Which dealer fees are real and which ones can I negotiate or refuse?

Title, registration, and sales tax are set by your state — those are real and fixed. The doc fee is a dealer fee; it is often capped by state law but is frequently padded. Anything else — paint protection, theft etch, "market adjustments," nitrogen, dealer prep — is optional and almost always negotiable or refusable.

The trick is that these get bundled together so they look official. I separate the mandatory from the made-up so you know exactly what you are agreeing to. You see the deal before you pay the fee.