Car Dealer Add-ons: The Fees & Extras to Skip (or Haggle)

Car shopping at dealerships means running a gauntlet of expensive extras that dealers love to push. Recently, one couple walked away from a used Lincoln deal after seeing an admin fee ($799), tire warranty ($499), and undercoating ($999) tacked onto the price. Smart move.

Consumer Reports just dropped their list of dealership add-ons that buyers should absolutely skip.

VIN Etching: All Hype, No Help

Topping the avoid list is VIN etching. Dealers claim engraving the vehicle identification number onto windows prevents theft or helps recover stolen cars. Reality check: if thieves want a car, some scratches on glass won't stop them. Sales reps often insist it's "required by law" or "already done, so you have to pay." Both are usually false. One buyer's response to the second excuse? "Change the windows, then." They bought elsewhere.

Rustproofing: Overpriced at the Dealer

Consumer Reports also flags rustproofing services, though for different reasons. In certain parts of the country - think the Rust Belt or coastal areas - protective treatments actually help vehicles last longer. The problem isn't the service itself, but dealer pricing. Independent shops often offer the same protection for significantly less money.

As for interior protection and fabric treatments? Skip them entirely.

Tire Services: More Profit Than Protection

The report also warns against tire-related add-ons. Nitrogen filling gets called out as mostly marketing fluff, while wheel and tire warranties often create more headaches than savings. Sure, someone's relative probably scored free tires from a 1978 warranty, but today's reality is different. Even paying the "discounted" pro-rated price through these warranties often costs more than finding tires on sale elsewhere.

The bottom line: most dealer add-ons pad profits more than they protect buyers. Do the research, know what's actually valuable, and don't be afraid to walk away from overpriced extras.