by An Unexpected Start for a New Legend
The return of the new Honda Prelude was supposed to be a bright story. However, as soon as the car started arriving at dealerships, excessively high dealer markups and mediocre performance expectations had already soured the mood. One dealer in Florida, in turn, turned it all into unintentional satire.
“Printing Error” with a Quadruple Price
Delray Honda / Acura recently posted an ad for a 2026 Prelude with a Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of $43,650, but with a selling price of $174,600. Don’t worry, they don’t really expect anyone to pay that amount. In fact, they want the buyer to pay $15,000 more than what Honda suggests. What a relief!
After the strange price was noticed on Reddit, Carscoops immediately contacted the dealer. Sometimes, although rarely, such prices are real. A dealer might want to keep a specific model but would agree to part with it for a ridiculous price. However, in this case, the dealer confirmed it was simply a printing error.
“It’s a printing error… $58,970 is the selling price,” the dealer stated in an email. So, it’s only $15,000 over MSRP. In other words, it’s only about 33 percent more than the car should cost if Honda had any say in it.
Additional Fees, Accessories, and Packages
It seems Delray Honda / Acura decided that brand image isn’t as important as extra cash in the bank. However, in response to a request for detailed pricing, the dealership clarified that only $10,000 is the markup, or as they call it, a “market adjustment.”
The additional price increase came from accessories and fees. These included door edge guards, a nitrogen tire fill package, wheel locks, custom stripes, a cargo tray, wheel arch moldings, a $999 dealer fee, a $399 electronic filing fee, and so on.
When asked if customers could buy the car without these accessories, regarding items like wheel locks, cargo tray, all-weather floor mats, and door edge guards, Delray Honda stated they are willing to remove them, but that would only lower the price by $500.
The Long-Term Price of Lost Trust
Numerous industry studies and consumer surveys over the past few years show that excessive markups undermine trust in the brand, not just the dealer. Buyers consistently associate price gouging with the automaker itself, no matter how often manufacturers insist that pricing decisions are “out of their control.”
Over time, this dissatisfaction affects repurchase intent, brand loyalty, and even recommendations to friends and family. This is the quiet, long-term cost of such tricks. A screenshot lives forever, a joke spreads instantly, and the brand, in this case Honda, along with the dealer’s logo, remains in that story.
Perception vs Reality
So, the Prelude doesn’t actually cost $174,600. But in an era where perception spreads faster than correction, the damage from merely seeing such a number is very real. Stories like this, even if based on errors, shape public opinion and can overshadow even the most successful launch, forcing manufacturers to seek new mechanisms for controlling final prices and customer communication.
