Exactly this, as long as people keep paying the markups, and allowing themselves to be screwed by dealers, all it does is send the message to not only keep doing it, but increase prices even more not only at dealers but to the manufacturers. Very few people
need a new vehicle right now. 99.9% of the time it's simply a want, people have convinced themselves it's not worth repairing an old vehicle so they pay $10k over MSRP for a new one and immediately go upside down. For the most part financial discipline does not exist anymore. In many vehicles you could replace a transmission and engine for less than what dealers are marking up cars over MSRP. Certainly for less than the 5-8% loans I've seen some dealers forcing buyers into will cost them in interest alone.
We also fear breakdowns like they are a death sentence.......you know when I feared break downs? When I spent my first 20 or so driving winters in ND, traveling in winter storms before there were cell phones and then after that doing field work in the middle of nowhere NV in the summers. You get stranded then and you could spend a couple days in a -40f car in a snowbank up to the roof, or have a 50 mile hike to the nearest frequently traveled 2 lane highway in 100+ temps. Today, 99% of people do nothing more than commute to work in traffic jams and should be more worried about road rage than a car break down. It's probably actually safer to be stuck on the side of the road where you aren't risking angering psycho drivers ready to snap if someone washes their windshield.
Now for some useful advice.
If I was shopping for a 4-runner right now and I didn't NEED a car, I'd wait and order a 23'. They might add a couple features (nothing big I'm sure) and you have a much better chance to lock in MSRP on an order. If a dealer has something on the lot, it's getting much harder to not get screwed. At the time of order, you want a signed purchase agreement with both your signature and the dealers with a total price on it. If the dealer won't do it, walk away, or accept that you might wait months for your order and get screwed when you pick it up with markups and add-ons. The reality is if you don't have a signed purchase agreement with pricing by both you and the dealer, they can do whatever they want when your car comes in.
If I needed a car now, or just wouldn't wait, I would only shop at smartpath dealers. Because you can see the exact pricing on the vehicle with all the add ons, markups etc. and you can complete your purchase right on the webpage. If a dealer webpage won't show you the window sticker, don't bother they are playing games. If they don't want to tell you what the price is up front, they are playing games. If they still have 15+ 4-runners on their lot, it's because they are playing games.
Read up on the games, they are vast and many, just a few I've encountered.....
- Forcing you to use their financing at ridiculous rates - I've been quoted up to 9% with an 830 credit score
- Forcing you to buy add-ons, this can range from $1000 nitrogen air in tires, every dealer add-on accessory, lowjack systems, ceramic coating, ppf, scotchguard, undercoating etc.
- Forcing you to buy an extended warranty, some can be cancelled, but many require the dealer finance person to cancel it for you, and they aren't going to make that process easy
- Charging ridiculous document fees, I've seen up to $1500.
- Charging different prices if you are "local" or not
- Charging different prices if you have a trade or not.
- Buying vehicles for the dealer fleet and then reselling them (lets them do whatever they want with no worry about the manufacturer getting involved)
- If they have "Market Price: Please call" under the MSRP price, don't bother calling there's a markup.
- Probably a dozen others
. I’d have paid that much if I’d wanted one.
