SHERIDAN, WY – The ongoing misery that average prospective auto buyers in the United States are experiencing these days simply cannot be overstated. COVID-19 supply chain issues, factory shutdowns, and chip shortages are resulting in a major shortage of new vehicles while driving up prices drastically on the used market.
Due to these difficult circumstances, people are finding themselves having to either do whatever they can to keep their current cars running, try and find an affordable used car, or dig deep into their pockets and wade into the dangerous and extraordinarily pricey waters of the new vehicle marketplace.
Responding to the skyrocketing demand, auto dealers are increasing prices on any vehicles they are able to obtain these days, knowing that they’re essentially having to beat away buyers with a stick regardless of how much they charge. However, a new website is making it easier for car-buyers to track these markups on new cars by dealerships so they can plan their shopping strategy appropriately for their budgets.
Markups.org is serving to lay bare the degree that many new car dealers are making up the prices of the vehicles they do have in-stock; whereas demand has always set the price in any market, some have accused auto sellers of price gouging in some instances of our (almost) post-COVID landscape.
The crowdfunded website allows users to search for keywords and specific vehicle manufacturers and models by state. Meanwhile, the main page displays links to the the newest listings gathered from across the country, each shown with make, model, location, dealer name, and markup amount from the manufacturer’s suggested sticker price, and many of these increases are indeed shocking.
For example, according to Markups.org, Imperial Ford of Massachusetts is currently offering a 2022 Ford Maverick XLT for sale at $43,977, whereas the Ford website sticker price is a mere $25,225; that represents a whopping dealer markup of $18,752. Meanwhile, Seth Wadley GMC in Oklahoma is selling 2022 Hummer EV Edition 1 for $339,999, an astonishing markup of approximately $200,000.
Prices are rapidly fluctuating in the new auto marketplace these days, so to have a resource like Markups.org to track prices – and potentially prevent you from being taken for a proverbial ride – could be worth its weight in gold.
Christopher Boyle is an investigative journalist, videographer, reporter and writer for SEARCHEN NETWORKS® as well as other independent news and media organizations in the United States. Christopher works on a wide variety of topics and fields, has been featured in print and online in a variety of publications, from local to national, and helps keep a keen-eye on what’s happening in the automotive world for Auto Buyers Market.