If you’ve decided to buy a new car but haven’t made up your mind about what car to buy, you might want to scratch these 10 models off your list. It’s not that they are bad vehicles, it’s because dealers have marked up the price well beyond the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP).
Before the pandemic, it was common practice for car dealers to sell a new vehicle for slightly below the MSRP. But when the pandemic put bottlenecks in supply chains, resulting in shortages, that all changed.
Now that the pandemic is over and new car inventories are returning to normal, some dealers are still demanding a premium price for some models, according to automotive website iSeeCars.com. Here are the top 10, and the percentage over MSRP:
| 1. MINI Hardtop | +25.5% |
| 2. Porsche Taycan | +23.1% |
| 3. Porsche Cayenne | +21.9% |
| 4. Porsche Macan | +21.3% |
| 5. Porsche Taycan wagon | +20.9% |
| 6. Cadillac CT5-V | +20.0% |
| 7. Porsche 718 Boxster | +19.9% |
| 8. Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid | +19.4% |
| 9. BMW X3 M | +19.4% |
| 10. Cadillac CT4-V | +19.3% |
Extreme examples
While these examples may be extreme, the study found that the average new vehicle is priced at $45,880, which is 7.2 percent ($3,091) above the average MSRP of $42,789.
Only 15 models are currently selling for below the MSRP, with EVs accounting for six of those vehicles. If you want a gas-powered car for below MSRP, the Nissan Maxima is selling for an average of 2.2% below the sticker price.
The best deal on an EV appears to be the Hyundai Kona Electric, selling for an average 4.6% below MSRP.
“Supply is gradually catching up with demand, which means even as new car MSRP rises the ability for dealers to charge over MSRP falls,” said Karl Brauer, iSeeCars Executive Analyst. “At some point, we’ll get back to pre-COVID new car pricing. But we’re not there yet, and at this rate, it’s still at least a few years out.”
Photo Credit: Consumer Affairs News Department Images
Posted: 2024-03-08 12:15:12
