The GTO has become a popular topic again lately, and while we have no concrete pricetag as of yet, what do you consider to be a valid markup on such a car? My local Mitsu dealer is marking up the comparably priced Evolution $3000 while other dealers may be asking $5000 over sticker. Is the GTO even limited enough in production to demand any markup?

Anyone doing any research at all on the car will know that improvements in both styling and performance are on the way. How much is it worth to be the first on your block to have a new GTO? For anyone that has put down deposits already, are dealers guaranteeing you a certain price above invoice or MSRP? Just curious. To think a Bonneville could sell for close to $40k makes predicting a GTO sticker a scary thought.

To me, it'd be a shame if the GTO is priced out of reach--either by the regular MSRP or by dealer price-gouging--and would put it right in the position where the overpriced WS6 left off: sitting on dealer lots.

 

Acceptable markup to me is zero, I will not pay over sticker for a car, and I will not ever buy a car from a dealer that adds a markup. There is too much competition for my car buying dollar to pull that BS

 

The only CORRECT question is how much UNDER sticker. On any car.

 

I'll take a blind shot at it, just for fun

It'll be a $3k-$4k markup for the first month or so, while people still tolerate that sort of BS so they can be the first on the block, then gradually it'll come down to the flat sticker price after about 6-7 months when dealers realize there are fewer idiots biting to go around. the 05 model better not have any markup.

 

You could be right. For a recent-introduction performance car you'd normally expect dealer gouging - does anybody remember back in 1991 when the Acura NSX was going for $15-20K over MSRP. However, considering the lackluster, half-hearted autoshow debut the GTO recently had, I wouldn't expect much of a bounce when the car actually goes on sale. I don't even see the automotive press getting too excited in the previews. After all, with a new Mustang and Corvette premiering pretty soon, the GTO isn't too much of a performance revelation.

If somebody really wanted a 2004 GTO, they probably won't have to worry about $5,000 over sticker. Give the dealership sharks a couple of months to calm down and you'll be able to buy one of these cars for a few hundred over invoice.

 

They're going to have to mark it down for me to buy it.......

 

The last batch of Z28s I saw were all $30,000 (roughly $4,000 markup), SSs were $36-37,000 (again about 4-5K+ markup), Mustangs here usually are marked up by a grand or two, and the all time markup king: Limited Edition Firebird Trans Am of last year(Yellow & Black convertible) with a final list price including markup $44,000!

 

Round here prices never changed. I'd say you have a lot of greedy, high-on-crack dealers in Cali!

 

They will be marked up until hey start running an inventory on them. They don't mind not selling them at all in the beginning because they would like 1 at all times in the showroom to attract people to their showrooms.

 

Get real! With only 18k GTO's being produced, not every Pontiac dealership will even get one!!

And, this is directly from GM, some dealerships are already taking $20k deposts, and thats just over sticker

 

If my count is accurate, that should actually be about 7-9 per dealer.

 

Won't people have to come into dealerships anyways to even see if there's one in the showroom??

 

18k is, well, quite a few. Subaru only made like 24k WRXs and it's not like those were hard to come by.

 

didn't I hear somewhere that in California alone, dealers had reserved 13,000 GTO's already, months ago? The cars will sell, and they will probably have a markup to start with. Just a fact of life. look at what happened initially with the Thunderbirds. And people bought them right up. Well, at least before their retro theme caused them to go stale long-term, but that's a different story since GTO doesn't suffer from that. I mean there will *always* be someone with money to burn who wants to be the first on the block with a brand spankin new, never before seen model. those first people in the first few months will gladly pay *any* realistic markup. I believe all dealers will get at least one, but that doesn't mean you'll be seeing them. As individual units they're bound to sell right off the truck.

 

they are only making like 3,000 Evos that is why there is a mark-up there.

18,000 shouldn't create a mark up, but you can bet they will go for MSRP

other car to look at with production under 10,000 and no mark up
Camaro SS - all years
2003 Cobra - they do go for MSRP though
Lightning - MSRP
HD F150 - under MSRP
Bullit - no mark up
Mach 1 - no mark up
Z06 - no mark up
Viper - no mark up most of the time