HOW TO MITIGATE OR AVOID DEALER MARKUPS

Throughout 2022, new-car shoppers have been paying an average of about $700 over the manufacturer’s suggested retail price. Those in the market for a new vehicle today may experience sticker shock after seeing a dealership has priced the vehicle they want well over MSRP.

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Dealerships have leverage to set prices by way of added accessories and price increases. These so-called market adjustments and, by extension, dealer-added accessories on new cars were once reserved for highly anticipated vehicles or limited-edition models. But now they are commonplace and part of the cost of doing business in today’s market of low inventory and inflated prices.

Experts what you can expect from dealerships for the remainder of 2022 and offers tips on getting the best deal.

WHAT ARE THEY?

You’ll find these markups on the windows of new vehicles on a dealer lot or, in rare cases, on the dealership’s website. You’ll want to look for a rectangular sheet of paper, often posted near a new car’s official window sticker or sometimes on the windshield. It is formally called an addendum or supplemental window sticker. The addendum will contain a number of dealer-installed accessories, a market adjustment, or a combination of the two.

While it isn’t an official factory sticker, that doesn’t mean that you can ask the dealer to make the fees go away. What makes things challenging for a shopper today is that if you don’t want to pay for those items, the dealership will happily wait for the next customer who will.