Dealer Prep Charges are part of the traditional auto dealership markup rip-off. Elio Motors has promised a better buying experience. I'm counting on them to stick to that promise. If you have not read all the information in the Elio Store on the EM website, please do. It will tell you a lot about how Paul Elio intends to change our buying experience.Z
I've read everything on the Elio site several times and applaud what he and his management team are trying to do .... that said, unless they have figured out how to get folks to work for free and to purchase any items needed at no cost, there is nothing free .... with traditional dealerships employees have to be paid to cleanup newly arrived vehicles and to do whatever else is needed to get them ready to leave the lot when purchased .... granted, many if not most charge more than it cost and do use the fee to make additional profit .... if Elio doesn't go that route, the cost of accomplishing those functions will still be there and in the end the customer will pay for them .... bean counters (to accomplish their price point Elio must have some really good ones with really sharp pencils) figure them into the cost of the vehicle .... the advantage Elio is building in is having its own dealerships .... as such they can control the cost and choose how much if any profit to add to that component
Jim
