Topic: Re: Etching and Nitrogen Fees

[erich]

I recently bought a pre-owned car and the dealer wanted me to pay for etching, fabric protection and whatnot.
I gave him a big NO.
When I pricked up the car I asked for a printout of the maintenance history. Etching, fabric protection and all that was done (charged) twice already.

[tooscoops]

god.. that happens a lot at some dealers. we mark it on the file if a trade has anything like that done. doing a second time is such bull. a few local dealers to us are notorious for it...

agree with rocket that it just shouldn't be carte blanche for fools being separated from their payola... i think the term "fool" would need to be defined as someone willfully ignorant. just not understanding or being naive is different from being dumb. and even the dumb shouldn't be fleeced... maybe just not get the *best* deal (because hey... WE are the only ones who can get those best deals! dealers and such have to make money on someone, and it won't be us right?)

wheel, you were at an ontario dealer right? and you agreed on a price with the sales staff? well, that price legally has to be the price they charge you. if they THEN added those safety packages, then what they did WASN'T on this side of illegal... it was plain wrong and they could get in big crap. now, if the price you agreed to at the salespersons desk just happened to include those items and you just had an issue when you saw them itemized... well, then that is just the way they do things and it didn't change the number... so no biggie...

[AcinonyxJubatus]

god.. that happens a lot at some dealers. we mark it on the file if a trade has anything like that done. doing a second time is such bull. a few local dealers to us are notorious for it...

agree with rocket that it just shouldn't be carte blanche for fools being separated from their payola... i think the term "fool" would need to be defined as someone willfully ignorant. just not understanding or being naive is different from being dumb. and even the dumb shouldn't be fleeced... maybe just not get the *best* deal (because hey... WE are the only ones who can get those best deals! dealers and such have to make money on someone, and it won't be us right?)

wheel, you were at an ontario dealer right? and you agreed on a price with the sales staff? well, that price legally has to be the price they charge you. if they THEN added those safety packages, then what they did WASN'T on this side of illegal... it was plain wrong and they could get in big crap. now, if the price you agreed to at the salespersons desk just happened to include those items and you just had an issue when you saw them itemized... well, then that is just the way they do things and it didn't change the number... so no biggie...

What the dealers said to me regarding the etching fee is if the car got stolen then I will get $5000 from the car company. In the invoice I can see the etching fee is showing $399

I am buying a new car from the dealer by the way. 

[rrocket]

god.. that happens a lot at some dealers. we mark it on the file if a trade has anything like that done. doing a second time is such bull. a few local dealers to us are notorious for it...

agree with rocket that it just shouldn't be carte blanche for fools being separated from their payola... i think the term "fool" would need to be defined as someone willfully ignorant. just not understanding or being naive is different from being dumb. and even the dumb shouldn't be fleeced... maybe just not get the *best* deal (because hey... WE are the only ones who can get those best deals! dealers and such have to make money on someone, and it won't be us right?)

wheel, you were at an ontario dealer right? and you agreed on a price with the sales staff? well, that price legally has to be the price they charge you. if they THEN added those safety packages, then what they did WASN'T on this side of illegal... it was plain wrong and they could get in big crap. now, if the price you agreed to at the salespersons desk just happened to include those items and you just had an issue when you saw them itemized... well, then that is just the way they do things and it didn't change the number... so no biggie...

What the dealers said to me regarding the etching fee is if the car got stolen then I will get $5000 from the car company. In the invoice I can see the etching fee is showing $399

I am buying a new car from the dealer by the way.

It cost them $75 to etch.

[tenpenny]

When people bring up nitrogen, I’m always tempted to tell them I don’t want ANY nitrogen in my tires, and see what they do.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[tooscoops]

heh.. that would be interesting! most sales staff aren't the type to have paid much attention in science class, so they won't do anything except tell you "no problem, we can do that!"

Acin, the etching isn't worth a whole lot. in theory, it provides protection, but most thieves don't really care. I'd have to look real hard to find one time that etching helped find a car. the only thing I could see it doing is providing the location of some parts should the police ever recover a stolen car missing it's vin.

the 5k thing is if they don't recover the car after a theft, the etching company will provide 5k towards your next purchase at the store originally purchased at. unlikely to ever get taken advantage of, but yeah, at least it's something. as previously mentioned, etching is a way for the etching company to make money, for the dealer to act like they are trying to protect their lot, and the dealer to add a bit of profit to each car that isn't commissionable/add to business office profit.

[rrocket]

This seems like the place for this article!!   

https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2021/12/you-gotta-take-the-trucoat-toyota-customer-alleges-dealer-bad-behavior/


I'd not be the least bit shocked if this happened.

