Maybe file a complaint with the manufacturer. Some want to crack down on it. Ford is an example. They've been telling dealers that if they ask over MSRP they're going to start sending vehicles elsewhere.
First, NEVER pay over MSRP. There are plenty of dealers out there not upcharging. Fan out your search and find one that isn't. Even if you have to buy a one-way plane ticket to fly somewhere to pick up your car, it'll still be cheaper than the ridiculous markups you're talking about.
Second, unless you've got cash to burn, you probably won't be able to finance a car for that much over MSRP unless you're using captive. An outside lender is still going to hold to their LTV ratio (variable by lender).
Third, as previously noted, throw those dealers right under the bus with their manufacturer. More and more manufacturers have been cracking down on these practices lately.
@disdreamin wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:I'm ready to buy a new car. I have a great auto loan and a trade in car worth $4k more than I paid for it (per Carmax). I am looking at a fairly popular car. I live in San Diego, where there seems to be 5-7 of them available a week. I've tried to buy two, but both times there were three other people there to buy it and the dealership was taking offers STARTING at 10k over MSRP. Any advice? How far over MSRP should I be willing to go? Some dealers in LA seems to be open to a little bit more of negotiation on the "dealer up charge" (they have more inventory) but I'm not sure where I should be looking to land over MSRP in this insane car market. Any advice would be appreciated.
Perhaps try special ordering a vehicle instead, since you've got a reliable vehicle with good equity, or perhaps putting money down on an ordered but not yet built vehicle. I think special orders might not count against a dealers allotment and so for them it may just be a little extra profit. Either way, given that you've got something to drive in the meantime, waiting a few weeks to a couple/few months for your vehicle to arrive doesn't sound like it will create a hardship, so it's worth looking into.
For those saying to wait 6 months to a year, people were saying that last summer and I cannot see where buyers are any better off now than they were then with respect to new vehicle inventory (or the price of used cars). I'm not convinced this will resolve any time soon, and there will always be low numbers of vehicles from these years which may impact prices on used vehicles going forward.
That's what we ended up doing. I couldn't really find the model on the lot with the options we wanted and the options they did have they were asking $2-$3k over MSRP. Truth be told I had trouble coming to terms with having to pay MSRP LOL We ended up just ordering new for MSRP and waiting for it to come in.
