If you follow the automotive industry in any capacity, you know that on both and cars are off the charts these days — and we’re seeing that in spades with the . News ricocheted around the car internet this week of a dealer apparently asking for $50,000 over sticker on a limited-edition Z Proto Spec. But the true situation doesn’t appear to be quite as bad as some outlets are reporting.

The poor folks over at have already spotted some massive markups — as much as $50,000 — on a vehicle that has an MSRP of $52,990. Original poster THaskins posted a screenshot of a DM shared on a Nissan Z Facebook group. In that screenshot, a person named Dustin asks Jeff Wyler Nissan about the future availability of the Nissan Z Proto Spec — the commemorative edition that , limited to just 240 units. After being told he couldn’t place a deposit (the dealership was only receiving one Proto Spec) and being assured that the “internet price” was $54,014, Dustin apparently received the following message:

Hey Dustin! This is Holly with Jeff Wyler Nissan and I am the Internet Manager here, I saw that you have briefly spoke with Beverly, I wanted to go ahead and let you know that there will be a $50,000 markup on this vehicle...since there are only going to be 240 made.

A $50,000 markup on a $55,000 car is... a lot. Understandably, that’s the tidbit that’s been making headlines around the car internet. But that DM exchange may not be the whole story.

On the same forum, Stephen Tevis, the general manager of the dealership, posted the following response:

Hello Everyone! My name is Stephen Tevis and I am the General Manager at the dealership in question! The information that was sent via text was incorrect, the info got trickled down to our internet manager thru a couple of different people thus the info being wrong. Nevertheless, we are NOT marking ‘our’ Z up $50K!! It was a discussion that I personally had with a few other Nissan dealers and the $50K number came up in that conversation. We have never marked a car up that much and just wouldn’t. We have been in business for almost 50 years and gouging our customers is not how we achieved longevity. The Z is an incredible car and we are looking for (sic) to seeing it as I’m sure you all are, there are only 11 coming to our region which includes over 230 dealers. We are proud of the heritage of the Z but not so proud that we will bend our morals to sell it. I hope that this clears up any confusion, I am always available to give accurate and timely information, . Thank you for your time.

That being said, THaskins at NewNissanZ.com isn’t the only person sharing tales of huge markups on new Zs. in Atlanta, GA currently lists a Nissan Z Proto Spec for $78,990 — which is still a hefty chunk over sticker, but a little more palatable. Other forums also pointed out a Z Proto Spec being offered by one dealership for a before the listing was ultimately changed.

Right now, it seems like some dealerships are getting pretty excited about the idea of a high-demand, low-volume vehicle. At the same time, we’re in that early, uncertain phase where dealers haven’t quite gotten all their staff on the same page. As dealers start taking delivery of these vehicles, though, we’re almost certain to see some concrete markups taking shape.