# What do people really pay for new cars? **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Created:** [July 18, 2023, 2:25am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-do-people-really-pay-for-new-cars/191762 "2023-07-18T02:25:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RandomTroll](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/randomtroll/32/12184_2.png) [@RandomTroll](https://community.cartalk.com/u/RandomTroll)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 2:25am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-do-people-really-pay-for-new-cars/191762/1 "2023-07-18T02:25:06Z")
Ford dropped the MSRP on electric F-150s $6-10K, sez the news. How much less will purchasers really pay? ---
**Author:** ![wolyrobb](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/wolyrobb/32/45497_2.png) [@wolyrobb](https://community.cartalk.com/u/wolyrobb)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 3:00am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-do-people-really-pay-for-new-cars/191762/2 "2023-07-18T03:00:49Z")
Good question, local dealer has 3 on their lot all exactly at sticker, plus tax/title/tags and no additional fees. Carguru’s site shows either about $500 under msrp or $5K-$10K markup. ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 12:47pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-do-people-really-pay-for-new-cars/191762/3 "2023-07-18T12:47:20Z")
Whatever the dealer can get. I won’t pay more than MSRP for a popular model. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 1:12pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-do-people-really-pay-for-new-cars/191762/4 "2023-07-18T13:12:28Z")
> [@jtsanders](#): > > Whatever the dealer can get. I won’t pay more than MSRP for a popular model. +1 Back in the early '80s, when Honda dealers were typically tacking-on an ADP sticker, one of my work colleagues drove from Central NJ to RI to buy an Accord, because there was a dealer in RI that didn’t charge any ADP. That was a long drive, but it saved him… I think… almost $1k. Last fall, I drove 70 minutes in order to buy my new vehicle from a dealership that doesn’t add anything to the sticker price. That drive saved me more than $7k. So, it has probably always been possible to avoid “ADP” if one did his research and was willing to travel a bit, and now that the chip shortage is easing and the new car market has slowed-down to a certain extent, it should be a bit easier to avoid “ADP”. Whether the days of paying _less_ than the sticker price will return is another matter… ---
**Author:** ![MikeInNH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@MikeInNH](https://community.cartalk.com/u/MikeInNH)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 2:29pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-do-people-really-pay-for-new-cars/191762/5 "2023-07-18T14:29:42Z")
We have a Chevy dealer in Nashua NH that doesn’t sell over MSRP. This allowed them to become the #1 Corvette dealer in the world. People buy from this dealer from all over the country. They sell more Corvettes, so they are allotted more Corvettes from GM. [Home - MacMulkin Corvette - #1 Corvette Dealer in the World!](https://www.macmulkincorvette.com/) ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 4:12pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-do-people-really-pay-for-new-cars/191762/6 "2023-07-18T16:12:18Z")
I wondered where they are after seeing their ads in TV. Now I know. ---
**Author:** ![bcohen2010](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@bcohen2010](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bcohen2010)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 3:19am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-do-people-really-pay-for-new-cars/191762/7 "2023-07-19T03:19:42Z")
The only time I ever bought a new car, I paid MSRP with no discounts, because I had the car special-ordered with the equipment I like. Since that equipment is no longer offered, and since modern vehicles contain a lot of intrusive “nanny state” features that I cannot stand, there is zero chance I would ever buy new again. ---
**Author:** ![RandomTroll](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/randomtroll/32/12184_2.png) [@RandomTroll](https://community.cartalk.com/u/RandomTroll)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2023, 2:15am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-do-people-really-pay-for-new-cars/191762/8 "2023-07-20T02:15:25Z")
> [@VDCdriver](#): > > Whether the days of paying _less_ than the sticker price will return is another matter… Wasn’t that the standard? I remember my mother commenting that a friend paid sticker price - back in the '60s. All the stories my friends have told involve hefty discounts, starting with buying a report that calculated the dealer’s price and offering a flat amount over that. I think Costco has a program that allows members to buy cars at fleet price. ---
**Author:** ![wolyrobb](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/wolyrobb/32/45497_2.png) [@wolyrobb](https://community.cartalk.com/u/wolyrobb)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2023, 2:25am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-do-people-really-pay-for-new-cars/191762/9 "2023-07-20T02:25:07Z")
Costco’s program refers you to a participating dealer where you pay a set amount over invoice, Dad used it to buy his Honda CRV back in 2019 but in his experience Costco gave better service and offered to step in if the dealer wasn’t playing by their rules. Ended up with the quoted price but on paper they started out $2,000 over sticker then discounted it $4,000 to end up at the right number. With the exception of the 2010 Prius we’ve paid a little under msrp to invoice price for cars over the years. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2023, 12:02pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-do-people-really-pay-for-new-cars/191762/10 "2023-07-20T12:02:08Z")
