MSRP

Manufacturer's suggested retail price

The manufacturer's suggested retail price on a US window sticker. It excludes sales tax, and the destination charge is listed separately.

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MSRP is the price the manufacturer suggests for a car in the US, printed on the window sticker and quoted in manufacturer configurators. Federal law requires that label to state the manufacturer's suggested retail price, the suggested price of each accessory or optional item, the amount charged to the dealer for transportation, and the total of those amounts. Two words in the acronym deserve their weight. "Suggested": dealers set their own selling prices. "Retail": the figure is not what lands on your contract, because sales tax and registration fees sit outside it.

That makes MSRP a comparison baseline rather than a checkout total, and a leaner-looking one than European prices: a US MSRP is pre-tax, while a German or British advertised consumer price already contains VAT. Comparing the two raw numbers flatters the American car.

CarPairly uses MSRP as the US list price, always labeled as excluding tax, with the date it was checked and its source. For the all-in UK figure, see OTR price.

Differs by market

MSRP is a US concept, quoted before sales tax. European and UK advertised consumer prices work the other way: VAT is included, and the UK also uses the all-in OTR price.

  1. 15 U.S.C. 1232, Automobile Information Disclosure Act label requirements
    US Code Accessed
  2. FTC, Automobile Industry Pricing Transparency: FAQs
    Federal Trade Commission Accessed
  3. Your Europe, Pricing and payments when you shop in the EU
    European Union Accessed
  4. GOV.UK, Price transparency: providing clear and accurate information about prices
    UK Competition and Markets Authority Accessed

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