordering mine.

Glad to see you got one ordered & hope you will enjoy it as much as I have.

 

Also, every dealer is different when it comes to fees. So shop around before you buy.

 

Wow, good stuff. Lemme share some of my personal experience.

I worked for car/motorcycle dealerships for a little less than ten years. I started as a new car porter, worked as a parts counter person, parts manager, salesperson, assistant sales manager, and assistant GM throughout my career. What I can tell you for sure is this- Dealer processing fee is crap. Made Up extra money period. That is what MARGIN is for. The difference between wholesale (what the dealer pays) and MSRP exists so that dealers can pay their overhead (which includes "processing") and make a profit. Anything over is just just some unfortunate soul getting bent by the dealer. And they ALL try to do it.

Dealer prep is a joke! When I was eighteen I was the guy wjho did the dealer prep. You knopw what that is? I took off the white sheets of protective plastic, removed the plastic from the interior, installed the flippin' hubcaps, and washed it. That's IT!!!! All for about five bucks per hour. The LONGEST it would ever take me is two hours. (Maybe it got dirty on the truck ride) So all of that crazy dealer prep charge is straight-up B.S.. Oh, our sales manager would also take about fifteen minutes to add the car to inventory. Cost to dealer: 30 bucks max.

Freight is a valid cost, but many times it is already included in THE STICKER PRICE. Also, do a little research. Find out what the dealer really pays by looking it up online. By educating yourself you can save yourself THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS.

Now here is the predicament- Scions are hot. If you wont pay the jacked up cost, likely someone else will. By doing my homework, we just purchased an '06 xB RS3.0 for the listed $16,880 plus $800 for an automatic (Scions extra cost- not dealer), and a "processing fee" of $189. The rest of the charges were legitmate and NOT DEALER MANDATED. i.e. tax, title, plate, registration. $189 was by far the lowest of extra fees charged by any dealer in the area. (Thank you VERY MUCH Denbigh Scion!!)

The easiest way to tell if the dealer is adding profit is to ask if the fees are TAXED. If you are paying tax on the "processing fee" (as I did) you know it's going right in their pockets.

Sorry so long- especially for my second post, by just getting in my 2c.

 

Thats about the same price I ended up with added on when I bought my 06 here at the end of Jan. I asked the salesman straight up before anything about the extra fees they would add on. He let me know the only fees they would add is just for the title and registration transfer from my old car because they wanted to remain as close to the Scion sticker price as they could. I guess I am fortunate to live close to a very honest Dealer that is worth working with (Rinke Scion in Centerline, MI)

Gratz on the RS3.0 BTW, I should have held out for a couple extra months because I love that color!

 

I just got ripped on an accessory I went to purchase for the xB. The dealer I bought my car from didn't have it in stock (Cargo Liner), but I wanted it today to take the dog to the vet this weekend. I called the other local dealer and they had one in stock. The posted price on Scion.com is $93.00, the posted prices on the dealer website was $88.00 or $93.00 installed (which they didn't do). When I called the guy said it was $97 and some change. That sounded about right for the tax, so I went to pick it up. NO! The $97 and change was without tax. So I ended up paying over 100 bucks for something they list at $88.00. I probably should have walked out, but the guy at the checkout window was nice and it wasn't his fault. It wasn't a big rip, but it just shows you that some "dealers" will always do that "dealer" type of cr@p! Regardless of "Pure Price"

After the way this place had tried to do me on a trade, I don't know why I ever set foot back on the property.

 

I bought my xB inSept. 05 from Scoin of Fort Worth & my dealer fees $50. I got 3 years of oil changes, tire rotaions, & a wash every time I bring it in. In other words be very careful with dealer fees, ask before they hand you a sheet to sign. Also if you know you want a new car always do your research & know what you want before you walk in the door. I ordered mine through internet sales. I asked what is the cost out the door for these options, xB, TTL. A coulpe of dealers never got back to me, one said they dont do quotes, & I bought a new 05 Matrix from them 1 year earlier. The only thing to do is ask everybody & those who do not respond in a reasonible amount of time where the first to get marked off my list.

Happy hunting

 

Okay, the only piece of info I'm going to offer is this:

Every Scion dealer is required to post the price for their Scions both in the showroom and on THEIR website. My website is www.scionofames.com. The vehicle price and ALL FEES must be posted there.

There's no need to physically shop around. Hit up scion.com, type a zip code in the top right corner and click "find a dealer". Each dealership will have a link to their website in the results and you can get your pricing there INCLUDING all fees.

-Alex

 

Yes Alex, you are correct. But, what everyone is saying is that they didnot realize that dealership X is charging $189 in fees & dealership Y is charging $50 in fees. And yes that is what I am saying to look at the websites to find out this info before contacting the dealership. I am not trying to attack any dealership. All I am saying is that the customer needs to do thier research to find the best deal out the door total cost not just the advertised price, cause they are all the same.

I am all for capitalism & I agree with you to "hide" though available if the customer was to look before they buy. If a customer does not know all the info prior to buying hell tack on another $100-200 "security fee to protect your information". And if the customer says "OK". Hey you just made more profit.

