I suppose now a hot new japanese CUV model at msrp might not be great. 6 months ago, it certainly was. The rav4 was consistently going for 5k over msrp.

I got premium awd. Basically the top non-turbo spec. I wanted specifically either a bright red, blue, or green car with white or light tan full leather.

Cx30 is a new and lower volume model than cx5 which is by far the most popular mazda.

2k under msrp just wasn’t happening, especially if you want a specific combo in a hot segment, and japanese make in California. I could have got $500 off, but the 36 month 0% was worth much more, about $1800 if my alternate investment is a tax free muni fund at 4%.

I first went to the Kearney Mesa dealer, which subsequently closed for renovations.

They had -40 CX5s in stock, and 0-4 of every other model. It was surreal.

The National City dealer I went with wasn’t quite as extreme, but still half of inventory was cx5, with a smattering of 3 sedans, 3 hatches, and less than 3 each of cx9, cx3, and mazda 6 sedan. Both places had zero cx30 in stock when I visited.

I feel that 2022 MSRPs went up and chip shortages lessened, so the giant premiums went away. Though my vehicle specifically didn’t seem to get much if a msrp bump, and they made awd standard.