No Toyotas on List of Vehicles With Highest Markups: What?
Given how scarce some high-demand Toyota vehicles have been of late, this recent study comes as a big surprise.
Right now, it’s difficult to imagine a worse time to buy a car. Between the global chip shortage and the hangover from the global pandemic looming over the industry, there’s precious little new inventory available. That means dealers have been marking up the units they do have — sometimes to almost-comical degrees. And given just how in demand the 4Runner, Tundra, and Tacoma are, I would have expected these models would prime examples of the this unfortunate trend.
But the good news, at least for folks in the market for a new Toyota rig, is that they’re not. In fact, according to our friends over at iSeeCars, none of those popular trucks are even in the top 15. How crazy is that? Anyway, once I got over my surprise, I started looking digging into the list, and what I found was kind of interesting. First off, according to data, the Jeep Wrangler is the most marked up vehicle on sale right now, and while Ma Mopar isn’t exactly going to be thrilled about that fact, there’s a silver lining.
Because while Wrangler fans might be pissed dealers are fleecing them, when it comes to the amount that people are willing to pay over sticker, the Jeep is beating its number one competition — the Ford Bronco. Yup, the red-hot Bronco is still being saddled with market adjustments, but its 21.6 percent average overcharge is less than the Wrangler’s 24.4 percent, which puts it at fifth on the list. Given how the Blue Oval has touted the reborn Bronco as a Jeep killer, that has to make Jeep’s brass happy.
That said, the Wrangler actually makes two appearances on this list, as the Wrangler Unlimited comes in at number six. The only Toyota-adjacent product which pops up at all here is the new Lexus RX, which is commanding a healthy 21.9 percent over sticker. Of course, this might come as cold comfort if you’ve been looking for your dream Toyota and found them priced out of your budget. But it’s interesting to know that things actually aren’t as bad as they could be.
That said, if you’ve recently bought a new Toyota, I’d love to know if you paid over sticker, and by how much. So if you feel comfortable sharing, hit me up!
Photos: Toyota