#KBB PRINT WINDOW STICKER FULL#
When you find your dream car and the dealer wants the full MSRP - or more - you can always walk away in this market. That higher price motivates additional production of that thing, and the price eventually falls.Ĭar dealers do not exist in business to break even. The more of a thing people want (like cars), the more they are willing to pay for them, and the higher their price. In an open market, the price gets determined by demand. If you never pay much attention to the fundamental theories of economics, you may not realize the current marketplace works like a Petrie dish for the effects of supply and demand. However, dealers today can sell only a handful of vehicles on-site with potential buyers lined up like it’s opening day for “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” Car prices determined by supply and demand It was nearly double that last year.Įvery car a dealer sells today will be unavailable to sell tomorrow. Translated into days of supply, currently, it’s 34. That may sound like a lot, but inventory was 1.5 million units higher a year ago. Many of today’s popular features like touchscreens, navigation, and power-adjustable seats require microchips.Īccording to data from Kelley Blue Book’s parent company Cox Automotive, the current new vehicle inventory was 1.07 million units at the start of March. New car inventories remain exceedingly tight due to the semiconductor chip shortage, supply chain disruptions, and other factors. This isn’t mule-headed stubbornness for many dealers but a matter of good business sense. In other words, they aren’t willing to negotiate. If you start shopping for a new car, you may encounter dealers who refuse to budge from the vehicle’s posted window sticker price. In this article, we’ll explain why dealers started marking up the prices of vehicles beyond MSRP and what, if anything, you can do about it. It’s a difficult market for car shoppers. With dealer lots looking emptier than a year ago, many vehicles arriving on transport trucks will often be presold or at least promised.