Georgia CR-V car buyer says always check your receipt – it might get you a $4k refund

A Georgia car buyer is urging others to scrutinize their dealership paperwork after discovering he had been charged thousands in illegal fees, and ultimately received a $4,100 refund.

In a Reddit post, the buyer explained that he found a 2020 Honda CR-V listed online for just over $18,000 and drove an hour to the dealership. He had purchased from the same location before with mostly good experiences, so his guard was down. Although he initially told staff he didn’t want to put any cash down, they insisted he needed money up front to secure a “good rate.”

Pressured and tired, he agreed to a $1,500 down payment. He and his wife had been waiting for hours with their hungry and fussy 1-year-old, and he admitted that fatigue and impatience made him less cautious in the finance office.

According to his account, the finance manager rushed through the paperwork while aggressively pitching add-ons. “I was short and got snappy with him, stating I didn’t want anything extra,” the buyer wrote.

The numbers looked high, but the manager brushed concerns away with a quick verbal explanation. Exhausted and eager to leave, the buyer signed the documents without doing the math.

Bogus fees uncovered

According to the post, once he got home, the truth emerged. The dealer had stacked on roughly $1,500 in bogus fees — including a $1,000 “processing fee” and a separate $500 charge — despite Georgia’s rule that any non-government fees must be included in the advertised price. The buyer realized the dealership had essentially swallowed his $1,500 down payment and quietly financed thousands in additional costs.

Still, he assumed nothing could be done because he had signed the contract. Out of principle, he filed a complaint with the Georgia Secretary of State. To his surprise, a state lawyer contacted him the next morning. After reviewing the details, the attorney later informed him that the dealer would be sending a refund check for $4,100 to his bank, a total that included illegal fees plus the down payment.

“Seriously, if you’re in GA and you think a dealer snuck in an extra fee that wasn’t part of the advertised price, report them! … you might get a huge refund you never expected,” he urged in the post.

Hidden fees: A Georgia problem?

Another commenter shared a similar experience. They had negotiated a deal in Georgia despite living in another state, but the dealer refused to remove a lengthy list of questionable fees. While Georgia allows dealerships to charge documentation and processing fees, the law requires that any non-government fee be included in the advertised price. If it isn’t, tacking it on later can be considered an unfair or deceptive practice.

Other states take varied approaches: some cap dealer fees, some regulate how they must be disclosed, and others impose strict advertising rules similar to Georgia’s. Whether buyers elsewhere can expect similar refunds depends on their state’s specific consumer-protection laws.

Still, whether you’re purchasing in Georgia or another state with similar protections, the lesson is the same: always compare your final contract to the advertised price, challenge any unexplained fees, and report dealers who slip them in anyway. A few minutes can literally save you thousands.