Overhaulin'

Do new car dealerships have uniformity of prices in different parts of the U.S.?

If I want to buy a new car, will it be more expensive on Park Avenue in New York, e.g., instead of say some smaller town in an economically depressed area? Is there value in checking certain parts of the country? Or do dealers have to keep new car prices roughly the same?

Public Comments

1. The only differences in car prices are overhead and Market demand. If you could get one direct from the factory, you would get it cheaper. Transportation is included in the overhead costs.
2. According to a TV commercial here in CA, dealerships buy cars for the same price. The difference is what they sell them for, so, yes, it will pay to check out a variety of places. Also, the taxes you pay will vary, so pay attention to that too! Happy shopping!
3. prices .c.an .di.ffer.5 .% or more dealer to dealer.
4. local markets and emmision regs can vary costs. freight cost and dealer prep may play a part. you can check prices on edmunds.com for certain areas.
5. Dealers can charge whatever they want for their cars...supply and demand. Different cars are going to be different prices..depending on region. A Ford F-150 will probably be cheaper in NY City as opposed to a Texas farming community...A lexus will probably be cheaper in that Texas area that it would be in New York City. Go to Edmunds.com..they can give you an estimated price that a particular car sells for in your area.
6. All cars have a MSRP (Manufacturer's suggested retail price), but this is always subject to negotiation. In general, cars that are in high demand will get more than MSRP. To answer your question, in general, you will save money by oing to a suburban dealer with a large lot and inventory.
7. I am not sure about the U.S. but you can find cars at different prices within a few miles here in the U.K. for vastly different prices and with different finance deals, I do not think it has anything to do with the area I think it has more to do with which franchise that you are looking at. When our local Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep dealer was Pendragon they were reasonably priced with great finance and a really good personal service now they are part of another group called Stratstone and they are exactly the opposite and rip you off with servicing costs at the same time, mainly by having a clause in their finance that states you must use them for all repairs, servicing and M.O.T. (a test all cars have to take in the U.K. to ensure they are road worthy, their emissions are low and they are not illegally modified) work has to be done by them, they charge about four times what our local garage will. I think that you just have to shop around for the best deal using the Manufacturer's official site.