I've been following this mark-up issue a bit - always good for news when things are slow.

I do think the dealerships are welcome to a bit of markup - up to $5000 is normal business practice for hot cars like this. But $5000 is really the upper limit, especially for a Mitsubishi product. Ferrari, Porsche, Lexus, and other upper-echelon brands can of course get away with more, but there is no Porsche badge on this car.

The reason for the Evo's existence is that of a halo car, a moving advertisement to draw potential customers into the dealership. It's never going to provide a direct profit to the dealership - the amounts of units moved will never be that high. Instead, it's the other car sales that the dealership will hopefully gain from this mobile press statement. Profits will be gained from the dealer moving more base Lancers, or Galants, or Pajero's. Cars that some people will look at for the first time because they wanted a peek at the mythic Lancer Evolution.

But that free press, that statement, the whole point is lost when there is a 10 to 15grand mark up on the Lancer Evo in your showroom. Because the impression that people then get is that that particular dealer is, well, greedy. The thought at the back of their minds is then "well, he's not likely to give me much of a deal on that Galant then...". If you had a Lancer Evo on show, but it's not available because they are all sold already - that works. But not marking them up 15grand. No, that leaves a taste in people's mouths that any good salesperson would go out of their way to avoid.

It is the dealer's right, and their option, to mark up the Lancer Evolution. They will, however, lose far more money in their regular sales than any profit they'd make from marking up the Evo's on their lot.

Cheers,

Paul Hansen

 

I 100% agree with you paul......I am so surprised that with the new operations within in the states, this problem has not been addressed...this is suicide for a company that just a year ago was hanging in the balance..on a global scale...If 's plans are to grab a bigger market share in the US...they need to look at thier distribution...ie the dealers they need to start at ground level with customer satisfaction and loyalty being thier target....my $0.02

 

Hi, Paul I can't escape you. J/k, don't worry still getting the STi. Just like you checking out the competition.

 

damn i just hope i can pay for the car when i get this full time job im waiting for, im only 17.
Can anyone post how much they pay monthly and whats the intrest rate

I hope the monthly payments arent over 500

 

Hi Paul,

Thanks for popping in. I enjoyed your apexjapan article on the STI drive. Are you scheduled for a USDM EVO 8 review in the future?


Speedlimit....

 

Paul, will there be a new Evo vs STi article coming out on apexJapan anytime soon?

 

I'm trying - unfortunately, I have to get some magazines interested in an JDM STi vs JDM Evo to get Ralliart on board. So far I've not had any nibbles - I think all the rags are more interested in the USDM models at the moment. I'll work on them anyways, though, I'd love to drive them both back-to-back.

Cheers,

Paul Hansen

 

If it's from Apexjapan i already know STi wins Some of us know which car you already like better

 

Please do a USDM Evo vs JDM Evo too when you get a chance. Thanks

 

What about JDM VS USDM Paul? And the winner compete against STi VS. EVO?

 

To be honest, I'm not sure - I'll admit to preferring STi's in general, but that's more of a comfort statement than performance. I think the latest JDM STi is an absolute cracker in comparison to the Ver. 7, but I don't know for certain that it's faster than a Evo 8. Without driving them back to back, I won't know for certain.

But the new Legacy will be faster than both, of course.

Cheers,

Paul Hansen

 

Well, unless my worldwide ranking as a reporter changes anytime soon, I don't think anybody is going to fly me to the states to test the Evo 8. (However, for any EIC's reading this - my bags are packed and ready)

Cheers,

Paul Hansen

 

If the dealerships want to mark-up thats fine, but you truly have to be emotionally charged to the vehicle to cough up an extra $5,000 just for a car that im pretty sure will be selling $500 over invoice down the road.

Nobody wants to overpay for something, so why should cars be excluded from this?

 

sorry dude but i dont think that at 17 your gonna be able to afford it. the insurance will be pretty high up there.
1. I'd say get a part time job and go to school (much better in the long run) and
2. At 17 you only have about a year driving experience, maybe you should get more than a year under your belt before you get yourself an evo and end up in a ditch cause of its quick steering.
I dont mean to hate just advising.

 

Haha, beat this 20k markup

http://www.imbecilicracing.com/evo8/IMG_1006.JPG