What does paying retail for a new car mean?

What does paying retail for a new car mean? - 1

Added (1). To me it means paying what the dealership paid for it and that is a good thing?

Added (2). This would be for a Honda CR-V 2015 EX. Lowest invoice or best value I've found is about $25k…

Paying retail is a term for purchasing anything from a retailer with the corresponding HIGHER PRICE that the retailer sets. You do not want to pay RETAIL PRICES… You want to pay WHOLESALE PRICES or LESS for EVERYTHING that you buy.

A retailer slaps a HUGE price on an item… In the case of the car… Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price or MSRP.

You do not want to PAY more for a vehicle than you have to. I will always ask for the INVOICE price. Not the sticker price. The dealers ALWAYS get a kickback from the manufacturer even if they "sell it at invoice" cost. So they are not losing money.

What the dealer paid for a new car is usually the invoice price, but there may be incentives to make the cost lower. Retail usually refers to the "manufacturer's suggested retail price" (MSRP), which is just what the auto-maker suggests the dealer sell the car for.

People typically only pay full retail if the car is in exceptionally high demand or they are really, really bad at negotiating. Often car dealers sell cars for a little over invoice and typically don't make much (or sometimes any) money there. They usually make up for it by getting some money by arranging financing with a lender, adding on various things like extended warranties and accessories and, mostly, through the service department.

So if you're looking to buy, do some research and know what the invoice and retail prices are and what the vehicle is typically selling for. Also get prices from a few dealers (but don't necessarily go to the place with the lowest price but consider if they're being straight-forward and generally deserve a large chunk of your money).

Every new car has an MSRP. Dealers will typically discount cars and sell below MSRP, depending on your negotiation skills, unless the car is in high demand and low supply. In that case they may sell at MSRP (the meaning of paying retail) or in some rare cases even higher than MSRP.

It means that you are paying the Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price(sticker) on a new vehicle or high book value on a used car.

In response to Frank, you will always WANT to pay wholesale, but you'll never actually get to pay it. Dealers do not "slap a HUGE price" on anything. MSRP is clearly marked and displayed on the Monroney label, which is applied by the manufacturer, NOT the dealer. On average, there's a 5%-7% markup from invoice to MSRP. That's it. There's "dealer holdback", which can account for a few hundred dollars worth of of profit. This is also used to offset the cost of the PDI (pre-delivery inspection) process, pay detailers, and anything else the dealer has to do to prepare the vehicle for sale. In some states, such as WV, on a dealer trade, by law the dealers buy the traded vehicles from each other, and will lose holdback, as they have to pay the invoice cost. They do not "ALWAYS get a kickback from the manufacturer even if they "sell it at invoice" cost".

It means you are paying the price on the window sticker (MSRP) not a discounted price. Most new cars are sold at discounted prices, not full retail price. It might require some negotiation to get the best discount, however.

Full price. No discounts. Aka you got…"

Your interpretation is incorrect.

"To me it means paying what the dealership paid for it and that is a good thing"

Even if you could buy the car at dealer cost and you probably can't, its worth $3000-4000 less the moment you drive off the lot.

Your best bet is to buy a 2-3 year old used car at or near wholesale if you can. And most people can't. Dealer Auctions are for dealers only.

Nope, the sticker price you see in that car at that moment?
You can call that retail.
You negotiate what you are willing to buy it for.
Base that on your own research beforehand.
See if they like your ideas, then let them counter offer.
If you walk away?
Come back another day.
Try again, after trying elsewhere.
You get a feel for your market after awhile.
You learn ways to determine what its worth to you.
Whether it's available everywhere, whether they are
trying to meet your kind of deal.
Does it have a "market value" based on limited availability?
Or can you name your own price?
Are they knowledgeable? Well versed with the product?
are you learning valuable info there?
Do you like other things about their facility and how you
can benefit from it?
All those numbers can jumble and change around
rise or fall, you just get yours submitted for approval.
decide to buy or walk away.
Your lender can help some, even give a little advice.
Just make sure you are trying to get what you actually want
or helping you get it gets difficult. Take your time.
Drive some and try asking questions. Read about them.

It usually means pay top dollar.