Price gouging everywhere?

[Anthonypjacobs]

Supply and demand. Most people think that dealers are making a lot due to the markups.

They are not!

They are marking up the few vehicles they have but volume is really low.

 

[grouch]

I am living in Seattle area and interested in ordering a 2022 Tahoe Premier with GM supplier discount. I've been talking to some dealers here and they all don't accept the order and most of them have a $5K mark up even for custom order. Is it normal? Do all people pay above MSRP to get their Tahoe nowadays?

Well, it's a combination of supply and demand along with reduced number of sales. People want a new car NOW and will pay extra along with sales people who work on commission but don't have anything to sell so they have to live on monthly draw.

I sold an old truck to a guy from Indianapolis a few months back. The couple who brought him down wanted to buy my daily driver for $2000 more than I paid 2 years ago.

I think it's short sighted to add extra but it's common for rare cars, which all are now. The S in MSRP is Suggested. The dealer can sell it for less or more, he's a dealer.

I buy old stuff and fix it up for resale but even those are getting hard to find.

 

[chevylade]

I don’t need/want a new car bad enough to pay MSRP+. Also won’t do business in the future with dealers that jack up the price.

 

[EddieC]

When we looked for a Corvette several years ago, some local dealers were trying to do that with certain colors (who would ever want a yellow vette, let alone pay two grand extra for it??). It only took the time to look at the supplementary window sticker to decide to go to a different dealer. I wouldn't even give them the chance to offer to knock it down off. It was no problem finding dealers well below list price and we actually enjoyed seeing the massive collection and museum at Kerbeck Chevrolet where we bought ours.

Avoid the gouging horse traders.

 

[Zatara]

I’m here in the Seattle area as well and experienced the same thing. Low inventory and massive price gouging. I test drove an RST in Bellevue. I saw a line item on the sticker “Bellevue Package - $12,000” and asked the salesperson. He said “it is just the normal mark-up these days. But, we throw in two free oil changes and free windshield replacement if you have a rock chip.”

I honestly didn’t know what to say. Haha!

A week later I was driving by a small dealership in McMinnville, Oregon where I saw the exact 21 Duramax LT Tahoe I had been looking for. Pulled over, made and offer and drive away that afternoon.

They didn’t charge me any markup.

 

[Polo08816]

I don’t need/want a new car bad enough to pay MSRP+. Also won’t do business in the future with dealers that jack up the price.

Same here. When supply returns back to normal, I'll give the dealer that didn't try to price gouge the first crack.

 

[kdsimms]

Not all dealers are screwing people. My dealer honored my supplier discount, ordered my 21 Z71 with no deposit and did not add on any extras. They also kept me very informed while it was being built and during the shipment process. I ordered July 15th and took delivery October 2nd. They even did the paper work for me to get September's Truck month incentive of $1000 in accessories or $500 bonus cash. I am in central Virginia. I have been using this dealer for over 25 years.

I am in Central Virginia too. I think all dealers should conduct business like this. Which dealer was this?

 

[EddieC]

Our 2008 Z71 order was discounted about $10k as was the 2003 LT. I guess times change but there is incentive to keep it on the road.

 

[Quark]

Our 2008 Z71 order was discounted about $10k as was the 2003 LT. I guess times change but there is incentive to keep it on the road.

I think so too. In many ways my ol' hoe is better than the new ones. If the market ever comes down to earth I may add a sedan and keep the hoe, run her to the market where a shopping cart may bump and pull out the bimmer when I want to impress the Hamptons next door.

Long may she run.

 

[vcode]

$5-10K over list here in Wisconsin. They laugh when I mention Employee Discount. But anything with SUV in the name is at least $3K over list. New Bronco's? $20-30K over list. There is a lot of money floating around out there and a lot of people willing to spend it.