SALT LAKE CITY — A new study shows that buying a car will cost more in Utah than in many other places, thanks to supply and demand and significant markup on some makes and models at nearly 30% above MSRP.
"It’s just one of those things where ‘buyer beware’. They need to be educated. They need to do their homework before they go out and buy a car," said Larry Ball with the Utah Motor Vehicle Enforcement Division.
He said prices seem to slowly be dropping, but they're not yet back down from the spike in prices after the pandemic halted production.
"At the peak, when the supply chain was bad, we saw markups... as high as $20,000. The higher dollar the car, the higher it was. But it seems to be coming down now," Ball said.
A new survey from the online car listing and research website iSeeCars.com tracked some 12 million sales across the country this past year and found that new cars still have major markups.
"We see prices well above MSRP across the country still, averaging 8.8% across the U.S.," said Karl Bauer an executive analyst for iSeeCars.
Bauer says markup is even higher here in Utah.
According to the survey, the following are the vehicles with the highest markups in the Salt Lake City market:
Genesis GV70
29.4% above MSRP
$12,603 above MSRP
Jeep Wrangler
24.1% above MSRP
$8,528 above MSRP
Cadillac CT5
22.1% above MSRP
$9,207 above MSRP
Porsche Macan
22.0% above MSRP
$13,371 above MSRP
Ford Maverick
21.7% above MSRP
$5,142 above MSRP
The average markup for Salt Lake City is 8.8% above MSRP and $3,782 above MSRP.
"It’s just proof that there are certain models out there that just simply cannot meet demand, and the dealers know it," Bauer said.
Ball says as more cars start to fill up the local lots, the prices will drop.
He also shared this advice to consumers: "Be educated. Do homework. Find out what you want to buy, look at it, price it out."
He also said if you have a complaint about a dealer or believe you've been the victim of fraud in any kind of car-buying transaction, you can contact the Utah Division of Motor Vehicle Enforcement at mved.utah.gov, by emailing MVED@utah.gov or calling 801-297-2600.
