Should You Pay the Dealer Advertising Fee?
This type of advertising costs dealers a good amount of money, sometimes adding $300 or $400 to the cost of each vehicle. Some manufacturers such as Honda include this cost within the invoice price so you never see the advertising fee.
However, some manufacturers don't include it, or they have it as an additional line item on the invoice. These advertising fees are usually listed as acronyms such as FDAF (Ford Dealer Advertising Fund) and TDA (Toyota Dealer Advertising Fee).
As a general rule, you will need to pay the advertising fee - most dealers will not negotiate on it. However, be aware that dealers try to pass off other fees by calling them advertising fees when they're really not.
If the advertising fee is not listed on the factory invoice, but the dealer is including it in the final price, this is where you will need to pay close attention.
The best way to limit any unscrupulous fees is to use my car buying guide or the CarWoo buying service and compare all the fees between dealers.
If it's a legitimate advertising fee, you will see similar fees from all dealers. If one really stands out for being too high, it's a good indication that dealer is trying to pad his profits with BS fees.
3 Steps Every Car Buyer Needs to Take to Save Maximum Money
The key to getting the best deal is to gather price or lease bids from as many local dealers as possible. Then shop that best price around until no one can beat it. Here are the steps:Step 1 Get Prices From My Trusted Network
Select the vehicle you're interested in to see if there are local dealers in my network who will provide you with their best upfront price. You will get direct access to an internet sales manager who you can further negotiate with online (no need to visit dealership).Step 2 Get Prices From TrueCar / CarsDirect
TrueCar, and CarsDirect are my top 2 online price quote recommendations. These services show you pre-negotiated prices from dealers closest to you - and the deals are usually pretty decent. But remember, you can still negotiate further.Step 3 Complete my Checklist
Follow this up with my checklist to make sure you squeeze out every last bit of savings.- Gregg Fidan

Each week, I'll keep you up-to-date on the latest car deals and news that might affect your purchase. This includes...
- Best Rebates, Incentives, and Lease Deals
- Latest Car Buying Scams and Tricks
- The Best & Worst Time to Buy a Car
- Which Cars You Should Avoid
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