North Fort Lauderdale Subaru: the website price is just bait…read more
I drove down to look at a 2020 Tesla Model 3 Long Range (stock S13220A) for my son. Their website lists it at $18,900. Plenty of people shop online before they make the drive, so here's what that number actually turns into.
The window sticker on the car said $24,001. Same car, same lot, $5,100 more than the website. When I pointed it out, the website price was the one they'd "work from."
Then I got the worksheet. On top of the $18,900:
* Doc fee: $999
* Electronic filing fee: $549
* Reconditioning fee: $1,895
That's $3,443 in dealer fees, more than 18% of the car's price, before a single dollar of tax or registration. The out-the-door number came to $24,161.78.
The $1,895 "reconditioning fee" deserves its own paragraph. The car is a trade-in sitting in their garage. It has a worn steering wheel, creasing on the driver's seat, and a battery reading below average for its mileage. Nobody could tell me what was reconditioned. If it was, I couldn't find it. The website's fine print says pricing "may" exclude reconditioning fees. Then it shows up as a $1,895 line item on a $19K car.
It's a Subaru dealer selling a Tesla, and it showed. Nobody could confirm whether the Tesla battery warranty was still active, which is the most important question on a used EV. Nobody could tell me the battery's health. I checked both myself, on the car's screen and by calling around, while I waited. The Buyers Guide on the window had the "manufacturer's warranty still applies" box left blank.
I made a fair out-the-door offer. After the usual back-and-forth with the finance office, their "final" was $21,746. That's still almost $3,000 over their own advertised price, for a car they couldn't answer basic questions about.
To be fair, my salesman Lane was polite and tried. But the problem isn't one salesperson. It's a pricing practice: advertise one number online, then stack fees until it's a different car.
If you shop here: screenshot the online price, ask for the itemized out-the-door number before you drive over, and ask exactly what the "reconditioning" was (I would still like to know, specifically . If management wants to make this right, they know how to reach me.
*Edit: I actually emailed the Manager days prior to posting this and he never even took the time to respond.