Photo: Honda

If you thought the $33,900 base price for the 2018 Honda Civic Type R was a bit steep for a front-wheel drive hot hatch, you ain’t seen nothing yet. That’s because some dealers aren’t going to let the limited-production Hondas go for anything less than $15,000 over MSRP. And I spoke with one dealer who’s charging an absurd $30,000 over sticker.


That’s almost a 90 percent markup, which is absolutely bonkers for any car. And don’t think prospective customers haven’t noticed: the car went on sale Wednesday and there’s already an entire thread on the CivicX forum called “Honda Civic Type-R Over sticker dealer naughty list [sic],” which includes a spreadsheet filled with dozens of dealerships and their respective markups.

I called up a few of the dealers on the spreadsheet (they’re mostly on the west coast) to confirm the heinously high prices. Kenny at Elk Grove Honda told me his dealership is charging folks $5,000 to get on a waiting list for the Civic Type R, and once a vehicle comes in, customers will pay $15,000 over MSRP.


I asked Kenny if this $15,000 markup would go down over time, and he said no—if anything, prices could go up. He told me: “We’ve been getting requests for this car for over year... [customers] know what it’s going to do and what it’s going to be.”

He went on, saying “There’s only 6,000 being made in the next two years,” and that “True enthusiasts will pay every penny to get this car.” (To clarify, only 6,000 Type Rs will be sold stateside.)

Photo: Honda

Then I called Honda Cars of Corona, and spoke with Omar. He told me he’s charging an incredible $30,000 markup. That means that, with the $700 destination charge, a 2018 Honda Civic Type R could cost nearly $65,000. He then told me he doesn’t anticipate that markup going down because of the low volumes, and the fact that the first car sold for $200,000 (it’s worth noting that the bid was for charity).


I called up a number of other dealerships, who told me similar stories. Walnut Creek Honda—which the spreadsheet shows is charging $5,000 over MSRP—said it doesn’t have any Civic Type Rs available yet, so it doesn’t know exact pricing. But what the gentleman on the phone did say was that the dealer only anticipates one or two Type Rs this year, and with the high demand, there’s “no doubt” there will be a markup. How much of a markup is yet to be determined, but the guy told me that typical markups for these cars were in the $5,000 to $10,000 range.

Take a look at all the dealerships on CivicX’s spreadsheet that allegedly have markups in the $10,000 to $20,000 range—it’s a long list. Looks like folks looking to pick up a 2018 Civic Type R might have a hell of a time finding one for anywhere near MSRP. They’re just going to have to decide if it’s really worth it.