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The Invoice Price Is A Lie

How the industry has turned the invoice price into a bloated imposter by continually raising it more than the MSRP for over two decades.

© 2026 Fighting Chance® & James Bragg

% Markup Built Into Base MSRP of Highest Trim Level

FORMULA: Base MSRP − Base Invoice Price ÷ MSRP = % Markup

We stopped calculating years ago, but the Invoice Hoax proof is in the pudding.

Acura

Acura TL Sedan
1994 15.2%
1996 13.2%
1998 10.7%
2000 9.8%
2003 8.8%
2007 8.8%
2008 8.3%
2011 8.1%
2013 7.2%
Acura TLX Sedan (Replaced TL & TSX)
2017-18 15.2%
Acura TSX Sedan
1994 14.1%
1996 12.1%
1998 10.7%
2000 9.8%
2003 8.8%
2007 8.2%
2008 8%
2011 7.1%
2013 6.2%

Audi

Audi A4 AllRoad Wagon
1993 16.4%
1998 11.5%
2000 10.6%
2002 9.2%
2007 7.4%
2013-18 7%
Audi A4 Sedan
1993 15.2%
1998 12.1%
2000 11.1%
2002 9.1%
2007 7.4%
2013-18 7%

BMW

BMW 3-Series Convertible
1993 16.3%
1995 15.9%
1996 13.6%
1998 12.4%
2000 9.5%
2002 8.6%
2013 8%
2017 6%
BMW 5-Series Sedan
1993 16.2%
1998 12.4%
2000 9.7%
2002 8.7%
2013 8%
2017-18 6%
BMW 7-Series Sedan
1993 18.2%
1996 13.9%
1998 12.5%
2000 9.8%
2002 8.7%
2013 8%
2017-18 6.5%

Buick

Buick LaCrosse
1993 12.5%
1995 10.5%
2000 8.5%
2007 5.5%
2013-18 4%
Buick Regal
1993 12.5%
1996 8.5%
2013-18 4%

Cadillac

Cadillac DTS/XTS
1993 13.5%
1995 8.5%
2000 8.6%
2007 6.5%
2013-18 5%

Chevrolet

Chevrolet Corvette
1993 14.5%
1998 12.5%
2007 10.5%
2013 6.5%
2017-18 7%
Chevrolet Impala
1993 12.5%
1995 9.5%
1998 8.5%
2007 5.5%
2013-18 4%

Chrysler

Chrysler 300
1993 12.7%
1995 10%
2000 8.8%
2003 8.3%
2005 7.4%
2007 7%
2011 5%
2013 4.6%
2017-18 4%
Chrysler Town & Country
1993 10.4%
1994 9.6%
2002 8.9%
2011 6%
2013 5.2%
2016 4%

Dodge

Dodge Charger
1993 12.9%
1995 10.1%
1998 8.7%
2004 7.5%
2007 6.9%
2013 4.5%
2018 7%
Dodge Grand Caravan
1994 10%
2002 9%
2005 8.5%
2011 5.4%
2013 4.8%
2017-18 4%

Ford

Ford Explorer
1993 10.3%
1996 10.3%
2002 9.6%
2005 7.2%
2011 7%
2013 6.8%
2017-18 4.5%
Ford Mustang
1993 10.4%
1995 10%
1996 9.1%
2002 8.5%
2011 8.1%
2013 7.7%
2017-18 5.5%

Honda

Honda Accord
1993 16%
1995 11.6%
2000 11.1%
2002 10%
2011 9.4%
2012-18 8.5%
Honda Civic
1993 15%
1995 10.3%
2000 9.7%
2002 8.6%
2011 8%
2013-18 7.1%

Hyundai

Hyundai Accent
1993 9.8%
1998 7.4%
2000 6.4%
2013-18 3%
Hyundai Elantra
1993 11.7%
1998 10.4%
2000 8%
2002 7.5%
2013-18 4.2%
Hyundai Sonata
1993 12.3%
1998 11.9%
2000 10.8%
2002 9.8%
2013 6.5%
2018 5.7%

Infiniti

Infiniti Q50 Sedan
2014-2018 7%
Infiniti QX60 SUV
2014-2018 7%

Jeep

Jeep Grand Cherokee
1993 9.9%
2002 8.8%
2011 6%
2013 5.1%
2017-18 4%
Jeep Wrangler 2-door
1993 9.1%
2007 8.8%
2011 5.9%
2013 5.8%
2017-18 4.8%

