Car tariffs

[Breedlove]

New car dealers are funny , last week I took the Subaru in for an oil change . Walked by my original salesman . I asked him if the tariffs are going to hurt . His answer was now is the time to buy , yes they are going to hurt . Probably 2000.00 a car . Have you looked at the new cars , there are some good deals right now.
Here it is a week later , I have received a text and a robocall now is the time to buy a new car from the dealership.

 

[Koolau]

New car dealers are funny , last week I took the Subaru in for an oil change . Walked by my original salesman . I asked him if the tariffs are going to hurt . His answer was now is the time to buy , yes they are going to hurt . Probably 2000.00 a car . Have you looked at the new cars , there are some good deals right now.
Here it is a week later , I have received a text and a robocall now is the time to buy a new car from the dealership.

Tempting to go look as both my cars are getting up there in age. But when I think how few miles I drive, I just can't justify a new car. Old as my cars are, their average mileage is not even 100K. If the saying "It's not the age, it's the miles" is true, I should be good for a long time until (hopefully) the Tariff "thang" is just a bad memory.

 

[marko]

OP, why not buy the new car now and have it shipped to Florida when the time comes? Around here there's practically a convoy of car carriers hauling cars down to Florida in the fall and back up again in the spring.

We lease our cars. DWs BMW is up next year, my Mercedes in two. Yes they're both German, but I expect that by then, the tariffs will blow over and maybe the lease interest will drop enough to equalize to what we're paying now. If not, by then I'll be 75 and...tick-tock...BTD.

 

[Hyper]

All the Ford dealerships are horribly bad, crooked and down right nasty within several states of us and id bet more! We won't even consider buying a new truck. There was a time when I was looking forward to buying new every few years just because we're blessed by the great Lord to be able but unless I'm extremely laid up not able to make the repairs myself, we'll be spending that money on fun vehicles,atv, ut or whatever??

 

[Route246]

All I can say is a lot can happen in 6 months. Additionally, do you believe a dealer is going to give you free parking for that amount of time? You're probably expecting a car sitting arrangement and dealerships are not setup for that. They are setup to turnover cars in the front end and service cars in the back end. They are not in the business of car sitting. Your car is going to sit in the sun for all of that time without protection and the battery is probably going to die in the process. If you are that concerned about price movement why not just buy it now and keep it with you where you can keep it washed and waxed and keep the battery charged.

 

[Texas Proud]

We have been looking this past week... as my DW does not want to keep her 10YO car 4 more years...

The inventory is slim all over... there are cars out that that you cannot test drive as they do not have any and ALL they know about being delivered are already sold...

Many people are trying to beat the tariffs..

 

[imjustawarrior]

New car dealers are funny , last week I took the Subaru in for an oil change . Walked by my original salesman . I asked him if the tariffs are going to hurt . His answer was now is the time to buy , yes they are going to hurt . Probably 2000.00 a car . Have you looked at the new cars , there are some good deals right now.
Here it is a week later , I have received a text and a robocall now is the time to buy a new car from the dealership.

I think a car salesman is always going to say, "now is the time to buy."

If prices only go up $2k, that won't be too painful. If the average price of a new car is around $40k, then that is 5%. 5% instant inflation across the board would suck, but I think we had worse during Covid.

 

[HFWR]

If we learned much from covid, it’s that things turn to in about a week. Just-in-time, foreign sourced worked, until it didn’t. As we talk about many who are one or two paychecks from eviction, if transport or farming are somehow compromised, or, heaven forbid, something like the grid going down, and things would get ugly real fast. Not to be Debbie Downer, but it was eye opening to see how fast things deteriorated.

 

[wrigley]

If I were looking at a new truck I would probably eye the Ford Maverick AWD hybrid. 40mpg and under $35k

Wasn't the Ford Maverick having issues with starting on fire?

 

[HFWR]

Wasn't the Ford Maverick having issues with starting on fire?

Get ‘em while they’re hot!

 

[wrigley]

Many people are buying cars now in fear of tariffs that might not even amount to anything. The dealerships are enjoying this run!

 

[mystang52]

We are moving to Florida........................................... I am speaking to one dealership there about buying a car and having them hold it on their lot until we get there. They would start it every few weeks and drive it around the lot (the way they do with all their unsold cars on the lot) but otherwise not use it (no joyriding or demo). Would need some level of insurance coverage on it but that should be it for interim costs. We would be paying cash. Any thoughts on this? ................

I did not read all 6 pages of replies so this might have already been stated: To the OP, I would strongly counsel against such an agreement, or should I say supposed agreement, with the dealer. I don't believe any car dealer could possibly be trusted to adhere to such an agreement. I see best case scenario is the car lies fallow fot the entire timeframe until you picked it up. Next best case is they start it up whenever they remember, but don't drive it. More likely scenarios are they use it as a demo for prospective buyers, let various salespersons take it home with them, or just sell the car if they can get a better price.

 

[ncbill]

Many people are buying cars now in fear of tariffs that might not even amount to anything.
The dealerships are enjoying this run!

Until new vehicle sales fall off a cliff for the rest of the year.

 

[jebmke]

Until new vehicle sales fall off a cliff for the rest of the year.

yes; I had been toying with the idea of upgrading my vehicle after tax season ends (time to shop). Have tabled that indefinitely. My '08 RAV4 runs fine, fairly low mileage and the coffee stains are right where I want them.

