Doc fees range from $85 to $1,000+ for identical paperwork depending on state

Dealerships charge a 'documentation fee' for processing the sale paperwork that ranges from $85 in California (which caps it) to over $1,000 in Florida and other uncapped states, despite the actual cost of printing and filing being under $50. The fee is pure margin disguised as a cost-of-doing-business line item, and because it is applied after price negotiation, consumers who fought hard on the vehicle price discover the savings were clawed back at the finance desk. This persists because most states have no cap on doc fees, dealers are only required to charge the same fee to all customers (not a reasonable fee), and the fee is buried in a stack of closing documents where it is easy to miss.