We all know some Honda dealers are taking full advantage of the Civic Type R mania and charging insane markups for the hot hatch. Now it seems some stores are under the impression that Honda fans are willing to pay over sticker for the 205 hp Civic Si.
The Civic Si is certainly a solid addition to the Civic lineup even if Honda let us down a bit by not adding more power. Even with only 205 hp on tap, the Civic has an MSRP of about $24,000 so it undercuts rivals like the Ford Focus ST and Volkswagen GTI. You could even argue that Honda’s excellent six-speed manual alone gives it an edge over the competition.
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Of course, that edge quickly erodes when the Si’s asking price starts to approach the $30,000 mark because some Honda dealers have a case of Type R fever and think that the Si can command a premium in the market.
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According to Autotrader, there are currently 107 Type R Civics listed for sale and you can bet that many of them are already sold. So supply and demand favors the dealers. On the other hand, there are almost 2000 Civic Si models listed in the entire country. Many of which are advertised at MSRP or slightly below and most dealers are not smoking the crack pipe on Si pricing.
But a handful of stores are asking $30,000 or more for an Si.
You know what, I’m not even mad at the dealerships—if there wasn’t a customer base willing to pay that price, they wouldn’t ask it. My question is what kind of buyer is would plunk down thirty-large on a Civic Si, when a GTI could easily be had for a few grand off regardless of trim and Ford is tossing insane money at the ST?
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Is Honda fanboyism so strong that it prevents you from cross shopping other brands?
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