Have a great day, Alex

 

In the past year, at the three dealers in this area, I have not seen a Scion in the showroom. Maybe I was not there at the right time. The Scions are outside on the lot,, they never have any stickers beyond the Mfrs MSRP sticker, and the xBs come and go within a few days or a week. Anyway, there is no posting of fees on paper in car windows, until you get into the sales office and are given the purchase order to sign.

There is posting of fees buried in the dealers' websites, under the fine print links About Us -> Dealership Pricing. But I never saw those links until someone told me -- after I had done my shopping by actually getting written purchase orders from two dealers to compare. Most people will not know about those buried links that show dealers fees.

 

Okay, let me clear that one up here.

The prices for Scions (with all fees and such) are required to be posted in the dealership showroom regardless of weather there's a car there or not.

Every Scion dealer has a stand like this one:




On that stand is a posting of the prices for each model, all Scion accessories (and some aftermarket accessories in some dealerships), all financing rates, all protection plans, and anything else that is offered on Scions at that dealership.

Here is a closeup of my sign for the model prices. Every dealership makes their own sign (there is no template), so it may look a bit different, but the information should all be there.



Now, these are crappy pics (taken with my cell phone, no camera at work), but you can proabably see that there is a lot of information below the pricing. That is where you will find the documentation fee ($68.25 at our dealership) and finance rates.


This kind of information is provided in this format for those who want a Scion, but are not good with computers. It should be in an accessable place in the Scion showroom (lots of people come and read mine every day).

So, I hope that clears things up for future buyers.

Vintage is right. There are rarely Scions on a showroom floor. If I actually DO put one on our floor, it lasts less than a week at BEST. However, Scion has tried harder than any other car company to make things easier for the buyer. Don't believe me? Try walking into a Ford, Chevy, Subaru, Hyundai, or whatever dealer and saying "I have a 740 credit score, what is your finance rate?" You'll NEVER get a straight answer.

Sorry if that turned into a bit of a rant. It wasn't meant as such. I just really want the buyers to be informed about what Scion and the Scion dealers are trying to do for them and how.

-Alex

 

You are the exception. In two months of shopping in the three dealers around here, I have never seen such a "stand" or any other posting of all prices and fees on paper. All there is -- is the factory MSRP sticker. And, ta-da, the surprises on the no-haggle purchase order.

 

That's so odd. I KNOW they have the stand. It comes when you purchase the whole "Scion Showroom" package! That means these dealers are ACTIVELY screwing up. Hopefully this is caught by their regional representatives during their compliance check and the problems are corrected.

In the meantime, spare some others your experience and leave a dealer review about both the good and bad here in the Scion Life Dealer Reviews section.

-Alex

 

That's not going to happen. You can ask that it not be driven by other customers, or as a dealer trade, but the dealer will have to do a check-out on the car during the pre-delivery inspection. It's a QA step that all cars go through upon arrival at the dealer.

We deliver cars with 6-8 miles on tham if they haven't been driven by a customer.

 

Vintage,

If there are no equipment adds on the car the dealer only has to post the sticker. Every other fee that charge must be posted on their menu on their floor and online. Otherwise they are out of compliance. We had three dealers get shadey here in my area and they are all doing it with less cars today. Scion means business, this is not a game Toyota is playing, it's the future of car sales.

Could you post the names of the dealers you're working with? I'd like to see their online menu to see if they're playing games with pricing.

What Grizzly said about the menus and the requirements is 100% correct. The exception is the dealer that doesn't follow the rules (covenant) from Scion. There are enforcement policies in place for those types of jokers.

Sorry for the headaches you're getting from them. This is supposed to be a simple, open process for you.

Be sure to write reviews for the dealers like he suggested too.

 

Good posts, everyone. What you see here is that there are differences between dealers.

It's NOT One Price. It's Pure Price. The Dealer should have everything clearly posted on his website, in his showroom and on the cars for NEW SCIONS.

Pre-owned is a different story, although at our dealership we try to keep the negotiations as simple as possible, especially with certified. Then again, we're talking about a total of six cars in the last 8 or 9 months.

That being said, you might encounter the occasional salesman who doesn't know pure price from pure bunk. As for Dealer Fees, they are what they are. They add to the bottom line. But they should be clearly posted for the whole world to see.

The good news is that I have yet to encounter a Scion owner who doesn't absolutely LOVE their car. Happy customers generally make all other issues fairly trivial.

And to all you wonderful Scion owners out there, Happy Driving.

SCION OF LEWISVILLE

 

Just want to clear this up a little. That $800 is GROSS profit (and it's more in the $750 - $780 range on a tC only - less on xA and xB) not a NET profit. Out of that cash the service department needs to get paid for inspecting the car, you gotta pay the guys to detail the car, fill it up with gas, and then pay the sales associate. So figure net profit on a tC at around $400 - $500. Not a lot of money, is it? The dealership is pulling in around 2% - 3% profit off the car. If you buy a Toyota, at a little over invoice, the dealership still makes @ 4% - 6%. So how about you cut Scion a little slack. If you don't like how Scion prices their cars or if you think 2% profit is just outrageous, go somewhere else.