What are "dealer prep" fees?

What are "dealer prep" fees?

James Bell (Publisher, Auto Reviewer) gives expert video advice on: What does "total" mean on the sticker price?; What is a "test drive"?; What is the difference between unleaded, regular, super and diesel? and more...

Dealer prep fees are the dealer asking the consumer to pay the price of preparing the vehicle once it comes off the delivery truck. Vehicles come from the factory usually in different degrees of dirtiness or needs of preparation, such as removing plastic from the seats or attaching different features, like maybe radio buttons, license plate frames, etc. Dealer prep is a little bit of work that needs to go in before the vehicle can go from the delivery truck to the showroom floor. These fees are usually passed on to the consumer. A typical price would usually reflect the actual price of the vehicle, so depending on how much work needs to be done, you're not going to be able to get as much on an economy car as you can for a luxury car. I would expect that the typical price would be anywhere between $300 to $500.