What is this fee and can it be negotiated?
A "destination charge" is a fee that the manufacturer charges to deliver a vehicle from the factory to the dealership, and that is passed on by the dealer to the consumer; it is not included in the MSRP of the vehicle. Destination charges are typically not negotiable. In fact, even customers who arrange to take delivery of a vehicle at the factory are expected to pay the full destination charge.
The destination charge is the same for a particular vehicle no matter where the dealership is located (with the exception of Alaska and Hawaii in some instances). That's because manufacturers average the cost to ship a vehicle from the factory to the furthest dealership with the cost to ship a vehicle from the factory to the closest dealership. Some manufacturers do this for each model; others average costs across an entire make.
Destination charges are taxable, so the destination charge is added to the price of the vehicle before sales tax is calculated.
Is destination fee included in TMV or Price Promise?
When you build and price a car on Edmunds, you will see destination itemized under TMV. For Price Promise offers, you will want to read the fine print as dealers may or may not be including this charge in their pricing.