Image: Honda
The ink isn’t even dry yet on some reviews of the 2022 Honda Civic Si and dealers are already slapping markups on cars they don’t even have in the showroom. They sit perched at their dealership desks, hungrily rubbing their hands together in anticipation of someone who just has to have the first of something, anything. We don’t know of any victims so far to the new Civic Si inflation, but there’s no surprise that two dealers have already marked them up, with one claiming it was a mistake. I’m not buying it.
The first dealer is here in Southern California. Norm Reeves Honda in West Covina has a pretty good track record here locally. The reviews speak for themselves. But good reviews doesn’t really stop greed. The most confusing part of this car’s sale, and I’m not sure if this was done on purpose, is that there are actually three different prices for the Si.
Screenshot: Norm Reeves Honda West Covina
On their site, as you can see above, the price is listed at its MSRP of $28,710. That’s the price of a standard Civic Si plus $395 for the Platinum White Pearl exterior paint and a $1,015 destination fee. The price the dealer has listed on Cars.com (the price I originally found) is $36,710.
The real price is neither of these. I contacted the dealer to see if they could actually tell me what the price was. I was informed that the car is still in transit and that the real price is $36,629. If it’s any consolation, that’s actually $81 cheaper than the price on Cars.com. It’s still a markup though. And it didn’t appear to be negotiable either. Had I been an actual customer, seeing three different prices for one vehicle would be an immediate turn off.
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The second markup I found looks to be the highest-priced Civic Si in the country. Maybe. Like I mentioned, cars are still in transit to dealers, so depending on what site you use you’ll find about 200 or so listed for sale in the country right now. The dealer in question is Bell Honda in Phoenix, AZ. They have their 2022 Civic Si listed for $49,532. Blown away by this price, I contacted the dealer to see if they were actually charging $50,000 for a Honda Civic.
Screenshot: Bell Honda
On their website, it’s listed at $28,310. I was informed by the salesperson that they have two and both are the same price even though the one here says please call. He explained that since the car is still in transit, that $49,532 price was a mistake because it hadn’t been updated in their inventory yet. “Yea don’t worry. We aren’t selling it for $50,000” he says, laughing. Two reasons lead me to believe that the pricing isn’t a mistake as the dealer claims.
For one, $49,532 is a very specific price. Too specific to be a mistake. If it was something along the lines of $39,999 or $50,000 I’d believe it.
Secondly, there’s a little program called DealerSocket. For those of you that don’t know, DealerSocket is an automotive retail software program that allows dealers to handle inventory, pricing, marketing, etc. Usually, if a vehicle is listed in DealerSocket with specific information, that means that information is correct as someone had to go in and input the data. In lieu of calling the dealer, I emailed them. I usually do this to see if I get conflicting information.
Screenshot: Bell Honda DealerSocket
I was emailed a link by the exact salesperson I ended up speaking to over the phone who also turned out to be the internet sales director. The link he sent me led me to DealerSocket which has the car listed for, you guessed it, $49,532. So if this is a mistake, which again I doubt, it’s one of the most specific mistakes I’ve ever seen in vehicle pricing.
You know what I always say: keep waiting out the market. These markups are getting more wild with each new vehicle introduction. And make sure you’re checking pricing thoroughly. There’s no reason one vehicle should have three different prices listed. Even more troubling is when the dealer tells you the actual price and it’s not any of the prices you’ve seen listed. Even if the dealer says it’s a mistake, don’t believe them.
Keyword: 2022 Honda Civic Si Markups