Posted on 10/07/2021 12:58:52 PM PDT by Red Badger
Some car dealerships are charging thousands of dollars in "market adjustment" fees on top of the "manufacturer's suggested retail price" for new vehicles.
Supply chain issues continue to plague the auto industry during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in vehicle shortages on dealers' new car lots.
There is currently a shortage of computer chips that the auto industry relies on for the production of new vehicles.
U.S. auto sales are reportedly down by 14% in the third quarter compared to same time last year.
A representative for Edmunds, a leading vehicle information resource for consumers, told Just the News that many dealerships across the nation are likely adding these market adjustment fees to new vehicles based on the data their analysts are collecting on monthly vehicle sales.
"Our analysts are saying that almost every automaker's dealer base is likely doing this," said the spokesperson, who provided Just the News with data on "MSRP vs. new Average Transaction Price from 2020 onward" and average premiums/discounts on new vehicle sales from top vehicle manufacturers.
File MSRP Data - Just the News.pdf Some Kia and Toyota dealers are adding market adjustment fees to the MSRP for certain model vehicles. The fees can go as high as $12,000 on some new models.
According to Edmunds, the average premium on new Kia vehicle sales was $1,561 in September and $838 for Toyota.
Just the News reached out to Kia corporate media relations about the market adjustment fee issue. A spokesperson said each dealer is in charge of deciding to add market adjustment fees to new vehicles given that they are individually owned franchises.
He said Kia's corporate office had no comment on dealers marking up their vehicles during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The National Automobile Dealers Association did not return a request for comment before publication.
My neighbor figured his Yugo should have good trade in value but then he saw the shockingly high informal surcharges on the Smart car and he stepped back.
Trucks on the lot that are left are all $60k or more.
We paid $69k for the house in 2002.......................
Dealers must be strutting around in black suits and little thin moustaches like the bankers and railroad owners in the Old West.
We drive onto the lot and it’s like feeding time at the pig pen. We aren’t even out of the truck before there’s a salesman at the door......................
Just wait, it’ll get much worse in the coming 2 months.
Red Badger wrote: “Went new truck shopping last weekend. Dealers now have a a ‘mark-up’ of $2500 over and above their sticker price plus their dealer fees, due to ‘market prices’..”
Pretty much the same thing back in 1982 when the new Camaro models came out. And, Camaros were about $10K plus the $2500 mark up over sticker. There were instances of people following trucks carrying new Camaros to the dealerships just so they could make an offer before the cars sold. One dealer told me of a driver following the truck for over 200 miles.
BTW, I found out that I could avoid the ‘mark up’ by ordering a Camaro. When mine came in, the dealer offered me $1000 not to take delivery. I would have taken that but I found out it would be another six weeks before I could get another delivery. I had already sold my trade-in.
No doubt.
We asked the salespeople and they all said ‘Chip shortage’ as if that was a panacea for everything.............
Funny +1
We were told if you order a truck you might not get it for 6 months.................
The dealer where I purchased my 2019 Ford (one of the performance editions) offered me what I paid for the car plus $2500 to buy it back a few months ago. I’m sure the offer would be higher now.
I see no problem with these markups. A dealers expenses are ongoing and he must pay them from car sales, service dept and parts dept revenue.
No one is forced to by a car and if no one does the prices will come down until a buyer is found. It’s not just new car prices which are affected but used car prices as well are thru the roof.
Supply and demand.
Bought my used 2017 Kia Soul 1.5 yr ago. Paid 16K. Today the odometer shows just under 7K miles.
I could sell it today for about 3K more than I paid for it.... Got it and the year before, a 2019 Soul just for this reason - I could see the uncontrolled spending by the slugs in DC would cause massive inflation.
Just like with Little Jimmy Carter...
memo to myself:
I had a difficult time seeing if any Smart could be purchased new and one source said the Chinese have a deal for a 2022 model jointly with Geely company.
Last available new in the US was in 2019.
I would add: Why?
Our kid bought a new vehicle last November when the 2021s were still in short supply (plant shutdowns due to COVID). Bought a new 2020 with a sticker price near $40K for $10K off. Probably could sell it for close to sticker now.
JIMMINY KARTERS inflation pales by comparison.
We will
Just wait it out.
No problem.
Probably less than ten percent of folks really need a brand new car anyway
It’s called gouging.
My state does not need any more of my tax money.
First its BUY not by and if your vehicle has stopped running and can't be fixed economically then you buy not by a car.
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