Forty-three percent — that's how much some car dealerships are reportedly jacking up their MSRPs amid today's auto industry crisis and ongoing inflation.
A Saturday report from the New York Post detailed several visits to area dealerships in which salespeople were marking up the prices of vehicles in order to make up for money lost due to low inventory, supply chain issues, and inflation under President Joe Biden.
What are the details?
The outlet reported that a New Jersey dealership was selling a 2021 Ford Bronco for $49,855 earlier this month — a "market adjustment" of approximately 43% over the MSRP of $34,855.
The same dealership was also selling a special order color Bronco for $62,970 — a 66% increase over the MSRP of $37,790. On the special order Bronco's window sticker, a handwritten note read that the dealership added $15,000 for "upgrades" and another $10,000 for what the dealership was calling a "market adjustment."
An unnamed customer at All-American Ford in Old Bridge, New Jersey, told the outlet, "We are going to be like Cuba soon. No new cars and we'll all be driving '57 Chevys."
A dealership sales manager told the outlet that the increase was not a money-grab, but an attempt to recoup losses due to shortages.
"We normally have over 100 Ford F-150s on the lot," the unnamed manager said. "Right now we only have five."
Elsewhere at Quality Chevrolet in Old Bridge, New Jersey, a variety of 2022 Chevy Silverados and Equinoxes were seen with markups of $5,000 over the MSRP.
"The Post visited seven other showrooms in New Jersey and New York City — Audi/VW, Chevrolet, Honda, Land Rover/Jaguar, Mercedes, Mini Cooper, Subaru — and found many vehicles slapped with 'market adjustment' prices," the report continued.
Ford and General Motors warned dealerships last week to avoid adding exorbitant fees to their prices.
“We encourage dealers to sell at the manufacturer’s suggested retail price,” a Ford Motor Co. spokesman Said Deep told The Post.
The Post on Saturday tweeted about the massive increases, and wrote, "Showroom shock! Dealer jacks up truck's MSRP 43% amid auto industry crisis."
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