I got an email from my salesman yesterday asking if I would email a potential Mustang buyer and tell him about the buying experience I had from this particular dealership. I told him I'd be glad to do that.

So I sent the buyer an email, and he replied that he had emailed 10 dealerships about the car and options he wanted, and had gotten back 7 responses so far, with a range in price of $1200.

But, he also said that some of the dealers were charging an "advertising cost" while others were not, and was concerned if that was a rip-off.

I told him that I never paid the advertising cost, so I didn't know about that. But then when I told my salesman about that, he said that I did indeed pay the advertising cost, as does every customer who buys a Ford. He said the cost varies depending on the area of the country, but it is broken down in the invoice so you can see exactly what it is.

So, when I got home, I checked my invoice, and there's no advertising cost there. There's no advertising cost on the window sticker either.

Does anyone know if there is an advertising cost or not?

 

Nope I never have heard of one

I do know I would not like to pay one. Besides they don't pay you to drive around with their name on your car either. Losing that Dealer Sticker was the first thing I did

 

I've heard of "advertising fee's" but I did not nor have I ever paid one.

 

Yes, it's on every invoice...

here's the link to the FAQ (look at the "anatomy of an invoice" section about halfway down).

http://forums.bradbarnett.net/index.php?showtopic=2172


It's the "FDAF/LMDA ASSESSMENT" box in the lower right of the invoice.

Unless you specifically negotiated with the dealer to get out of it (not likely), everyone paid it.

For example, I got mine on A plan, and the A plan / X plan etc. prices include this assessment.

In short, in this instance, it's not a dealer rip-off.