> [@RandomTroll](#): > > Wasn’t that the standard? Yes, it _was_ the standard. My question was whether we would _return_ to those days. Based on the growing inventories sitting on car dealers’ lots right now, we just might return in the very near future. ---
**Author:** ![MikeInNH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@MikeInNH](https://community.cartalk.com/u/MikeInNH)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2023, 12:53pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-do-people-really-pay-for-new-cars/191762/11 "2023-07-20T12:53:13Z")
> [@VDCdriver](#): > > Yes, it _was_ the standard. My question was whether we would _return_ to those days. I’ve ALWAYS paid below MSRP. I refuse to pay OVER MSRP. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2023, 12:55pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-do-people-really-pay-for-new-cars/191762/12 "2023-07-20T12:55:31Z")
> [@MikeInNH](#): > > I’ve ALWAYS paid below MSRP. If you bought a vehicle over the past couple of years, that almost surely wouldn’t have been possible. I was lucky to be able to find a dealership that charged “only” the MSRP last autumn. For all of my previous cars, I paid less than the MSRP, but that was then, and this is now. ---
**Author:** ![MikeInNH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@MikeInNH](https://community.cartalk.com/u/MikeInNH)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2023, 1:19pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-do-people-really-pay-for-new-cars/191762/13 "2023-07-20T13:19:10Z")
> [@VDCdriver](#): > > If you bought a vehicle over the past couple of years, that almost surely wouldn’t have been possible. True…So I’ll wait. I thought we were talking about the past. ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2023, 9:31pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-do-people-really-pay-for-new-cars/191762/14 "2023-07-20T21:31:38Z")
> [@VDCdriver](#): > > I was lucky to be able to find a dealership that charged “only” the MSRP last autumn. Buying a car involves dealing with the sales-person in a small cubical, indoors. Were you concerned about contracting Covid? ---
**Author:** ![Purebred](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/purebred/32/46796_2.png) [@Purebred](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Purebred)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2023, 10:18am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-do-people-really-pay-for-new-cars/191762/15 "2023-07-21T10:18:33Z")
When I saw fewer used or new cars on the dealership lot, I bought a new, left over, 2020 car in May of 2021, 2000 below MSRP plus a higher than anticipated allowance for my trade in. No, I was not afraid of Covid. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2023, 11:39am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-do-people-really-pay-for-new-cars/191762/16 "2023-07-21T11:39:51Z")
> [@George\_San\_Jose1](#): > > Were you concerned about contracting Covid? I entered the dealership–just as I enter all public spaces–wearing an N95 mask, as ordered by my Oncologist. When the saleswoman saw me wearing the mask, she also donned one. ---
**Author:** ![brownbreadcoffeecake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/848f3c/32.png) [@brownbreadcoffeecake](https://community.cartalk.com/u/brownbreadcoffeecake)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2023, 5:21pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-do-people-really-pay-for-new-cars/191762/17 "2023-07-21T17:21:42Z")
The actual price folks will pay can still depend on a bunch of stuff like taxes, fees, and optional add-ons. ---
**Author:** ![db4690](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/db4690/32/2583_2.png) [@db4690](https://community.cartalk.com/u/db4690)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2023, 5:27pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-do-people-really-pay-for-new-cars/191762/18 "2023-07-21T17:27:24Z")
All I can say is this . . . Don’t EVER tell anyone . . . except maybe your spouse/partner . . . what you paid for a car There will ALWAYS be someone who responds by saying you paid too much By not saying what you paid, you’ll simply avoid those conversations ---
**Author:** ![weekend-warrior](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/weekend-warrior/32/26122_2.png) [@weekend-warrior](https://community.cartalk.com/u/weekend-warrior)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2023, 5:46pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-do-people-really-pay-for-new-cars/191762/19 "2023-07-21T17:46:45Z")
The price you pay or willing to pay for a vehicle can be from many different factors. The economy- supply and demand how many vehicles of that model the dealer has on the lot. Are you looking for a specific high demand vehicle? Do you have time to search around for vehicles or did you total your vehicle and need one right away to get to work. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2023, 6:09pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-do-people-really-pay-for-new-cars/191762/20 "2023-07-21T18:09:57Z")
Also, let’s not forget about the people who seem to set themselves up for disaster by telling the salesman that they don’t want to pay more than “X per month” in car payments. _Somehow_ that maximum number (or perhaps a couple of bucks less…) will be the actual cost per month, and it will amount to a LOT of extra expense over the life of that loan. Never discuss exactly how one intends to pay for a car until **after** you have been able to negotiate the lowest possible purchase price. If you are asked how you intend to pay for it, just say that you haven’t yet decided. [Next page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-do-people-really-pay-for-new-cars/191762.md?page=2)