So

when I bought the fit last year, I couldn't negotiation much as it was like a first adopters purchase with little room to counter. so i bought the Fit in Arizona without too much questions.

few weeks a go my fit was declared total loss due to substantial damage from a rear end accident.

my insurance will reimburse me for a new new fit under better car replacement protection on my insurance.

one thing that really irked me was the Doc fee in Arizona was pretty nuts... 399 dollars.

It got me thinking; as I mostly cannot ask for 400 dollars off the car to cancel out this doc fee... if i buy the car in California, (im going back for Thanksgiving) i can get away from this bogus charge of 400 dollars vs 80 dollars in California. the taxes are the same, and they pass through just fine.

I just find it ridiculous that the consumer is pretty much ransomed by the state to pay this....

 

The $400 doc fee is almost certainly a dealer fee, not a state fee. It's used by the dealer to cover various state fees and to reimburse them for the time and effort to fill out various forms and, in large part, as a source of profit. The actual fees they'd have to pay to Arizona are much less than $400, I suspect, though it's hard to determine the exact amount quickly with a web search. (As an example, the last vehicle I purchased out of state was in New Hampshire; a NH transit permit, their temporary registration to allow it to be driven home, was either $10 or $20—offhand I don't recall which. That's the only NH fee required there; I did, of course, have to pay for registration and use tax in my home state.)

Note that this documentation fee can vary from dealer to dealer, though it may be limited by state laws.

At any rate, you can make whatever offer on a car you wish, taking into account the fees. Perhaps the simplest approach would be to simply negotiate an out-the-door price, making it very clear at the start that it is inclusive of all fees, taxes, and other such things, so that this is the actual amount that you'd have to write a check for to buy the car. Most dealers shouldn't mind doing business this way, particularly if you're clear and up front about what you're looking for, though they may still try to slip in additions if you aren't watchful.

 

Drew is correct; the documentation fees are directly from the dealer, and not the state. They are the fees that the dealer passes onto you for their services, the usage of the facilities, preparing the paperwork, etc. They are always negotiable.

The difference is that California places a cap of $80 for the fees, while Arizona has no limit.

My suggestion is that if another dealer in AZ tries to throw a large documentation fee into the transaction, threaten to leave and share that you're willing to go to CA for your car to avoid it. The greatest weapon you have as a consumer is to walk if you feel you are being ripped off.

Here is a chart of the documentation fee limits per state