It’s already been established that the Honda Civic Type-R is a popular car. Demand for it is high and supplies are limited. That’s the sad reality here in the U.S. and it’s given dealerships the excuse, right or wrong, of jacking up the price of the hot hatch for the always convenient excuse of “business reasons.” One New Jersey dealership, though, seems to have taken the ingenuity to a whole new level by slapping expensive and required add-ons to the hot hatch’s price tag.

It is worth noting this New Jersey-based Hamilton Honda isn’t asking any premiums on the hot hatch itself. The Civic Type R carries an MSRP price of $34,755, which is laudable by itself. Unfortunately, it doesn’t paint the whole picture because the dealership is charging ridiculous prices for its “equipment and dealer add-ons,” including a $630 interior illumination option that only costs $125 on Honda’s official configurator for the Civic Type R. There are many more examples of these overpriced options, but the biggest eyebrow-raiser came when the same Redditor who uncovered the price list of the Civic Type R was rebuffed when he asked if he could buy the hot hatch without any of the options. And so, if you’re looking to buy the Honda Civic Type sitting inside the Hamilton Honda dealership, you’ll need to fork over $47,463 for it, even if you have little to no use for some of the other options and accessories. Do the math and that’s well over $13,000 above Honda’s MSRP.

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It’s really hard to pick sides

This is yet another example of how business, at its core, can drive a wedge between a consumer and a business owner. The truth is, it’s easy to pick one side over another if you don’t bother to know why the other side is doing what it’s doing. But if you take the time to understand the “why’s” of it, there’s suddenly this big expanse of gray area that’s very difficult to navigate.

On the surface, it’s easy to crucify Hamilton Honda for charging way more than it should on add-ons that some customers think are unnecessary for them. It is laughable to think about a $60 first aid kit that only costs $30 or a $275 cargo net that’s priced at just $49 or even a $298 all-season mats that retail for just $155. That doesn’t even include the $795 door sill trim illumination ($290) and the $650 console illumination ($250). The prices are ridiculous, but it’s really no different from another dealer charging a mark-up on the Civic Type R from the get-go. If Hamilton Honda is to be criticized for anything, it’s that it’s not giving customers a choice of what add-ons it wants to get. The prices for these accessories have already been marked up by as much as 300 percent and yet, a buyer is still obligated to get them.

On the other hand, if you look at it from Hamilton Honda’s perspective, it knows that the Civic Type R is going to hot ticket item and there will inevitably be somebody who’s willing to pay the premiums. If it means capitalizing on the hot hatch’s popularity and trying to make more money from it than it otherwise would’ve, there’s no law against doing anything like it, no matter how bad it seems to look from a perception point of view. Dealerships are businesses and their main goal is to make money. It’s just sad that it has to come to this when it comes to a car like the Honda Civic Type R. Then again, that’s just how the world works.

Civic Type-R Hot Lap

References

Read our full review of the Honda Civic Type R.