 

[imjustawarrior]

I want to get a 4Runner Trailhunter. They are finally out. I may go ahead and get it, so I can have it for the summer. This would be my first fun vehicle in my life. If it costs a few thousand more because of tariffs, so be it.

 

[TickTock]

I think a car salesman is always going to say, "now is the time to buy."

I . . . can find no way to argue against your statement. Dagnabbit!

 

[TrvlBug]

DH's new car has arrived and we pick it up tomorrow. They will not negotiate below MSRP. We were going to lease

We have been looking this past week... as my DW does not want to keep her 10YO car 4 more years...

The inventory is slim all over... there are cars out that that you cannot test drive as they do not have any and ALL they know about being delivered are already sold...

Many people are trying to beat the tariffs..

Yep. We 'ordered' DH's 2025 Lexus about 2 months ago, before tariffs. Just got it today. They wouldn't budge off MSRP but we didn't have to pay a premium. The sales person said they have very few cars on the lot and have been busier than ever with people looking to buy now.

 

[Texas Proud]

DH's new car has arrived and we pick it up tomorrow. They will not negotiate below MSRP. We were going to lease

Yep. We 'ordered' DH's 2025 Lexus about 2 months ago, before tariffs. Just got it today. They wouldn't budge off MSRP but we didn't have to pay a premium. The sales person said they have very few cars on the lot and have been busier than ever with people looking to buy now.

What did you buy?

I like the RX 350h but DW likes the Genesis GV80...

 

[pb4uski]

I am not so sure. We bought a brand new Ford mid roof Transit van with 3.5L ecoboost engine in 2019 for $31,000. We sold it in 2023 for $32,000 to Carmax. We had put about 27,000 miles on it including a epic cross country road trip. Never put a dime into it except 3 oil changes (didn't even put on new wiper blades the whole time lol)

I would bet that you could do similar today with a bottom of the line basic Ford Maverick hybrid 2024 model FWD. They are selling for under $30k and I bet in 3 years you could get $25k for it with low miles.

Good bet. I bought a 2023 Maverick XLT Hybrid in Oct 2023 for $27,144 with a transit plate and then drove it to FL and registered it for another $2,086... so $29.230 all in. It now has 29,747 miles. Black Book Weekly Lite suggests the clean retail value is $29,800 and the clean trade in value is $25,180. Worth every penny that I paid and best truck I have ever had.

When I ordered it it was going to be a summer "play" truck as I had a GMC Canyon that was my daily driver and tow vehicle for out camper. As things happened we sold the truck with the camper so the Maverick is now my daily driver. I'm thinking of ordering a 2025 Mavrick Lariat Hyprid AWD with towing package to have something a little nicer.

 

[TrvlBug]

What did you buy?

I like the RX 350h but DW likes the Genesis GV80...

He got the ES 350 gas sedan (luxury trim). This is his 3rd one! We live in the SF Bay Area and all gas cars are dinos, especially the higher trim levels. My car is a BEV suv and I love it as much as he loves his. We got the luxury trim level solely for the 360* camera.

 

[copyright1997reloaded]

Good bet. I bought a 2023 Maverick XLT Hybrid in Oct 2023 for $27,144 with a transit plate and then drove it to FL and registered it for another $2,086... so $29.230 all in. It now has 29,747 miles. Black Book Weekly Lite suggests the clean retail value is $29,800 and the clean trade in value is $25,180. Worth every penny that I paid and best truck I have ever had.

When I ordered it it was going to be a summer "play" truck as I had a GMC Canyon that was my daily driver and tow vehicle for out camper. As things happened we sold the truck with the camper so the Maverick is now my daily driver. I'm thinking of ordering a 2025 Mavrick Lariat Hyprid AWD with towing package to have something a little nicer.

I keep thinking about the same (2025 Maverick Lariat Hybrid AWD w/4k tow). Miss my recently sold 22 Lariat Hybrid FWD. I won't be doing anything until I complete my move and sell off my old (but being used a lot) 2015 F150, so it might end up being a 26 by the time I get there.

 

[REIJM]

I need a new vehicle as my wife is expecting with our 2nd child, and I cannot fit a rear facing car seat behind the driver seat in my car. Did some shopping, ended up liking a Toyota that is built in Japan from 100% Japanese parts. A local dealer had one allocated to them in the color combo I wanted (they were the only dealer in a 300mi radius with this combo still available to purchase), and it was already on the boat from Japan. It was due to arrive at port on Aprill 11th, and arrive at the dealership anytime after April 24.

Toyota has said they're not raising prices due to tariffs for the time being, so I guess we'll find out in another couple weeks when I get a call from the dealer once the car is there if they're sticking to their previously quoted pricing, or if that's changing.

 

[MichaelH13]

You're thinking about this the right way—if tariffs do hit, they’re likely to apply to future imports, not vehicles already on dealer lots. So locking in a purchase now could make sense.

Most dealerships won’t officially "hold" a car for months without finalizing the sale, but some may do it with a non-refundable deposit or written agreement, especially if you’re paying cash. Just make sure everything is in writing—mileage limits, storage conditions, and that the vehicle stays titled in your name (or unregistered) until pickup.

Buying now and shipping it down is also a solid option, especially if it gives you peace of mind and avoids the rush or price jump later. I’d compare the shipping cost vs. any fees the Florida dealer might charge for long-term holding.

Either way, don’t wait until summer if you’re seriously concerned about price hikes. If the right car is available now, it may be worth locking it in.