Is the Toyota marketing fee real or just profit?

[john_galt]

I've spent the last 2 weeks looking for a deal on a 2015 4Runner.

These 2 discussions were excellent regarding how to access the cost and dealer profit.

Toyota 4Runner Purchasing and Invoice Pricing
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/62758-dealer-hold-back-2.html

And it seemed like the marketing fee was generally considered to be a valid fee. At least in 2010, that one paid one way or another and the cash was sent to the regional office for promotion advertising.

I contacted 4 different dealers, all in the same Toyota region and received 5 different values for TDA. Yup, one dealer quoted me 2 different TDAs on the vehicle inquiry report on different occasions.

They range from a low of $621 to $808. All on the same vehicle & options.

Is this marketing fund now just another way to disguise profit, now that people have accepted it as legitimate?

 

[Tengu]

Real

Toyota (well pretty much all auto companies) charges the dealers for marketing and commercials. It's like a pool for ads in market areas. It is just a given.

 

[ndillon]

I just bought a new 4runner this week and didn't pay any of this crap. I live in SC for reference (Southeast Toyota)

 

[eddie333]

TDA can vary depending on what region the dealer is grouped with. At our store its $450 but the next store over 30 mins from me is across a state border and in a different region, and the TDA is different for them

 

[BobsTrail]

IMO -- That's crap, BS or other unpleasant stuff.

We should not pay a company to tell us to buy from them. Hide it in the sales price or if they show it, ask for that amount as an additional discount. I think it shuold be part of the dealers overall costs. Will they ask to pay for thier janitorial or landscaping service next?

I did not get charged for that in SoCal, or they hid it from me.

:yell: :nono: :argue:

It's been a quiet day, maybe I'm just bored or grumpy because I have not been off-road for a few weeks.

 

[shadowmaker]

Did they charge them 450-800 per car?

 

[Tengu]

IMO -- That's crap, BS or other unpleasant stuff.

We should not pay a company to tell us to buy from them. Hide it in the sales price or if they show it, ask for that amount as an additional discount. I think it shuold be part of the dealers overall costs. Will they ask to pay for thier janitorial or landscaping service next?

I did not get charged for that in SoCal, or they hid it from me.

:yell: :nono: :argue:

It's been a quiet day, maybe I'm just bored or grumpy because I have not been off-road for a few weeks.

It's the weekend, you have permission to find some dirt and f it like a cheap whore. In the mean time, opinions are that, not fact.
There was a whole conversation about this on the car pro radio show a week or two ago. Manufacturers get the charge and will find a way to pass it on to you.

 

[DEERUNNER]

Processing, advertising, delivery, and maybe an other fee may all be there, seem to always be there, on most purchases. They are always shown on your purchase agreement. That is when most buyers see them for the first time. Buyers are always told they can't remove them. When you get down to that point, make big deal out of it and have them reduce the purchase price to a point that absorbs as much as you can get them to absorb. I always tell them, OK don't remove it, to put the numbers wherever they want but those fess are ridiculous and are a deal killer. There is always room to deal but at some point....

 

[1engineer]

Of course it's a real charge and whoever said they didn't pay for it is wrong. Of course you paid for it! It is a Toyota cost! Even if it did not show up on a line item you pay for it if you buy a Toyota, GM, Ford, Subaru and the list goes on. If you buy bread at the store you pay for their marketing.

 

[philsey]

Of course it's a real charge and whoever said they didn't pay for it is wrong. Of course you paid for it! It is a Toyota cost! Even if it did not show up on a line item you pay for it if you buy a Toyota, GM, Ford, Subaru and the list goes on. If you buy bread at the store you pay for their marketing.

This. Commerce 101. Reaffirms 1E's buying technique; "just show me the net-net price - no taxes, no preps, no trade, no msrp, no fees - nuttin but my old vehicle and my check for the difference." Simple, but it requires knowledge and prep.

EDIT: Difference is, the bread guy is smart enough to NOT tell you, your Toyota guy not-so-much.

 

[Sunriser]

EDIT: Difference is, the bread guy is smart enough to NOT tell you, your Toyota guy not-so-much.

Not quite. Consumers are not scrutinizing buying a loaf of bread at one market versus another the way car buyers do.

Itemization of fees are intended to narrow down the area that a buyer feels they can negotiate. Instead of having a big number that's fair game, now it's a smaller number. It's supposed to be a win for the dealer.

Whenever I've bought a car, I've been pretty up front with the dealer. I want to see the out-the-door price. That's what I'll base my decision on. (Then it's up to me to decide if a higher price justifies my business.)

Last summer I had a deposit down for a 14 TE, but the dealer added a transfer fee at the last minute. I walked out of principle.

 

[philsey]

..... Consumers are not scrutinizing buying a loaf of bread at one market versus another the way car buyers do.
.

You obviously don't know my Mom.....

 

[Mooney]

Whether it's listed in your PO each dealer pays into a regional co-op contribution for advertising.

It's estimated at that 10-15% of every purchase we make goes into advertising/marketing the product we just bought. The only difference is whether it's itemized on our receipt or packaged in the sale. I believe with easy access to dealer invoices we're seeing more itemized charges to justify their asking price.

 

[scanny]

I contacted 4 different dealers, all in the same Toyota region and received 5 different values for TDA. Yup, one dealer quoted me 2 different TDAs on the vehicle inquiry report on different occasions.

They range from a low of $621 to $808. All on the same vehicle & options.

Is this marketing fund now just another way to disguise profit, now that people have accepted it as legitimate?

Never heard about marketing fees here is Canada. Up here dealers try to get more money from us on dollar exchange rate, and they like throw a few small $100-$200 range fees of their choice after price has been negotiated. I've seen fuel consumption fee, air conditioner fee, registration fee, processing fee, but marketing fee is something new.

 

[Ducmonsta]

You obviously don't know my Mom.....

but I know [MENTION=81573]Stifler[/MENTION]'s

 

[philsey]

but I know [MENTION=81573]Stifler[/MENTION]'s

Yeah, well, who doesn't?

 

[john_galt]

All of these dealers were in the same Toyota region and w/in a span of a week or so. If the charge is real, then shouldn't they all report the same TDA dollar amount?

I have 5 vehicle inquiry reports (VIR) from 4 distinct dealers and 5 different quotes for TDA. That's what seems fishy to me. Maybe there is a lower base number and they each padded it by a different amount to incur some leverage in the negotiations.

If the dealer is paying any or all of this fee, then everyone buying a car is paying this fee. It just depends on how you are looking at the itemized bill. (You won't see healthcare costs and social security itemized on the loaf of bread, but consumers do pay these costs)

On the VIRs, they only account for TDA in the dealer invoice cost not MSRP. So if you are basing your offer on invoice price then this number is important.

If you are basing your offer on percent below MSRP, then you won't see TDA, but the dealer is certainly taking it into account when determining if the sale will be profitable or not.

I got the best deal I could for the time I was willing to invest. 7-3/4% below MSRP. But depending on the TDA, the dealers profit (incl Holdback and WFR) could be as low as 1% or as high as 3-1/2%.