Went to the dealer and speced out an 08 GMC 2500HD CCSB. Here is how it broke down:

.....................................Invoice...... ...........MSRP

Base price......................$36,110.48............$ 39,465.00

Total options:.................$9,727.60.............$11 ,720.00

Subtotal........................$45,838.08........ ....$51,185.00

Advert/Adustments..........$767.78.................$0.00

Destination charge............$925.00.................$925.00

Grand total.....................$47,530.86.............$ 52,110.00


My question is, what's the "advert" charge and "destination" charge. Are they legit, or are they just another way for the dealer to make his margin? Other threads have said invoice price is usually about .90 x MSRP so if you take away the advert charge, that would be just about right. Opinions????

I don't know about the advert charge...but the destination charge is the cost of transporting the truck to the dealers lot (at least that is what I've been told). Depending on where your dealer is located....many transport charges will be slightly different.

Mine charge was 950.00 IIRC..

Destination charges include shipping to the dealer as well as New Vehicle Prep prior to delivery to the end customer. They are listed on the invoice for each vehicle as well as on the window sticker.

Several years ago, GM changed their company policy regarding how they charge for shipping and handling. It used to be that shipping was based on distance from the assembly plant. But since some vehicles are built at more than one plant, you could have two vehicles sitting side-by-side on the dealer's lot with drastically different shipping charges. So, some time during the mid 70's they changed it to a FLAT FEE for each particular model. This fee reflects the average cost for all vehicles of that particular model nation-wide.

So now, if you buy a truck in Flint, Michigan, the shipping charge will be the same as for a truck purchased in San Diego, CA.

There is no discount for shipping and handling charges.

Advertising Fees are fees that GM charges the dealership to cover advertising for the vehicle. I am not very familiar with these fees, since I've only started seeing them mentioned the last couple of years. I suspect that the amount might be included in the invoice, but I can't attest to that.

I live in Arizona and shopped for a truck at all the stellers around here.
I found a dealer in Minden NV and saved 5100.00 on the exact same truck. I didn't get any BS from him, and he was easy to deal with.
A plane ticket to NV is peanuts.
Don't be afraid to go out of town. Our last car I bought from a dealer in Texas and they had it shipped to my door and I still saved over two grand.

Destination charges include shipping to the dealer as well as New Vehicle Prep prior to delivery to the end customer. They are listed on the invoice for each vehicle as well as on the window sticker.

Several years ago, GM changed their company policy regarding how they charge for shipping and handling. It used to be that shipping was based on distance from the assembly plant. But since some vehicles are built at more than one plant, you could have two vehicles sitting side-by-side on the dealer's lot with drastically different shipping charges. So, some time during the mid 70's they changed it to a FLAT FEE for each particular model. This fee reflects the average cost for all vehicles of that particular model nation-wide.

So now, if you buy a truck in Flint, Michigan, the shipping charge will be the same as for a truck purchased in San Diego, CA.

There is no discount for shipping and handling charges.

Advertising Fees are fees that GM charges the dealership to cover advertising for the vehicle. I am not very familiar with these fees, since I've only started seeing them mentioned the last couple of years. I suspect that the amount might be included in the invoice, but I can't attest to that.

Then you have a dealer like here in Loveland and he says they dont charge the destination charge or document fee many charge and you see it taken off the invoice. But I am sure they make it up somewhere

Thanks for the replies. The dealer ended up with a price of 46,250 after rebates which isn't terrible, but I was expecting a little better. I bought my Dodge for almost $10,000 under MSRP. GM really doesn't have any good cash back offers right now on the 08's. The kicker is that he was only allowing me $31,000 for my Dodge. :mad: Not very happy about that. So that's why I'm trying to sell it outright.

Real dealer invoice and sticker are MUCH further apart than that. To find REAL invoice go to Web Car book. Plus there is plenty of "dealer holdback" built into invoice.

http://www.gesa.com/master.html?http://www.gesa.com/loans.html#webcarbook

:)