82 Percent Of New Car Buyers Paid Over MSRP In January, But Alfas Sold Below Sticker

The chip shortage has wreaked havoc on the prices of used and new cars. More dealers have jacked up prices due to a lack of supply. According to a report from Edmunds.com, 82 percent of new car buyers paid more than the MSRP last month. The site’s report also said Cadillac, Kia, and Land Rover dealers had the highest markups in January.

On average, most customers pay $4,048 on top of the MSRP for a Cadillac. That’s $2,565 for the Land Rover and $2,289 for the Kia. That said, the recently redesigned Escalade skews data. Edmunds didn’t say how big the markup would be for the Caddy SUV, but it’s likely well over $4,000 to impact that much data.

Moving on to Land Rover, the model with the highest markup is the current full-size Range Rover. Buyers pay an average of $3,526 above retail prices for flagship SUVs, which is interesting considering that manufacturers typically cut prices for output models. If you’re curious, the all-new version carries a base price of $105,350. As for the Kia, the markup drivers are the Telluride, the all-new Sorento, and the new-generation Carnival. The report also mentions the Stinger has markup as well.

Four other brands also have dealers who charge more than $1,500 on average over retail prices. These are Porsche, Acura, Genesis, and Honda. Dealers of Hyundai, Audi, Jaguar and Toyota also charged an average of more than $1,000 on top of last month’s MSRP.

But if you think it’s impossible to get below MSRP these days, Alfa Romeo, Volvo, and Lincoln beg to differ. Alfa Romeo has big discounts on average $3,421. The average for the Volvo and Lincoln was $869 and $510, respectively. Other manufacturers selling under retail include Ram, BMW, and Mini.

Edmunds also noted another model with a substantial price drop. For example, the BMW 7 Series typically retails for $4,944 below last month’s retail price, while the Volvo S60 retails for $2,364 below the MSRP. Discounts on the Ram 1500 Classic and Mini Clubman were around $900, and even the Series 5 saw a discount that month.

As long as there is a global chip shortage, supply chains remain disrupted. The continued demand for vehicles means this markup will be around for some time. But as the data shows, a deal is still possible as long as you’re willing to consider the less popular models.