Any guesses when pricing will return to earth?

[stecky]

Hello all... I am new here and new to Kia (always been a Honda/Toyota guy). I really like the new Telluride, but I am experiencing sticker shock. I have always been a negotiator and have never paid MSRP in my life, much less above MSRP. Is there any sign that things are starting to calm down or is there still no end in site?

I am interested in the SX trim, but I can get a comparably equipped Toyota Highlander for nearly $4000 less than the Kia, so something just doesn't add up for me.

Am I missing some key piece of information?

Thanks in advance

 

[qwikhit]

Demand is high for this vehicle

 

[stecky]

Demand is high for this vehicle

Yeah, I kinda figured that... lol
But is it slowing down? I have noticed here in the Dallas area that there aren't a ton of them available, but I wouldn't exactly call them scarce either. I drove by a dealership yesterday and saw 8-10 of them sitting on their front lot.

 

[qwikhit]

IMO; I don't think the demand is slowing down at all. Custom orders are taking 4-6 months and vehicles on the lot are generally marked up over MSRP

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[stecky]

So it sounds like Kia just isn't able to keep up with demand and since people are willing to pay MSRP or more they really have no incentive to increase production.

 

[qwikhit]

Yeah that's one way to look at it. We like ours and just happened to find one at MSRP here in Wichita Falls.

 

[bcjenkins]

Incentive or capacity? I think their plant is running 3 shifts now for Tellurides. Kia has every incentive to increase capacity as it is losing sales due to the dealer markup and the long lead times. Kia is not making any money on the dealer markup and are taking reputation hits over it.

 

[YAH DEF]

So it sounds like Kia just isn't able to keep up with demand and since people are willing to pay MSRP or more they really have no incentive to increase production.

My understanding is that with all the awards and positive reviews, it's as simple as you say: demand has outpaced supply. With only one US manufacturing plant, Kia can only produce so many of these cars. They are not slowing down production. I can't answer your original question. I will say that I purchased Hondas my whole life and this is the first car I've had that I have enjoyed this much. I did pay under MSRP but not much. I would have paid MSRP (for the first time, too) for it.

Aside from the value for the money, there is such a "vibe" thing when it comes to cars. The Telluride looks awesome and feels luxurious to drive. I find the Highlander ugly and the Honda Pilot dated and tired. The Telluride also has more passenger and cargo room, if that matters to your decision. The Highlander's third row is pretty bad.

Motortrend and Car and Driver do some useful comparisons of the two. There are tons of video comparisons too.

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[stecky]

Thanks everyone. Unfortunately my pocketbook is screaming loudly at the moment so I will just wait. Good thing I'm not under time pressure

 

[2020Telly]

Well if you look at the market the top performers are able to produce 200,000-240,000 per year and maintain profit.

2020 U.S SUV Car Sales Figures By Model (With Rankings)

Automotive Sales Data and Statistics

www.goodcarbadcar.net

The Telluride is half that so as as long as the demand is higher than the supply I’m not sure we will see lower than MSRP. I’m just guessing but I imagine differentiated engines, more options and packages might come out to justify a higher price.

 

[Tellthemride]

This guy decided to sit on a park bench back in early 2019 until Telluride prices/demand would drop to MSRP across the board.

 

[PittPa]

I'm not sure if this is what you consider but I generally like to pick up cars that are a year or two old with low mileage and this car fell into my lap. If I would of ordering the only thing I might of gone with is brown interior and a tow hitch but I am putting that on. I actually got it lower than what was quoted. You can find these out there. There are many impulse buyers that react to all the great reviews without finding out if this car was for them. The previous owner drove jeeps and trucks and thought the Telly was too car like according to the salesman that knew him.

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[stecky]

I'm not sure if this is what you consider but I generally like to pick up cars that are a year or two old with low mileage and this car fell into my lap. If I would of ordering the only thing I might of gone with is brown interior and a tow hitch but I am putting that on. I actually got it lower than what was quoted. You can find these out there. There are many impulse buyers that react to all the great reviews without finding out if this car was for them. The previous owner drove jeeps and trucks and thought the Telly was too car like according to the salesman that knew him.

From what I have seen (in my area at least) used prices aren't any better than new. $1k over MSRP for a 2020 model with 5-10 k miles as an example

 

[PassingTime]

I have been buying cars and motorcycles for over 55 years and absolutely, positively, 100% NEVER paid sticker price. Until now, I negotiated until I got the car/truck or motorcycle below MSRP at a price I had determined that I would pay ahead of time below that sticker. On one occasion I walked away from a Chrysler New Yorker that I wanted for my wife. After several hours, I walked away from a deal over an impasse over $25 to the astonishment of my wife and 2 cranky kids. As we loaded into our old car and the salesman ran after us I looked at my wife and whispered be patient while we drove away. The next day after returning from church we returned home to find a message from the dealership owner. Long story but we negotiated over the phone that morning for another $1000 off the car and I picked it up the next week. So back to the current issue the Telluride, I was NOT going to buy at MSRP however it really was the car I wanted so after a 8 plus month wait from order time (over the shut down) to delivery I had resolved to pay the MSRP which is what I ordered it at. I actually did get it a bit below that because I got military discount, and finance discount which is something I wasn't going to do at the time because I was going to pay cash, but decided to use KIA finance until this pandemic is over. So ultimately there are a huge number of people willing to pay way over MSRP for many reasons but mostly from what I see is they are impatient or uninformed. It takes a little time and patience but if you want the T then you can get it at or slightly below MSRP (with discounts, rebates, Costco, etc. )if you are willing to research, wait, order, look around. There are deals to be had, but you need to work at it.

 

[PittPa]

This is what I picked up, they actually dropped it to$41999. I was surprised it was still there.

 

[stecky]

This is what I picked up, they actually dropped it to$41999. I was surprised it was still there.

Yeah... That's a great deal. Haven't seen anything like that around here

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[Tellmeride]

I have been buying cars and motorcycles for over 55 years and absolutely, positively, 100% NEVER paid sticker price. Until now, I negotiated until I got the car/truck or motorcycle below MSRP at a price I had determined that I would pay ahead of time below that sticker.

I had never paid more than $500 over INVOICE, until now. Negotiating down from MSRP is already a losing proposition.

 

[PassingTime]

I had never paid more than $500 over INVOICE, until now. Negotiating down from MSRP is already a losing proposition.

You are absolutely right and I misspoke, I was talking about dealer invoice not MSRP for my previous negotiations. MSRP is thrown around on this forum so much because of the whole Telluride pricing issue I was caught up in it. Knowing invoice plus knowing dealer holdback on most deals goes a long way in negotiations when you have them in your back pocket. I have purchased at Invoice several times where the dealer was happy to sell by only getting holdback money on a deal. Unfortunately the Telluride doesn't sell that way right now and for the foreseeable future it might not. Thanks for pointing out my mistake.

 

[Lith_SXPN]

As long as there are people paying above MSRP, there will always be dealers playing games. Midwest seems to be settling down with more dealers selling at MSRP. Since you are in Dallas area, contact @StephenCantrelle from Classic Kia. I think they take orders at MSRP.

 

[leninator]

I paid sticker in the Boston area even though other dealers were marking them up $10,000. There are a couple of dealers selling at sticker.