Observed 2026-10-21 · California dealer sources
California Dealer Price Brief
Car Dogs observed 4,380 active listings across 20 configured California dealer sources on 2026-10-21. 1,114 had reconciled itemized pricing; 1,541 included dealer-posted document and electronic filing fees.
Collected 2026-10-21 07:00:11 UTC. Refreshed on the first enabled Autopilot run each Pacific day; not real-time.
Observed listings
4,380
Dealer sources
20
New listings
3,327
Itemized listings
1,114
By brand
| By brand | Sample | Below MSRP | Days observed | Itemized | Posted fees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toyota | 1215 | — | 7.7 | 0/1215 | 242/1215 |
| Ford | 970 | 0.1% | 9.9 | 295/970 | 465/970 |
| Honda | 423 | — | 6.9 | 0/423 | 5/423 |
| GMC | 259 | -9.2% | 35.4 | 17/259 | 24/259 |
| Chevrolet | 240 | 0.1% | 8.8 | 110/240 | 163/240 |
| Mazda | 219 | -0.3% | 15.3 | 143/219 | 0/219 |
| Kia | 216 | -0.3% | 27.8 | 188/216 | 197/216 |
| Jeep | 163 | -0.2% | 4.8 | 122/163 | 125/163 |
| Cadillac | 143 | -0.2% | 11.3 | 84/143 | 129/143 |
| Lexus | 141 | — | 15.7 | 0/141 | 2/141 |
| Lincoln | 121 | 0.1% | 15.9 | 105/121 | 107/121 |
| RAM | 60 | -0.4% | 5.6 | 44/60 | 45/60 |
| Buick | 38 | — | 23.1 | 0/38 | 7/38 |
| Hyundai | 29 | — | 7.9 | 0/29 | 1/29 |
| Nissan | 24 | — | 10.8 | 0/24 | 1/24 |
| Dodge | 15 | -0.2% | 7 | 5/15 | 5/15 |
| BMW | 14 | — | 13.9 | 0/14 | 2/14 |
| Volkswagen | 13 | — | 13.6 | 0/13 | 0/13 |
| Mercedes-Benz | 13 | — | 10.6 | 0/13 | 2/13 |
| BrightDrop | 11 | — | 7.4 | 0/11 | 11/11 |
| Audi | 9 | — | 11.7 | 0/9 | 0/9 |
| Acura | 7 | — | 9.5 | 0/7 | 1/7 |
| Subaru | 6 | — | 12.4 | 0/6 | 0/6 |
| Chrysler | 5 | — | 5.2 | 1/5 | 1/5 |
By body style
| By body style | Sample | Below MSRP | Days observed | Itemized | Posted fees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SUV | 1950 | 0% | 13.3 | 715/1950 | 800/1950 |
| Truck - Crew Cab | 898 | -0.4% | 12.8 | 242/898 | 331/898 |
| Unknown | 551 | — | 3.6 | 3/551 | 99/551 |
| Sedan | 444 | -0.3% | 10.9 | 84/444 | 120/444 |
| Truck - Extended Cab | 115 | — | 15.6 | 0/115 | 18/115 |
| Hatchback | 74 | — | 10.8 | 4/74 | 6/74 |
| 4 Door | 63 | — | 15.3 | 0/63 | 57/63 |
| Coupe | 55 | 0.9% | 9.8 | 10/55 | 24/55 |
| Van | 41 | -0.2% | 8.9 | 6/41 | 9/41 |
| Minivan | 39 | -0.1% | 20.5 | 15/39 | 22/39 |
| Truck - Regular Cab | 32 | -0.8% | 26.9 | 15/32 | 12/32 |
| Cargo Van | 31 | 1.1% | 11.2 | 8/31 | 15/31 |
| Convertible | 18 | — | 11.2 | 4/18 | 4/18 |
| XtraCab | 11 | — | 17.3 | 0/11 | 0/11 |
| 2500 Regular Wheelbase | 9 | -13.2% | 37.2 | 5/9 | 2/9 |
| Crossover | 8 | — | 6.3 | 0/8 | 1/8 |
| eAWD 400 | 6 | — | 5.8 | 0/6 | 6/6 |
| Select | 6 | — | 7 | 0/6 | 1/6 |
| eAWD 600 | 5 | — | 9.2 | 0/5 | 5/5 |
Captured advertised accessories
Average totals only among reconciled listings with positive accessory amounts. These products are already in the advertised price, not extra charges added here.
