04-28-06: Dealers have been licking their chops with anticipation about the 2007 Ford Shelby GT-500. Previously SVT only sold cars through a limited number of dealers. With that separate marketing arm gone, now the production run of about 7,500 Shelby GT-500’s will be available to all Ford dealers. Most franchises will be getting 1 or 2 of the cars per calendar year. Dealers who have higher volumes will be able to get 4 to 5 of the sought after cars.

The word on the street is that $10-15,000 over MSRP is the magic starting point for negotiation. Dealers who are “stronger” on their pricing will surely mark them up more if they have a long list of buyers in wait. We have heard that some plan to charge as much as $50,000 over sticker. A close source who is a professional buyer for specialty car customers - a guy with many connections in the car business, tells that $10k over MSRP is the best price he has been able to secure for his own customers.

Many enthusiasts on Mustang forums are livid about the greed of dealers daring to charge outrageous mark-ups, but they are also signing up in droves to pay it.

Having been in the car business in a past life I can share a little bit of insight on dealer mark-ups. On any normal day the “dealer mark-up” is a negotiating tactic that is used to “show” you a discount when negotiating. It gives them the opportunity to tell you, “See we are good guys. Look how much you are saving already”. While most people don’t actually pay these added mark-ups, statistics have shown that a dealer’s average sale price is higher when they start their negotiating at over MSRP.

However, when a dealer has a highly sought after car they can get the mark-up provided there are enough salivating buyers in line. In 1993 I test drove the first new Fox-body SVT Cobra. It was black with black leather interior. The MSRP was $20,865 and with the added dealer mark-up of $10,000 it came to a total of $30,865. That was 13 years ago. The salesperson was a good friend of mine, we were both in the business at the time. He shared that they were getting every penny of their mark-up on the Cobras and I too would have to pay it friend or not. I waited and ended up with a 1994 Cobra, a nicer car.

The Ford GT is an example we hope does not repeat itself. When it hit showrooms, dealers did one of three things: 1) The franchise owner got the car. 2) $100,000 dealer mark-up was slapped on it. 3) It was put on Ebay for whatever it would get. The craze went on for over a year. A fellow enthusiast friend in California who has the means but is also most frugal, finally gave in last summer and paid the freight for one. He NEVER pays over MSRP for anything but he did this time. Today you can find a Ford GT listed for sale by a number of dealers for near MSRP. I would hate to have been they guy who spent $250,000 when they first came out, $100,000 is a lot of depreciation.

Anecdotes aside, the first 2007 Shelby GT-500’s are already spoken for. You aren’t likely to see them just sitting around in showrooms waiting for buyers just yet. Not unlike the Ford GT, many of the cars will be going to dealership owners themselves, their friends and family. Contracted customers are already getting their VIN numbers assigned for the cars they have ordered. They are excited about it. They will be the first to have one and have paid for that privilege. You will likely meet these new owners the day they pick up their car and drive straight to the cruise night with it, the new car smell still burning off.

While many scoff at the dealers for price gouging on these hot cars, there is something to be said for being the first one on your block to have one. The prices for that honor may rarely be reflective of the car’s future market value but there is a personal value to getting what you want when you want it. Honestly ask yourself if you had the disposable income to spend a 2007 Ford Shelby GT-500 and price was not a major issue, would you spend 10-15k over MSRP to have one now? I would. I mean it’s about having fun right. Life is sometimes too short to be a penny pinching ninny if you don’t have to be.

Conversely, many would say to wait another year for prices to come down. A dealer source shared, “When the 2003 Cobras came out, we had the cars stacked up come fall. People will jump and buy the first ones, and pay huge profits. Then the "If I wait. I'll get 0% for the car" mentality will come about.”

Ford has said they will build about 7,500 GT-500’s, but hopes for 10,000 examples per year if their suppliers can keep up. This means the marketplace for the cars will not be tight forever. Unlike the Ford GT which was produced in scant numbers, the GT-500 will be flowing like water by comparison. It is likely the first cars will command a premium, but six months to a year down the road will be easier to buy.

One of the issues dealers face with huge mark-ups is that some finance companies will not do loans over the MSRP of a car. This means that most buyers would need to pay the added mark-up in cash. The reality is that there are only so many buyers out there who have $10-15,000 cash to lay out and still want a $1,000 a month payment for a Mustang no matter how nice it is. This component alone will put a lot of pressure on the long term ability to charge big mark-ups.

While some people are angered by the fact dealers are commanding such prices we would wager that if they themselves owned the cars and were selling them in 20 years, they would want to do the same. We live in a free market that sets the price for goods and services. The fair price for something is the price a willing buyer and a willing seller agree on. It's that simple. If there are willing buyers for a $60,000 2007 Shelby GT-500, then that is what it will cost. When there are no more of them, the price will drop.

What do you think? Take our poll!

►How much over MSRP would you pay for a new 2007 Ford Shelby GT 500?