Lexus

Lexus ES Sedan
1994 18%
1995 17%
1996 15%
1998 13.1%
2002 11.3%
2008 10.3%
2011 9.3%
2013-18 6.3%
Lexus GS Sedan
1993 18%
1995 17%
1996 15%
1998 14.1%
2007 13%
2008 12%
2011 11%
2013-18 7%
Lexus LS Sedan
1994 20%
1995 18%
1996 16%
1998 15.2%
2002 13%
2008 12%
2011 11%
2013-18 8%
Lexus RX SUV
2000 13.1%
2002 12%
2004 11.5%
2011 9.5%
2012-18 6.5%

Lexus also eliminated holdback on all its vehicles in Feb 2012 to squirrel away more profit dollars that you could previously identify.

Lincoln

Lincoln Navigator
2006 10%
2009 8.4%
2010 8.1%
2011-12 6.1%
2013-15 5%
2016-18 6%

Mazda

Mazda Mazda3 Sedan
1993 9.9%
1995 8.9%
2000 7.5%
2011 6.4%
2013-18 4.4%
Mazda Mazda6 Sedan
1993 12.9%
1995 10.9%
1998 10%
2000 8.8%
2002 7.8%
2011 7.6%
2013-18 5.6%

Mercedes

Mercedes C-Class Sedan
1993 17%
1995 15%
1998 13%
2000-18 7%
Mercedes E-Class Sedan
1993 17%
1996 13%
2000-18 7%

Nissan

Nissan Maxima
1993 13.3%
1995 12.5%
1996 11%
2000 10.1%
2004 8.6%
2013 8.4%
2017 6.7%
Nissan Sentra
1993 11.8%
1995 10.8%
2006 9.4%
2000 8.6%
2013 6.7%
2017-18 5%

Subaru

Subaru Legacy Sedan
1993 12.1%
1995 10.5%
2000 9.4%
2007 7.2%
2011 6.8%
2017-18 6.4%
Subaru Outback Wagon
1993 12.1%
1995 10.5%
2000 9.4%
2007 7.2%
2017-18 6.7%

Toyota

Toyota 4Runner
1993 15.5%
1996 13.2%
1998 12.5%
2003 10.7%
2008 9.7%
2013-18 8%
Toyota Camry
1993 16%
1995 13.3%
1998 12.5%
2002 11%
2008 10.8%
2013-18 9%
Toyota Corolla
1993 14%
1995 12.3%
1998 11.4%
2003 9.5%
2013-18 7.4%

Volkswagen

Volkswagen Jetta Sedan
1994 9.6%
1998 7.7%
2000 9%
2002 8.8%
2007 6.6%
2008 5.4%
2013-18 4%
Volkswagen Passat
1993 11.8%
1995 10%
2000 8.1%
2007 7.3%
2008 6.4%
2013-18 4.1%

Volvo

Volvo S60 Sedan
2017-18 6%
Volvo S80/S90 Sedan
1994 14%
1995 9.5%
1996 8.6%
1998 8.4%
2000 8.2%
2002-18 6%
Volvo XC60 SUV
2017-18 6%
Volvo XC70
1994 13.6%
1995 9.1%
1996 8.3%
1998 8.1%
2000 7.4%
2002-13 6%
Volvo XC90 SUV
2017-18 6%

They are simply what the industry wants us to believe dealers pay for their cars. And they think we’re all rubes who just fell off the turnip truck.

Anyone who’s run a profitable lemonade stand as a kid would look at the bloated invoice prices and realize they had nothing to do with any vehicle’s cost.

This blatantly obvious fact also exposes as total nonsense all the invoice-based “conventional wisdom” on how to negotiate the price that we’ve been spoon-fed for decades by auto info and pricing websites, car-buying books and even Consumer Reports.

Your target isn’t a price based on a bogus cost number. You’re shopping for a commodity, and your objective is to get the best “out-the-door” price by making several sellers compete for your business.

That’s what the Fighting Chance package teaches you to do, without walking into a single car store except to test drive on the front end and pick up that car on the back end.

— James Bragg

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