Oakland Toyota dealership accused of 'price gouging,' reportedly asking $96K for a RAV4, double MSRP

[Demovictory9]

A 2021 Toyota RAV4 Prime is on sale at a Toyota dealership in Oakland for the staggering price of nearly over $96,000, nearly double its initial MSRP, according to a viral car sticker image that has made the rounds on social media.

The “dealer added markup” has drawn particular ire, costing $40,000 on top of the original market-rate price. The other "installed options" on this vehicle, according to the photo, include LoJack vehicle protections, ceramic coating and paint protection.

After first being posted on Reddit over the weekend, with posters calling the markup “beyond the pale” and accusing the dealership of “price gouging,” the image has since circulated onto car enthusiasts’ websites and TikTok.

The car blog Jalopnik reached out Tuesday to confirm the markup with the dealership, and they did not technically deny the spiked cost of the SUV.

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Oakland-Toyota-RAV4-Prime-double-MSRP-16649490.php

[LiberatedUSA]

1. For $96,000, it better secretly be a corvette Stingray.

Last edited Thu Nov 25, 2021, 04:32 PM - Edit history (1)

[Initech]

25. For that price you could buy a Mercedes GT63, Audi E-Tron, or a Porsche Taycan.

[SunSeeker]

2. It's not just an ordinary RAV4. It's a RAV4 Prime, fully loaded.

The Toyota RAV4 Prime loaded like this with the "Premium Package" and the extra-cost Supersonic Red paint job is super popular and next to impossible to find on a dealer lot. It has a 43 mile electric range, 301 hp and does 0-60 mph in 5.7 seconds. Wait lists for this $50k+ car, particularly in the hard to find red, are about a year out or more if you want to "only" pay MSRP.

I wouldn't be surprised if some idiot paid that markup. Toyota dealerships have proven to be pure scum during this chip shortage.

[pstokely]

4. are Chevy dealers any beter?

Or just buy an overpriced year old car from Carmax if you don't wanna haggle

[SunSeeker]

22. I'll never step foot in a Chevy dealership again so I don't know. But Ford dealers don't do that.

Right now Ford is running a special with $1k off MSRP and 0% financing. Toyota wants over 3% to finance, even with excellent credit.

Last month, after passing on a RAV4 Prime PHEV, I bought a 2021 Ford Escape PHEV with all the bells and whistles (panoramic sunroof, 10-speaker Bang & Olufsen stereo, hands-free liftgate, etc.) for $39k with $0 money down and 0% financing. It doesn't come in AWD like the RAV4 Prime PHEV, but it handles a LOT better, and gets better mileage. I've been getting over 80 mpg!

[JohnSJ]

5. The fact is the mark up was 40K, and anyone who pays that is an idiot. If someone is willing to

pay that kind of money, they might as well buy a Tesla

[SunSeeker]

24. True. nt

[TheBlackAdder]

13. You can polish a RAV4 and it's still a RAV4.

[SunSeeker]

21. Yes, it's still all plastic inside, with terrible body roll in corners.

What you're really paying for with the RAV4 Prime is the incredible PHEV powertrain with AWD. Its powertrain is completely different from the regular gutless RAV4. But that incredible PHEV powertrain is a little hard to justify at the $50k MSRP, let alone the jacked up $96k.

[Tomconroy]

3. Way, way back around 1980 when there was a gas crisis,

all Toyota Corollas went for way over the list price.

[Sherman A1]

6. I don't see it as price gouging.

If you want to pay the money and buy the item do so, if not shop somewhere else. No one is being forced to buy this automobile.

[cinematicdiversions]

10. It is a bizarre sense of entitlement claiming that a luxury good should be

priced in a special way for everyone.

I mean, there is a simple solution. If no one buys it at that price the dealer will lower it.

[DFW]

8. I never heard of Dealer Added Markup

Especially not when it nearly doubles the price of the car.

But there do appear to be delays and backlogs in car delivery. My wife's car is 13 years old and has 180,000 KM on it, so we ordered a new one (hybrid this time) about 2 months ago. We were told to expect delivery in mid-December. We just got a letter from the dealership saying now, maybe February. Maybe. This will be the first time we are getting an automatic, but when we asked for a stickshift, which we are used to, we were told it would be an added 6 months, since no one orders them any more.

[TheBlackAdder]

14. When Buick had the $30K GNX, dealers were marking them up to $45K.

[DFW]

15. Never even heard of it

Buick is an exotic foreign brand here. I don't know if I have ever seen one on the streets here.

[TheBlackAdder]

16. I worked for a division of GM and bought a fully loaded Grand National for $12.5K.

.

It came in at a little over $15K for being fully loaded, and dealers were marking them up to $20K.

The GNX is a modified version of the 1987 1/2 Buick Regal, with wider tires, fender enlargements, a minor engine boost, having the engine speed limiter expanded to around 150MPH. On a highway, I got mine up to 124 before it was capped. Actually, the GN road like shit if you were on a windy road. All of those cars of the same platform rode like shit. Placing Eagle GT-S tires did make a difference, but wore out in 15K miles.

The GNX was a limited build and mostly other than badging and minor tweaks wasn't worth the price. It was more a sales thing. You could take a GN, drop 4 grand in mods and have it pull the 1/4 mile in under 10 seconds. But, we're talking 1987 money.

.

[DFW]

18. Ever since I started spending most of my time here, I only bought locally made cars

My first one that I bought for myself, was the first BMW to have a catalytic converter option. Lead-free gasoline had just been introduced, though it wasn't available everywhere. Reagan's high-interest policy was in full swing, and the dollar to the DM was about double what it used to be. So, with all the extras I wanted (not many), my new lead-free BMW cost me the equivalent of $15,000. They cost a little more than that these days.

[Bengus81]

9. There are many times that new Corvette's sell for way over sticker price

Especially with the new mid-engine Vette. It's clearly on the sticker. Pay the price or just buy a different Rav4 for half the price.

[Vinca]

11. I was checking out the prices of new Ravs since the one I have is 9 years old.

As it is, the cars are more than $10,000 up from what I paid for the 2012. Guess I'll keep the old one.

[Klaralven]

12. It's a starting price for negotiation

[Sympthsical]

17. Shop at the Hayward or Richmond auto malls like normal people.

I have no idea who Han Lee is, but he has apparently sold every third person in the Bay Area their car. I got mine from a Richmond Toyota dealer.

Funnily enough, my partner has a 2003 (?) Rav 4, and he's been making noises about getting a new one next year. I think I'll send him this article.

One thing people should keep in mind is that Oakland is in the middle of getting heavily gentrified by tech. They've been moving up from South Bay for some time. West Oakland in particular is slowly getting made over. Covid has been accelerating this.

So I'd not be shocked if that dealer is aiming for that market.

[brooklynite]

19. It's comes with a free Toyota Corolla in case the Rav 4 breaks down.

[MichMan]

20. People sometimes get indignant when dealers charge over MSRP

But then expect them to take thousands under MSRP all the time when sales are soft.

[pecosbob]

23. Just one example of how the dealer-franchise monopoly system rips off people