Buying a car is a stressful experience. This is not only because the average person’s knowledge of cars is limited, but due to how many additional fees some dealerships try to tag onto a customer’s final bill.
For example, one internet user claimed that a dealership tried to add a $2,500 fee onto his sale, then refused to remove it when asked. Others have claimed that dealerships have added thousands of dollars in additional fees for services they did not need nor request.
However, as many experts have noted, most costs at a car dealership are negotiable, and so, it’s valuable for a buyer to question any additional fees that the dealership may try to tack on—especially when they’re as ridiculous as the charge almost incurred by TikTok user Aleya Amini (@aleya_amini).
Why did this dealership try to charge a buyer $500?
In a video with over 58,000 views, Amini shares a video she appears to have recorded from inside a car dealership.
“Tell me why I’m at the dealership and I asked them to take off the decal, and the guy was like, ‘That can cost up to $500,’” she says.
In the caption, she adds, “Don’t make me get my dad [on the phone.]”
While a dealership may want you to keep their branding on your car, a buyer is well within their rights to ask the dealership to remove it, or remove it themselves after the car has been purchased.
As noted by MotorBiscuit, “You do not have to advertise for a dealership involuntarily. Sellers will likely try to place branding all over your new or used vehicle. Before (or after) the sale, there is no reason not to ask for the removal of all dealer branding.”
A fee for this service, it seems, is uncommon. In Amini’s case, she says she was eventually able to get the sticker removed for free.
“I got in the service line and asked them to do it and they were like ‘ok,’ no questions asked… weird,” she recalled in a comment. “Not sure why the guy was telling me 500!!!”
@aleya_amini dont make me get my dad otp
♬ original sound – Aleya Amini
Commenters offer their advice
In the comments section, users provided their tips to get a dealership to remove a sticker or, in the case that they don’t, how to take a sticker off by oneself.
“Ive always made the sale contingent on removal of their badging. Never had pushback,” stated a commenter.
“I always tell them if you won’t another dealer will,” stated another.
“3M makes a decal removal wheel you use with a drill. Just don’t push too hard and burn up the paint,” suggested a third.
“literally did it myself with a hair dryer and a microfiber cloth because I HATED my dealership,” declared a further TikToker.
The Daily Dot reached out to Amini via Instagram and TikTok direct message.
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The post ‘That can cost up to $500’: Woman asks car salesman for small favor at the dealership. Now she’s warning us appeared first on The Daily Dot.
