The destination fee is built into the window sticker...... "delivery charge".... and they are flat nationwide so that a dealership that is near a manufacturer doesn't pay less than someone 1,500 miles away. The DOC fee is set by each dealership. It is their fixed profit.
I see that everyone wants to achieve a net deal where there are discounted down to the dealer invoice, minus all rebates so they can achieve a payment of let's say $400 a month rather than one of $406. The profit becomes the DOC and the manufacturer pays the store a nominal fee of about $500 for moving the unit.
A store must pay real estate taxes, service fees like garbage, electric, gas building repairs etc....... don't forget salaries, wages and benefits for employees.
Now I see that the main goal of buying a car is to hurt the salesman that is probably getting $75-$100 a sale which is considered a minimum commission. Next time you're in the gas station, or buying groceries and milk I guess it's okay to negotiate the price. How dare a business try to make a profit.
It's simple.... you love the car... you are given a price break (not much, maybe 5-7% is all the room they have), plus the rebates.... and you are comfortable with the payment - just buy it. Or you can spend 3 Saturdays, and about 12 hours making sure you save $200 over 5 years, just so you can say you bought cheaper at store A versus store B.
Too many people feel the window sticker mark-up is huge (like 20-50%) which is absolutely not true.