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Cnn
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With a price of 25% about to hit all imported cars, many Americans wonder if it is better to buy or rent a vehicle before prices come into force, or wait to see how things will go.
The simple answer is to buy now, say the experts, especially if you are already on the market for a car.
“The most risky thing to do is to remember and see what is going on,” said Aaron Bragman, the chief of the Detroit office of the car shopping site Cars.com, in CNN. “We are quite confident that costs and prices will increase – it’s just the basic saving of prices.”
President Donald Trump announced a 25% rate last week on all cars imported from foreign countries, including Canada and Mexico. The price could increase prices between $ 5,000 and $ 15,000 per vehicle, according to the brand and the model, according to estimates by Goldman Sachs. And the Trump administration could also send the automotive industry in a spiral if it follows its plan to promulgate tariffs on automotive parts – because even American manufacturing cars import a large part of their parts in Canada and Mexico. This could also slam car buyers if it was adopted.
For example, Ford, Chrysler, GM and Honda cars are expected to face cost jumps from $ 4,000 to $ 10,000, according to a February estimate of the reflection group on the Michigan Anderson -based reflection group. Electric car buyers should pay at least $ 12,000 more per vehicle.
Some Americans have already started to rush to dealers to buy vehicles before price increases would take place. And for those who did not go to the dealer, there has always been a touch of interest in the purchase of cars.
Traffic on Kelley Blue Book and Autotrader.com increased by 30% between last Wednesday, the prices of the day were announced and Monday, compared to the same period of the previous year. And traffic on the hundreds of dealership sites managed by COX Automotive jumped 20%.
Jenni Newman, editor -in -chief of Cars.com, also noted that no vehicle currently on a dealer field should have pricing fees until the prices come into force on April 3.
Bragman, however, noted that finding an agreement on a dealership ground could become more and more difficult because dealerships know that prices will be higher on incoming stocks.
The inventory is decent, in particular in relation to the shortages of the supply chain of the era during the Pandemic COVID-19. Customers should not find it difficult to find well -supplied dealership lots, but over time, there may be fewer offers and incentives.
In addition to initial tariff costs, car manufacturers can also start to reduce production, simply because demand is likely to decline, said Bragman. This could lead to a decrease in the inventory of dealers and prices to increase.
As prices are increasing, more people will probably look for buying used cars. However, the inventory of used cars is already low, because car manufacturers have not produced so many cars during the pandemic and these cars are on the second -hand market today, said Brian Moody, editor -in -chief of Autotrade.com, in CNN. A peak of demand would only exacerbate the used cars market.
And for those looking for affordable vehicles, there could be even fewer options available if the prices continue. There are only 27 new vehicles on the market at a price of less than $ 30,000, and four have already been interrupted, wrote Cox Erin Keating car analyst in a note on Friday.
Although Keating said that cheaper models represented 13% of all vehicles sold in the United States in 2024, these models are often the first to be cut. Most cheaper cars, even for American brands like Ford, are not made in the United States and are rather assembled in countries with cheaper work, such as Mexico.
But customers will have about a year to prepare if a car model is interrupted, said Moody, as manufacturers generally have a backlog in their inventory.
What is not guaranteed is when exactly these price increases will take place. Despite this, car manufacturers are worried about volatility, said Bragman.
“Frankly, if you can find a vehicle, you can find something you can afford, we tell people to go,” said Bragman.
Cnn Elisabeth Buchwald,, Rachel Wilson,, Alex Leeds Matthews And Auzinea Bacon contributed to this report.