These are strange days for car dealers and consumers alike. On the one hand, a punishing economic climate has caused automakers to do away with incentives such as cash back and rock-bottom financing that drove crowds into showrooms for the past few years. On the other, buyers are showing that if a car is on their personal wish list, they’re willing to pay extra; in some cases, thousands of dollars extra.
Those two factors are instrumental in these two groups of five cars: The first of which are less in-demand vehicles priced well above what people are willing to pay, and the second of which have consumers running for their checkbooks even when that means paying more than the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP).
“The month of May was a perfect example of what’s going on,” says Jesse Toprak, vice president of industry trends at analyst firm TrueCar.com. “It was a very slow month, with (U.S.) sales falling 3.7% to just over a million units. But at the same time, the average transaction price per car was at an all-time high of $29,900. People are still buying, and when they do they tend to go for smaller but highly contented and desirable cars.”
Toprak says that many buyers are downsizing out of large, well-appointed vehicles “but are insisting that the luxury and safety features they were used to in those cars be retained.” That often translates to heavily optioned cars that boost dealer profits, and aptly describes the five Asian-made cars that make up our list of under-priced cars.
But dealers with hot commodities aren’t the only winners in today’s climate. “Anyone who’s in the market for a large truck or SUV that isn’t that great on mileage is going to do very well,” says Toprak, neatly summarizing the following five vehicles — four American and one Japanese — that are overpriced in the face of slow demand:
1. Chevrolet Impala: Base MSRP: $24,495; Average market value: $19,224
2. Ford Ranger: Base MSRP: $19,075; Average market value $15, 430
3. Chevrolet Colorado: Base MSRP: $20,650; Average market value: $16,960
4. Chevrolet HHR: Base MSRP (LS two-door panel model): $19,030
5. Mitsubishi Endeavor: Base MSRP (LS model): $28,299; Average market price $23,266
Crunching the numbers that produced these two lists were the folks at Vincentric, a firm that measures and analyzes the real-world cost of vehicle ownership. The metric was a fairly straightforward comparison between suggested retail price and what, on average, was actually paid for a vehicle. “At the end of the day, the transaction price on any car is dependent on supply and demand,” says Vincentric president David Wurster. “Even if you are building a car that’s very popular, if you have too many it’s going to be hard to charge more.”
The natural disaster in Japan has meant that the supply of some cars made in that country is slowing as manufacturers await parts. But, says TrueCar’s Toprak, there’s “a big difference between actual shortages of product and perceived shortages, and I think we’re now realizing that the percentage of cars that really are being held up due to the earthquake isn’t that large.”
That means prices may start falling into line soon. In the meantime, here’s a look at some cars that may require patience and deep pockets to nab the keys. The top five vehicles most likely to be highly valued due to heavy demand:
1. Kia Optima: Base MSRP: $18,995; Average market price: $20,473
2. Nissan Versa: Base MSRP: $11,240; Average market price: $11,924
3. Toyota Prius: Base MSRP: $21,650; Average market price: $22,901
4. Scion xD: Base MSRP: $15,845; Average market price: $16,605
5. Scion xB: Base MSRP: $16,950; Average market price: $17,670
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