The COVID-19 pandemic brought on a car-supply crunch that normalized dealers selling vehicles well above sticker price. Though massive upcharges are becoming less common, there are still very few vehicles today that car shoppers can find for less than the Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price.
The average new car in June had a sticker price — also known as MSRP — of $42,645, but was listed at dealerships for $46,265, or 8.5 percent higher, according to automotive research firm iSeeCars.
Just a year earlier, cars were going for $39,712 (sticker price) and priced more than 10 percent higher, around $43,717.
As vehicle MSRPs have gone up nearly 7.4 percent in the past 12 months, the amount they're getting priced at remains at least $4,000 more on average.
On the whole, new car demand seemingly hasn't waned substantially if the auto business is still getting away with high prices and, in many cases, low inventory.
That's despite inflation, interest rates, record-high monthly payments, and loan rejections all impacting car-buying consumers.
Still, it's not sustainable long term. On average, only six vehicles were priced below MSRP in June, iSeeCars.com found.
Interestingly, of those six, four are hybrid or all-electric vehicles.
See the six vehicles listed below sticker price, as well as the next six cars priced the closest to sticker price (albeit above), here: