We asserted that few Honda dealers were marking up the 2017 Civic Type R in a story published last Friday. Based on the advertised prices that we found in nationwide listings, this is true. But car dealers have been known to lie, and as some astute readers told us during their Type R hunts, some dealers have been lying by omission on this one, big time.
It now appears that the majority of Honda dealers have been charging heavy premiums on the Type R since it went on sale on June 14. We called five dealerships across the country, all of which were advertising the Type R at MSRP but which were otherwise chosen at random (Gresham, Oregon; Selma, Texas; Glen Head, New York; El Cerrito, California; and Springfield, Ohio). When asked what the actual price was, each of the salespeople came clean and said that the dealer would not honor the MSRP. The premiums demanded ranged from $5000 in New York to $17,000 in Oregon. The Texas dealer, Gillman Honda, claimed a buyer had come in and offered $15,000 above sticker. Eskridge Honda in Oklahoma City cuts to the chase on its website: It’s auctioning a Type R, and the minimum bid starts at $34,775, equal to the base MSRP. Given this kind of behavior, it’s safe to assume your local dealer is following suit.
While Honda can’t prevent dealers from charging more than MSRP, the automaker can punish them for advertising a different MSRP than what the factory sets. Since most of the dealers advertise at MSRP but then charge...