It's The End Of The Month, End Of The Quarter, and End Of Pre-Tariff Prices

It is the end of the month this coming Tuesday and the end of the second quarter of 2025 ends on Tuesday also, so this is the last weekend of both! Many of the incentives will continue until Monday July 7^th to take advantage of the July 4^th holiday and I would not be surprised to see incentives enhanced starting today until July 7th.  This happens most every year, but it is not guaranteed the incentives will go past June 30^th.  The tariff situation makes this year very different.

Pre-tariff priced cars are running out quickly, people are flocking into dealerships to take advantage of the old prices and the aggressive incentives. 

As I have been saying on the Car Pro Show, new car prices will go up and the amounts will be all over the board.  Automakers will need to tighten their belts, meaning cutting expenses like incentives and marketing.  I am telling you with certainty, new vehicle prices across the board will go up, no matter where that vehicle is assembled.

It’s no secret, the deals get better at month end, and when the quarter ends at the same time, it really gets good for consumers.  Automakers push the dealers for volume, and dealers do whatever it takes to make a deal.  The mindset of car dealers, including mine when I owned dealerships was: You only get a few holidays a year, we have to take advantage of that.  We’ll worry about what happens next after this.  I said that over and over again, and our dealers are saying the same thing.  If the tariffs make prices skyrocket, the dealers and the automakers will figure out how to work around those, they always do.

As I discussed on-air, used car values are going up every week as I monitor auctions, except in the case of electrics.  Your trade-in is worth much more than it was just two months ago.

I repeat:  It’s GO TIME if you are going to get a vehicle this year.  People who want to take advantage of Tax Code 179 should do it now for calendar year 2025.  Automakers may cut production, and if so, by December vehicles could be short in supply, especially work trucks and vans.

Talk to one of my friends here:  Find a CarPro →

After all, everybody needs a friend in the car business.

Photo credit: Kzenon/Shutterstock.com.