![](\"https:\/\/www.thestreet.com\/.image\/c_fit%2Ch_800%2Cw_1200\/NDA6MDAwMDAwMDAyOTA3MTI5\/mother-and-daughter-receiving-car-key-at-car-dealership-stockpack-gettyimages.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
It seems like everything you buy these days has a hidden fee somewhere. <\/p>\n
Whether it’s that DoorDash meal you ordered that cost $15 on the menu, but somehow costs $23 to deliver, or the airline taxes and fees that take a $130 ticket to $200, hidden fees always cause a bit of sticker shock.<\/p>\n
But retailers are betting that after going through the rigamarole of choosing the product and then paying for it, the consumer is in too deep to not pull the trigger on the purchase. It’s much like how, after spending 10 minutes starving and salivating about the food on DoorDash, I’m willing to pay however much it takes to get the food to my door as fast as possible.<\/p>\n
If that customer psychology works on small purchases, large purchases that take much more time to consider, and much more funding to complete, are even stickier.<\/p>\n
For car buyers, those hidden fees have reached crisis levels, as carmakers have been forced to raise prices due to automotive tariffs, while not admitting it due to pressure from the White House.<\/p>\n
President Donald Trump convened some of the country\u2019s top automakers on a conference call in March 2025 and told them if they raised prices in response to the tariffs, they would \u201cface punishment,\u201d The Wall Street Journal reported.<\/p>\n
While so-called “destination charges” (the cost of getting the vehicle from the shipping yard or factory floor to the dealer lot) have been rising for years, they recently reached crisis levels.<\/p>\n
In 2026, what was once a fee of a couple of hundred dollars has ballooned to an average of $1,600 per vehicle. <\/p>\n
Overall, car buyers spent more than $26 billion on destination charges in 2025, according to Edmunds, and The Wall Street Journal reported\u00a0that much of that cost was due to tariffs.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a way to raise prices that is, shall we say, less transparent to the consumer,\u201d\u00a0John Morrill, a Massachusetts car dealer, told The Journal. \u201cCarmakers have raised them a lot, certainly faster than they\u2019ve raised prices.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ford F-150, the most popular pickup truck in America, saw destination charges add an average of $2,595 to the final price in 2025. In 2020, that number was $1,695. <\/p>\n
Consumer Reports recently compiled a list of the cars with the most expensive destination charges and a list of cars with the least. <\/p>\n
Surprisingly, every single one of the top 10 is made by an American car company (Alfa Romeo, the worst offender, is technically an Italian brand owned by Stellantis, a U.S.-based conglomerate).<\/p>\n
What is Consumer Reports?<\/p>\n
Founded in 1936 by a group of workers fired from a product-testing firm called Consumers\u2019 Research,\u00a0Consumer Reports\u00a0is a multifaceted nonprofit organization that aims to educate consumers about products and help them make informed purchasing decisions.<\/p>\n
It does this by purchasing and testing products directly, administering detailed surveys to its members about the products they own and use, and investigating the veracity of manufacturers\u2019 claims.<\/p>\n
Related: Porsche, BMW among most reliable luxury SUVs, Consumer Reports says<\/p>\n
Consumer Reports at a glanceFounded:\u00a01936 (as Consumers Union by former employees of Consumers\u2019 Research, fired after they attempted to unionize)Headquartered:\u00a0Yonkers, NYLeadership:\u00a0Marta Tellado, president and CEOEmployees:\u00a0Approx. 500 to 600Members:\u00a0At least 6 millionMission statement:\u00a0\u201cConsumer Reports\u00a0is an independent, nonprofit member organization that works side by side with consumers for truth, transparency, and fairness in the marketplace.\u201d<\/p>\n
Consumer Reports\u2019 slogan, \u201cSmarter choices for a better world,\u201d captures the organization\u2019s purpose. CR aims to educate and inform the public by providing objective information about popular products, helping consumers make \u201csmarter choices\u201d when purchasing major items.<\/p>\n
For this list, Consumer Reports says the key takeaway is that “destination charges are now a major cost when buying a car. Be sure to look past the sticker price to understand average transaction prices in your area, destination charges, and taxes for budgeting.”<\/p>\n
5 vehicles with the most expensive “destination charges” in 2026Alfa Romeo<\/p>\n
Alfa Romeo <\/p>\n
Models: Giulia, Stelvio, Tonale<\/p>\n
Destination charge: $3,250<\/p>\n
Cadillac<\/p>\n
Cadillac<\/p>\n
Models: Escalade, Escalade IQ<\/p>\n
Destination charge: $2,895<\/p>\n
Chevrolet<\/p>\n
Chevro<\/p>\n
Models: Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500HD, 3500HD, Suburban, Tahoe<\/p>\n
Destination charge: $2,795<\/p>\n
GMC<\/p>\n
GMC<\/p>\n
Models: Sierra 1500, 2500HD, 3500HD, Yukon, Yukon XL<\/p>\n
Destination charge: $2,795<\/p>\n
GMC<\/p>\n
GMC<\/p>\n
Model: Hummer EV<\/p>\n
Destination charge: $2,695<\/p>\n
Related: See 5 more SUVs Consumer Reports calls \u2018most reliable\u2019<\/p>\n
#Consumer #Reports #warns #vehicles #expensive #hidden #fees<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It seems like everything you buy these days has a hidden fee somewhere. Whether it’s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[259],"tags":[1001,1911,203,1012,1224,1562,372],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1072"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1072"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1072\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1072"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1072"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1072"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}