Lucas Bell 
To say that the automotive industry is currently engaged in a horsepower war is a bit of an understatement. Never before have there been so many vehicles on offer with more than 700 horsepower from the factory, nor have them come in so many shapes and sizes. This is perhaps best exemplified by the 2021 Ram 1500 TRX and its 702 horsepower Hellcat V8 engine. And while the new Ram is the fastest, quickest, and most powerful truck on the market right now, all of that performance comes with a high price tag. With an MSRP of $69,995 excluding destination charges, this powerful pickup carries a significant premium over more mundane offerings. That is if you can find one for that price, as dealerships across the country are adding dealer markups as high as $50,000.
We all knew that the Ram 1500 TRX was going to face dealer markups when it hit showrooms, due to the massive amount of hype that the truck garnered before its debut. That said, we weren’t expecting dealers to be as greedy as we are seeing now. If you head on over to AutoTrader and search for a TRX, you will find several offerings listed for between $115,000 and just under $150,000. Even if you were shopping for the $90,265 Launch Edition model, that is a markup of around $50,000. If you were looking at base TRX, you are effectively being asked to pay double the price of your truck. We’re looking at you, University Dodge Ram. If you want to rip people off, at least take the time to upload photos and a proper description of the vehicle.
Dealer Markups aren’t a new trend, and have long been associated with desirable performance cars. This is especially true with limited-production machines, as we’ve seen for decades from the likes of Porsche, Ferrari and Lamborghini. The problem is, the 2021 Ram 1500 TRX isn’t a limited production model, as Stellantis plans to sell as many as they can. This alone is enough to make these markups look stupid, especially when there are trucks listed for sale across the internet at their appropriate price.
We know that people with obscene amounts of money don’t mind paying extra to be one of the first to receive their vehicles, but even that can’t justify this sort of behavior. You could buy a TRX and a Ram 1500 Laramie for the amount of money these dealers are asking. If you are in the market for a Ram 1500 TRX, take the time to look around and find a truck that doesn’t carry a mortgage for a price tag.
