When the first Holden (designated the
48/215) went on sale in 1948, the list
price was the equivalent of $1330. To this the buyer
had to add 'on road' charges including registration
and insurance plus $136 in sales tax. Sales tax has
played a big part in the price of Holdens through the
years.
It has been as low as 10 per cent and as high
as 40 per cent, and in 1990, a new high of 50 per cent
was briefly imposed on the Caprice because it was priced
above a 'luxury car' limit set by the federal government.
Inflation too has played a big part.