Ford
$2,640 average
198 itemized listings with accessories
GMC
$7,914 average
9 itemized listings with accessories
Chevrolet
$23,670 average
5 itemized listings with accessories
RAM
$567 average
15 itemized listings with accessories
Observed price examples
New cars only. Differences can reflect discounts, installed equipment and dealer fees—not solely a dealer markup. No conditional rebates deducted.
$34,117 vs $49,610 MSRP
Doc and electronic filing fees included; unposted fees estimated. Plus tax and DMV.
Dealer sourcePrice detail observed 2026-10-19. Confirm with seller.
$34,117 vs $48,615 MSRP
Doc and electronic filing fees included; unposted fees estimated. Plus tax and DMV.
Dealer sourcePrice detail observed 2026-10-19. Confirm with seller.
$64,238 vs $69,895 MSRP
Doc and electronic filing fees included; unposted fees estimated. Plus tax and DMV.
Dealer sourcePrice detail observed 2026-10-19. Confirm with seller.
$56,940 vs $44,688 MSRP
Doc and electronic filing fees included; unposted fees estimated. Plus tax and DMV.
Dealer sourcePrice detail observed 2026-10-20. Confirm with seller.
$56,940 vs $44,688 MSRP
Doc and electronic filing fees included; unposted fees estimated. Plus tax and DMV.
Dealer sourcePrice detail observed 2026-10-20. Confirm with seller.
$54,736 vs $43,023 MSRP
Doc and electronic filing fees included; unposted fees estimated. Plus tax and DMV.
Dealer sourcePrice detail observed 2026-10-20. Confirm with seller.
Methodology & limitations
Active listings at Car Dogs' configured California dealer sources, observed within 48 hours of collection. One row per VIN (or listing ID when VIN is unavailable). Not a census, sales data, or dealer-confirmed offer. New-car discount comparisons use a captured, reconciled itemized price and MSRP; conditional incentives are excluded. Published dealer fees are added once. Missing fees use labeled estimates. Discounts above 35% are excluded from comparisons pending review. Groups require at least five listings. Days observed means time since Car Dogs first saw a listing, not its true time on the lot. Itemization measures captured data—not absence of undisclosed fees or legal compliance. Reconciled itemization and comparisons currently cover sources whose parser supplies a reconciliation flag (DealerOn); Dealer.com and Dealer Inspire listings may count in the overall sample but not these subsets. Those subsets are not representative of all listed dealers.
Accessory averages include only itemized listings with a positive published accessory total—not all cars. Missing data is never counted as zero hidden fees. No customer quotes, credit details or chat records are used.
Car Dogs is not the seller. Partner dealers may pay a flat referral fee following an introduction and purchase. Full disclosures
Ready-to-share brief & recording script
Car Dogs observed 4,380 active listings across 20 configured California dealer sources on 2026-10-21. 1,114 had reconciled itemized pricing; 1,541 included dealer-posted document and electronic filing fees. 2024 Ford Escape PHEV: captured fee-inclusive price $34,117 versus MSRP $49,610 (31.2% below). This is a listing observation, not a confirmed offer. Sources and methodology: https://cardogs.org/research/2026-10-21 Car Dogs is an independent research and referral service. Partner dealers may pay a flat referral fee after an introduction and purchase.
OPEN: What does a dealer headline actually include? EVIDENCE: Car Dogs observed 4,380 active listings across 20 configured California dealer sources on 2026-10-21. 1,114 had reconciled itemized pricing; 1,541 included dealer-posted document and electronic filing fees. EXAMPLE: 2024 Ford Escape PHEV: captured fee-inclusive price $34,117 versus MSRP $49,610 (31.2% below). This is a listing observation, not a confirmed offer. EXPLAIN: MSRP is a factory reference for new cars—not a used-car valuation. Our comparison includes document and electronic filing fees, but excludes tax and DMV. LIMIT: These are observed listings, not sales or a guarantee that no other fees exist. Confirm the itemized out-the-door offer with the seller. CLOSE: The dated sources and method are at cardogs.org/research/2026-10-21.