Car buyers rush to avoid tariff-related price hikes
By: Nora Eckert
Reuters
DETROIT - After Matthew Mitchell heard that President Donald Trump was serious about impending 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada, he told his wife it was time to snatch up a car, and fast.
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"I was like 'OK, we're going this weekend,' " Mitchell said. He raced to a dealership in Walnut Creek California, to land a deal on a 2019 Toyota Camry in early March [2025] to avoid any tariff-related price hikes.
..... Mitchell is part of a group of buyers who say they expedited their car shopping out of concern that Trump's tariff threats would result in showroom stickler shock.
..... Right now, the levies are not affecting dealer lots, which on average have a three-month supply of vehicles. Many U.S. automakers have already gotten two reprieves on tariffs since Trump said they would take effect in early February. [2025]
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But the uncertainty spurred people to react.
..... Between February 16 and February 22, [2025] searches on car-shopping website Cars.com jumped 9% from the previous week, said David Greene, a Cars.com analyst.
..... "when the announcement of the tarries first occurred in early February, [2025] it didn't register with car shoppers right away. But when the conversation turned to tariffs on all imports and the new auto tariffs were pushed to April, 2[205] searches on Cars.com really started to climb," Green said.
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Last week, [03/05/2025] a Reuters poll of 74 economist showed risks to the Mexican, Canadian and American economies are piling up due to the unpredictability of U.S. tariffs, with rising expectations for both a recession and more inflation. those concerns have caused consumers to grow more cautious.
..... Across the border in Calgary, Alberta, Darby Madalena dashed off to a nearby dealer to buy a 2025 Subaru Forester about a year ahead of her original plan. "It didn't make sense to wait anymore," said Madalena.
..... Philip Hodge also finalized his purchase of a new Mustang Mach-E electric vehicle, knowing the Ford model was imported form Mexico into the U.S. "I was like let's just get it done now, and not worry about it," he said.
..... Car dealers say they have enough vehicles in inventory to weather weeks or months of instability. Dealers had an average of 96 days of supply on their lots in February, [2025] according to Cox Automotive, a 26% increase from the start of the year. [2025]
..... Some dealers say the short-term uncertainty is a boon as more customers may wander into the showroom.
..... "People start hearing that tariffs are coming, they'll probably want to come and buy my cars out of stock," said Dearborn Michigan, Ford dealer Jim Seavitt. He said sales were very strong the week of March 3, [2025] but the credits that more to deals he was running, not tariff worries.
..... Even so, some dealers web pages sued the threat of levies as a sales tactic.