Image credit: Ford/Jason Torchinsky. All other photos credit their respective automotive manufacturers.

The presidential administration of Donald Trump came up with a brilliant idea to pay for the Mexican border wall yesterday. Instead of having Mexicans pay for the wall, he’d have Americans pay for the wall, through a 20 percent border tax on imported goods. And wouldn’t you know it, a lot of cars are imported from Mexico.


We’ve taken the liberty to calculate just how much those cars will cost you with their shiny new 20 percent price bump, thanks to the new president and his wall.

Call this a thought exercise. No one is sure how exactly the Trump administration could implement such a tax, whether it would be per each imported good or overall somehow. But let’s assume it’s the former, so we’re calculated a 20 percent increase from the current base price of every vehicle.


It should be noted that almost immediately after news broke of the potential border tax, White House officials walked back their remarks, saying that paying for the wall this way was just, well, it was just one of a lot of options, okay? Via the New York Times:

But a furious uproar prompted Mr. Spicer to temper his earlier remarks, saying the plan was simply “one idea” that might work to finance the wall. Mr. Spicer said it was not the job of the White House to “roll something out” on tax policy, while Mr. Trump’s chief of staff, Reince Priebus, said the administration was considering “a buffet of options.”

Either way it’s going to be an expensive buffet for someone. We should say that this isn’t a direct tax on consumers, but that’s likely how it will end up, as corporations don’t like to absorb costs. They always pass the savings—and the increased expenses—on to you. Either way, Trump’s whole “Mexico will pay for the wall” was clearly a complete lie, as now you, Americans, will pay for the wall.

We should also say that a likely scenario for many of these cars, if this tax comes to pass, is that they will cease being sold in the United States. They tend to be small cars, which are unpopular at the moment anyway given how cheap gas is, and thus with a low profit margin. If you think Ford will bother selling the Fiesta here at all if the price goes up 20 percent, forget it.




“Oh ho ho,” you say. “But now the companies will just bring the manufacturing into the United States, and the price will magically stay cheap!” Not so fast. Even if that sort of scenario does come to pass, which it won’t, new manufacturing facilities take time to build anew or build out. That fantasy is years out, at best.



I’ve got nothing against the American worker or American jobs. Hell, we’re all American workers with American jobs. But if you want to buy American, or have the big beautiful wall, you’re going to have to pay for it.




(Please note! For some of these cars, not every example is built in Mexico. For example, not all Ram pickup trucks are made in Mexico, but the regular cab light-duty Rams are. Those are the ones we’ve based the pricing on.)

Ford Fiesta


Old Price: $13,660



Mexican Wall Price: $16,392

Ford Fiesta ST


Old Price: $21,140



Mexican Wall Price: $25,368

Ford Fusion


Old Price: $22,120



Mexican Wall Price: $26,544

Lincoln MKZ


Old Price: $35,170



Mexican Wall Price: $42,204

Ram 1500


Old Price: $26,395



Mexican Wall Price: $31,674

Ram Heavy Duty


Old Price: $33,245



Mexican Wall Price: $39,894

Ram Promaster


Old Price: $27,935



Mexican Wall Price: $33,522

Toyota Yaris iA


Old Price: $15,950

Mexican Wall Price: $19,140

Toyota Tacoma (Double Cab)


Old Price: $24,950

Mexican Wall Price: $29,940

Mazda 3


Old Price: $17,845

Mexican Wall Price: $21,414

Jeep Compass


Old Price: $19,940



Mexican Wall Price: $23,928



Dodge Journey


Old Price: $21,145

Mexican Wall Price: $25,374

Fiat 500


Old Price: $14,995

Mexican Wall Price: $17,994

Fiat 500 Abarth


Old Price: $19,995

Mexican Wall Price: $23,994

Nissan Sentra


Old Price: $16,990

Mexican Wall Price: $20,388

Nissan Versa


Old Price: $11,990



Mexican Wall Price: $14,388

Nissan NV200


Old Price: $21,330

Mexican Wall Price: $25,596

Honda Fit


Old Price: $16,090

Mexican Wall Price: $19,308

Honda HR-V


Old Price: $19,465

Mexican Wall Price: $23,358

Honda CR-V


Old Price: $24,045

Mexican Wall Price: $28,854

Volkswagen Jetta


Old Price: $17,895



Mexican Wall Price: $21,474

Volkswagen Golf


Old Price: $19,895

Mexican Wall Price: $23,874

Volkswagen Beetle


Old Price: $19,995

Mexican Wall Price: $23,874

Volkswagen GTI


Old Price: $25,595

Mexican Wall Price: $30,714

Enjoy the wall everyone.