To be fair, marking a car up above MSRP in a time of high demand and low supply is not “slimy” as long as the customer is well informed about it and there are no hidden fees. The supply / demand curve is not a phenomenon the government should get involved in.

Why can’t we have nice things over here across the pond?

“Hey, buddy, want to make a quick $300 cash on the QT? It’s super easy and no risk. All you have to do is....”

I worked in the field sales organization during the Reid Bigland era so I’m intimately familiar with some of the (alleged) shenanigans that occurred during the FCA sales reporting fiasco.

So, I don’t understand how some jamoke working at a dealership got access to the employee purchase website and was able to generate EP control numbers without some inside help from actual Stellantis employee(s) with a password to the Employee Advantage website.

K&N filters are good for making vroom vroom intake noises, but nothing else, power wise.

I’m late to the party, but here’s a near miss I’ll never forget:

Exactly. 237 HP from a naturally aspirated 2.2 liter motor didn't happen by leaving anything less than optimal, design wise.

You’d still have a beat up car with 228K miles after pulling the mods. Not my personal cup of tea. Unfortunately, nice ones with low miles and original paint are now more like $30K plus where I live. Crazy.

An S2000 of either generation is probably the one car that is LEAST in need of any mods as they are damn near perfect from the factory, especially with suspension and steering.

True that.

If you squint just a bit, these things look like a giant version of the XJ which makes them kinda cool in an old school Jeep way.

I’m not saying you can’t beat a dealer price with a private party purchase. I think for many people, they just don’t want to deal with the possibility of a scam or some goofy title problem with no recourse.

I’m not saying there aren’t people who can be taken advantage of out there.

If you pay the dealer $4,000 for a used car service contract, $1,000 for rust proofing, and $500 for paint protection, it’s because you’re an idiot.

As compared to buying from “some guy”, dealers absolutely provide additional value in that buyers have a reasonable level of recourse should there be an issue with the vehicle, title, paperwork, etc.

Agreed. Dealer pricing should always be above private party because people recognize buying from a dealer gives them a reasonable level of recourse should something go wrong with the car, title, paperwork, etc. There’s value in that security.

Sold order price protection has been a thing for decades. Not sure what new ground this covers for anyone.

Continemtal: I would side with Continental being sincere in this scenario.

Agreed.