This Is the Car That Dealers Overcharge for the Most

By Douglas A. McIntyre Published Jan 8, 9:00AM EST

Follow 24/7 Wall St. on Google

This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

This Is the Car That Dealers Overcharge for the Most — © welcomia / iStock via Getty Images

Car demand in the United States is at extraordinary levels. Unfortunately, car supply is extremely low. A primary reason the appetite for new cars is so high is the pent-up demand from the COVID-19 pandemic, when many people could not go to dealers at all.

People who wanted to buy 2021 models found themselves out of luck in many cases. In other cases, they had to pay considerably above the manufacturer suggested retail price — and the car that dealers overcharge the most is the Jeep Wrangler.

Supply of cars has been primarily affected by a lack of the semiconductors used in car electronic and navigation systems. This shortage is not expected to end this year. It has triggered the shuttering of assembly lines at some of the largest manufacturers. It also has made a large dent in car company earnings.

One way car sales are measured is “days on dealer lot.” The figure is usually close to 60. According to iSeeCars, the average days on the lot dropped to 25 in October. This has triggered an unfortunate trend for many buyers. (These are the fastest selling cars in America right now.)

At the time, iSeeCars noted, “Car buyers are willing to pay over MSRP for new cars and highly-elevated used car prices because they have embraced the reality that inventory shortages are here to stay for the next several months.”

A newly released iSeeCars study covers the new car models that were sold by the largest percentage over the manufacturer’s retail prices, a practice that infuriates consumers and causes complaints. The position dealers take is that people can either pay the premium or someone else will.

At least 20 models sold for 19% or more over the manufacturer’s suggested retail price in October. The highest figure was for the Jeep Wrangler at 28.6% above the MSRP, which increased the price by over $10,000 to an average of $43,338. The Wrangler is Jeep’s midsized, and usually relatively inexpensive, sport utility vehicle. (This car brand has the worst dealers in America.)

The Wrangler usually gets good rankings from the car media. Car and Driver rates it 7.5 out of 10, and Motor Trend rates it 8.6 out of 10.

24/7 Wall St. reviewed iSeeCars study about which models dealers overcharge for the most.

These are the 20 cars that dealers get the biggest premium for

20. Mercedes-Benz GLA
> Premium: 19.0%
> Raised price: $46,246

[in-text-ad]

19. Ford Maverick
> Premium: 19.2%
> Raised price: $28,223

[recirclink id=1022370]

18. Chevrolet Camaro
> Premium: 19.5%
> Raised price: $45,363

17. Land Rover Defender
> Premium: 19.5%
> Raised price: $76,162

[in-text-ad-2]

16. Genesis GV70
> Premium: 19.6%
> Raised price: $59,910

15. Mercedes-Benz GLB
> Premium: 19.8%
> Raised price: $47,386

[in-text-ad]

14. Ford Bronco
> Premium: 19.8%
> Raised price: $50,322

[recirclink id=1016979]

13. Cadillac CT5
> Premium: 21.2%
> Raised price: $51,174

12. MINI Hardtop 2 Door
> Premium: 21.3%
> Raised price: $33,947

[in-text-ad-2]

11. Lexus RX 450h
> Premium: 21.5%
> Raised price: $59,691

10. MINI Hardtop 4 Door
> Premium: 22.3%
> Raised price: $32,772

[in-text-ad]

9. Porsche Panamera
> Premium: 22.5%
> Raised price: $135,173

[recirclink id=1013517]

8. Jeep Wrangler Unlimited
> Premium: 24.2%
> Raised price: $55,006

7. Chevrolet Corvette
> Premium: 24.5%
> Raised price: $96,256

[in-text-ad-2]

6. Porsche Macan
> Premium: 24.6%
> Raised price: $68,408

5. Porsche Taycan
> Premium: 25.9%
> Raised price: $115,662

[in-text-ad]

4. Ford Mustang
> Premium: 26.0%
> Raised price: $47,091

[recirclink id=1011979]

3. Jeep Gladiator
> Premium: 26.0%
> Raised price: $53,361

2. Chevrolet Corvette
> Premium: 27.9%
> Raised price: $88,787

[in-text-ad-2]

1. Jeep Wrangler
> Premium: 28.6%
> Raised price: $43,388

About the Author Douglas A. McIntyre →

Douglas A. McIntyre is the co-founder, chief executive officer and editor in chief of 24/7 Wall St. and 24/7 Tempo. He has held these jobs since 2006.

McIntyre has written thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St. He is an expert on corporate finance, the automotive industry, media companies and international finance. He has edited articles on national demographics, sports, personal income and travel.

His work has been quoted or mentioned in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Time, The New Yorker, HuffPost USA Today, Business Insider, Yahoo, AOL, MarketWatch, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The Guardian and many other major publications. McIntyre has been a guest on CNBC, the BBC and television and radio stations across the country.

A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, McIntyre also was president of The Harvard Advocate. Founded in 1866, the Advocate is the oldest college publication in the United States.

TheStreet.com, Comps.com and Edgar Online are some of the public companies for which McIntyre served on the board of directors. He was a Vicinity Corporation board member when the company was sold to Microsoft in 2002. He served on the audit committees of some of these companies.

McIntyre has been the CEO of FutureSource, a provider of trading terminals and news to commodities and futures traders. He was president of Switchboard, the online phone directory company. He served as chairman and CEO of On2 Technologies, the video compression company that provided video compression software for Adobe’s Flash. Google bought On2 in 2009.