My immediate response was, “this is the absolute worst time to purchase a vehicle.”
Whatever that may be.
One of the best new tools to figure out which dealer is charging what for a vehicle isMarkups.org.
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A crowd-sourced site that reports on the insane markups (or lack thereof) of dealerships.
Yes, you might get an EV right now without being ripped off.
But it’s going to take a lot of patience, research, and compromise.
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Check their reviews and scour social media for testimonials from recent customers.
If it seems too good to be true, sadly, that might be the case.
I say this because more than half the dealerships refused to quote me the price of a car.
3alexd / Getty Images
That’s a red flag.
I was corresponding with these dealerships about vehicles they currently had on the lot.
Or at least they advertised that they had the vehicle on the lot.
I was typically told that they like to suss that out when I was there in person.
Yeah, that’s not how this works.
Sadly, that’s going to be tough.
This is the time of patience because you’re going to need a lot of it.
Even if you order a car and the dealership promises (in writing!)
there will be no markups, you’re going to have to wait.
If you could wait, that’s great.
If not, you might have to take what’s available on the lot.
That also means not getting the brand new hotness in the EV world.
Instead of a Kia EV6, you might be better off getting a Niro EV.
Both vehicles are great but yeah, the EV6 is better.
That’s why it’s tough to get one.
Again, it’s tough out there, and you might have to settle.
3alexd / Getty Images
Oh, you also might need to travel.
Who doesn’t love a good road trip?
Expand the area where you’re looking.
You might find the exact car you want a few hundred miles away.
Maybe Buy Direct
Finally, Tesla was right.
That’s, of course, if you want a Tesla.
Polestar has a similar model.
Again, thats if you want a Polestar.
Vehicles from both automakers will take a while to build.
So get ready to wait.
So yes, it’s possible for you to get an EV right now without being ripped off.
But it’s going to take a lot of patience, research, and compromise.
Hopefully, well come out of this mess in the next 12 months.
But until then, good luck out there.
