Avoid Dealer Markups on Tundra or 4Runner With This Site
Dealer markups are out of control, but patience and research could save you a fat chunk of change.
Between the ongoing pandemic and the global chip shortage, keeping productions lines running has been a struggle for every automaker. If you’re trying to score a new 4Runner, RAV4, or Tundra? You know the story. But while Toyota has been doing a better job than most of its competitors, the recent earthquake in Japan disrupted already-strained supply chains, and forced the company to pause production at 17 of its plants. That means fewer cars will be arriving in showrooms, consumers are left with fewer choices, and loads of dealers are taking advantage of the situation.
According to Money magazine, over 80 percent of people who bought a car in January paid over MSRP, and the markups have often been steep. So if you absolutely need to buy a new vehicle right now, the bad news is the situation looks bleak, and it looks like it remains bleak for the foreseeable future. The less-bad news is the general frustration with sky-high “market adjustments” is reaching a rolling boil, so new tools are popping up to help folks find the best dealers — and Markups.org is one of the best I’ve seen.
Exactly who’s behind the site is unclear, but Markups.org is a database listing which vehicles are being marked up, how much they’re being marked up, and which dealers are the worst offenders. Now, it’s important to note that all the information available here is crowdsourced, so it might not be 100 percent accurate. That said? Markups.org is dead simple to use, and allows you to search by dealer, make, or state. It even lets you search by the range of the markup. Click on the listing, and you’ll get a picture of the Moroney sticker detailing the dealer premium. Pretty cool, right?
I used it to perform a nationwide search for Toyota, and while I don’t want to name any names, the amount of avarice on display is staggering, but not surprising. On the RAV4 Prime, I saw one listing detailing a markup of $31,800, which is pretty steep for a car that is supposed to start at $39,800. For the Tundra, 4Runner, and Tacoma, I didn’t find anything that gruesome, but there were plenty of dealers looking for an extra $10,000 to $15,000 for the popular rigs. So if you’re in the market for a new Toyota, check out the site and let me know what you think!
Photos: Michael S. Palmer for YotaTech