[tooscoops]

oh it happened at places even pre-covid... the stores who advertised the lowest prices that seemed too good to be true would make you take the stuff... they were/are just better at it than this store from years of practice. if you say no to all of the offered products, suddenly the car just isn't available/your couldn't get approved, so they slide to another vehicle or factory order with a better chance of profit.

with the current market, some dealers have stock at about 1/4 of usual. so if they were making 1500 per copy and that kept them all paid and doors open, they now need to find a way to make that same amount of profit on a quarter of the cars. be it added products, increased profit on it's own, steal some trades... in the end, it's just not a good time to buy unless you really need to. some stores are upfront and charging a "market adjustment", some are adding mandatory dealer options but i the end, it just means you are paying more for the cars.

this dealer is in a tough spot as OMVIC would call it non compliance with all in pricing given that they are making the products mandatory. while they can get a slap on the wrist, doesn't really help the customer much.

[Fobroader]

I told the dealer flat out, I don't need their nitrogen, etching and locking wheel nuts,
"but sir, they are all included in the Alberta Package, you also get a block heater in that"
Me- "cool, Ill take the block heater"
 
dealer- "what about the nitrogen, it helps tire longevity and safety?!?! We can't take it out...."

Me- "riiigggghhhhhttt, yeah, no I refuse to pay for 3/4 of that package, you do with it whatever you wish, I don't want/need it"

dealer- "ok, Ill see what I can do, but the nitrogen will already be in the tires, I guess you want that for free??"

me- "no, I didn't ask for it or want it, like I told you, take it out and put it in another car, use a safeway bag to trap it"

Just painful that this kind of still happens.

[rrocket]

I told the dealer flat out, I don't need their nitrogen, etching and locking wheel nuts,
"but sir, they are all included in the Alberta Package, you also get a block heater in that"
Me- "cool, Ill take the block heater"
 
dealer- "what about the nitrogen, it helps tire longevity and safety?!?! We can't take it out...."

Me- "riiigggghhhhhttt, yeah, no I refuse to pay for 3/4 of that package, you do with it whatever you wish, I don't want/need it"

dealer- "ok, Ill see what I can do, but the nitrogen will already be in the tires, I guess you want that for free??"

me- "no, I didn't ask for it or want it, like I told you, take it out and put it in another car, use a safeway bag to trap it"

Just painful that this kind of still happens.

We can't take it out??

You should say "let me show you! " and proceed to air down the tires.

[Fobroader]

I told the dealer flat out, I don't need their nitrogen, etching and locking wheel nuts,
"but sir, they are all included in the Alberta Package, you also get a block heater in that"
Me- "cool, Ill take the block heater"
 
dealer- "what about the nitrogen, it helps tire longevity and safety?!?! We can't take it out...."

Me- "riiigggghhhhhttt, yeah, no I refuse to pay for 3/4 of that package, you do with it whatever you wish, I don't want/need it"

dealer- "ok, Ill see what I can do, but the nitrogen will already be in the tires, I guess you want that for free??"

me- "no, I didn't ask for it or want it, like I told you, take it out and put it in another car, use a safeway bag to trap it"

Just painful that this kind of still happens.

We can't take it out??

You should say "let me show you! " and proceed to air down the tires.

Thats going to be what happens if they mention it again lol

[rrocket]

I told the dealer flat out, I don't need their nitrogen, etching and locking wheel nuts,
"but sir, they are all included in the Alberta Package, you also get a block heater in that"
Me- "cool, Ill take the block heater"
 
dealer- "what about the nitrogen, it helps tire longevity and safety?!?! We can't take it out...."

Me- "riiigggghhhhhttt, yeah, no I refuse to pay for 3/4 of that package, you do with it whatever you wish, I don't want/need it"

dealer- "ok, Ill see what I can do, but the nitrogen will already be in the tires, I guess you want that for free??"

me- "no, I didn't ask for it or want it, like I told you, take it out and put it in another car, use a safeway bag to trap it"

Just painful that this kind of still happens.

We can't take it out??

You should say "let me show you! " and proceed to air down the tires.

Thats going to be what happens if they mention it again lol

Bring a valve stem tool to make it quicker...

[quadzilla]

WAIT! They can't take out the nitrogen but they were able to take out the air to put in nitrogen? So once you put nitrogen in a tire it can never come out? Who would have known. 

[Fobroader]

WAIT! They can't take out the nitrogen but they were able to take out the air to put in nitrogen? So once you put nitrogen in a tire it can never come out? Who would have known. 

Apparently it becomes one with the rim......

[EV Dan]

I told the dealer flat out, I don't need their nitrogen, etching and locking wheel nuts,
"but sir, they are all included in the Alberta Package, you also get a block heater in that"
Me- "cool, Ill take the block heater"
 
dealer- "what about the nitrogen, it helps tire longevity and safety?!?! We can't take it out...."

Me- "riiigggghhhhhttt, yeah, no I refuse to pay for 3/4 of that package, you do with it whatever you wish, I don't want/need it"

dealer- "ok, Ill see what I can do, but the nitrogen will already be in the tires, I guess you want that for free??"

me- "no, I didn't ask for it or want it, like I told you, take it out and put it in another car, use a safeway bag to trap it"

Just painful that this kind of still happens.

We can't take it out??

You should say "let me show you! " and proceed to air down the tires.

Thats going to be what happens if they mention it again lol

Bring a valve stem tool to make it quicker...

They should just start selling cars online, like they do OE parts now.