Took car in to Joe Myers recently for service. Didn't realize it, until after I got home that a CC fee was added. Never happened previously. The local independent shop doesn't charge it. Does your dealer charge a CC fee?

Never seen that before for service.


But I have seen it for car purchases/down payments made using a card, above a certain amount. With the last car I bought I went in expecting to write a check for the remainder after trade-in. The dealership asked if I was going to pay by check or credit card. It had never occurred to me to use a credit card, so I inquired further.

They said they'll do the first $5000 on a credit card with no fee, but anything above that on the card was something like a 2% or 3% additional fee.

So I put $5000 fee-free on my card, then paid the rest by check. I then paid off the credit card with the remainder of my car funds, and collected my 3% cash back credit card reward at the next billing cycle.

Still not quite sure why the dealership was willing to do it that way, but I'll happily save the extra $150 thankyouverymuch.

Thankfully not the majority. I hope they warned you first! Becoming more of a thing, yes. It displeases me greatly that they charge (ex) 3% when they may get a rate under 2%. Usually I'd see a sign at register.

Yes, the last dealer I wo raked at. Prior to retiring now charges for CC use but not debit card. The motorcycle dealer I worked at now does too.

Probably being pushed by dealer organizations/ trade groups or dealer consultants to squeeze every cent profit out they can.

I hope I never have to visit a dealership enough that I’d call it My Dealership. I feel like I need a shower every time I walk out of one.

More and more and more and more places are adding the CC fees.
Getting frustrating

More businesses seem to be doing that now.
Most credit card companies charge them around 2.75% so businesses that operate on a low margin are especially sensitive to that cost.

About a month ago my local GMC dealer notified me before starting work that they charged a service fee now. Luckily I had enough cash on hand to pay for the work.

That fee adds up. I use cash when I can

quote:

Originally posted by Black92LX:
More and more and more and more places are adding the CC fees.
Getting frustrating

I use a credit card for convenience. If they are going to charge me more, I will find another way.

Yeah, the next time it will be a check.

Did they also have a Tip Jar?

quote:

I use a credit card for convenience.

That's why they call it a convenience fee

Toyota dealer here tried it for a while, guess it didn't fly and the signs came down.

I'm sure prices were just raised to makeup the difference plus some extra for good measure.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: TomV,

It will be more common shortly. As businesses get squeezed with more costs, they stop eating them and have to pass along. Or you build it in with higher prices. But then everyone gets penalized even if they pay cash, check or ACH. As CC usage out strips cash & checks more businesses will refuse to eat it one way or another. I despise them, but if you are getting charged 3% by Amex, 1.5 to 2.5% by Visa and Mastercard depending on type of card it is. Points, cash back charge or miles get charged more than straight cards? It eats right off the bottom line if you do not increase your prices.

You do a $1 million in CC transaction with all Amex then they take $30,000 off your proceeds. So you just lost $30k per million dollars of business. It adds up and is real lost revenue. Especially when getting squeezed with cost of goods, and customers actively looking for cheaper alternatives.

Hate it and not condoning it, but I damn sure understand it.

They have to offer other ways of payment to avoid it. Debit cards are not allowed to get charged. So they are straight transaction fee based with the processor. Say a .25 per transaction. So you will see minimum transaction of say $3 or $5 for debit cards at some places.

Nothing that is convenient is for free. Everyone ones hands are in each others pockets digging for that last ever loving red cent.

The Ford dealer here started charging to use a CC about 6 months ago. The vet we use has started too.
Takes some of the fun out of a cash back card.

We finally changed to a fulfillment processor that adds the fee on. We tell customers when we quote that the quote is cash. Our machine adds 4%. We are not a large business so that is pretty close to what we were eating on all card transactions. Tightening margins make it necessary to do what you can to make a profit.

The credit card transaction fees add up and add up quickly so businesses have no choice but to pass the fee along to the buyer. It's much easier for the buyer to absorb the fee than the seller. My local mechanic just started passing the fee along because it was cutting to deep into his profit margin. If you work on a 100 cars a week and 400 cars a month and you're absorbing the fees yourself that adds up to thousands of dollars in lost revenue.

I can understand a small business tacking on a CC fee but a dealership is just nickle and diming people.

These credit card fees are completely out of hand now.

Everyone around here passes them on now, they don’t eat them anymore after they went up in the past few years.