The Chevrolet Corvette is a hot car and pretty much has been forever. It’s the kind of car people dream about owning, someday, and for a lot of people that day is right now. It’s also not cheap, and at least one dealer has put a heck of a premium on owning one.
The markup comes from John L. Sullivan Chevrolet which can be found in Roseville, California near Sacramento. A sticker for a 2015 Corvette Z06 was snapped by the guys at BoostAddict showing a whopping $49,995 Market Value Adjustment bringing the total sticker up to $143,960.
That number would have even the most die-hard Corvette fan thinking twice about opening his wallet. It’s not a completely unheard of practice, however, and it’s not the first time that dealers have been asking wannabe Corvette owners for more than the MSRP on the car.
At the time that preorders first opened, some dealers were charging up to an extra $10K just to get your name on a list to be one of the first to have them when they arrived at the dealership. This might make a little more sense since being the first kid on the block to own the new Corvette might be worth the dough. But $50K to own one now seems a bit ridiculous.
I was in the market for a more fuel efficient car back when gas prices first took their epic leap into the stratosphere and had a dealership add a premium to the price of a car when I walked in the door. The said market volatility and demand had changed since I’d called 20 minutes earlier, so I walked right back out the door. There’s a good chance that potential Corvette owner could feel the same way.
There’s technically nothing wrong with the dealer charging a premium. MSRP is Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price so what the seller chooses to sell the car for isn’t engraved in stone. You do have to wonder just how that will affect future sales at this or any dealership that adds on a crazy premium.
Sure, there may be a guy who is willing to pay the price, but what about the other guys who won’t pay and are ticked off? They’ll not only lose a sale or two today, but there’s the chance the customers who walk away will harbor a little resentment and never walk into that particular showroom again.
