Page 17 - BusinessWest May 26, 2025

“They may not
necessarily be in
the market for
a new car, but
they’re saying, ‘I
might as well take
advantage of the
market conditions
and upgrade
sooner rather
than later.”
ues are worth more than now than they
were a month ago or two months ago.
That combination is driving a sense of
urgency.”
Other impacts include:
• An increase in leasing, as consum-
ers in need of a new car survey the situ-
ation and see that option as a way to
get a decent price and buy themselves
some time until there is more clarity on
what will happen long-term, or at least
longer-term;
• With uncertainty about new cars,
marked growth in demand for used cars,
with prices holding generally steady, at
least for now, said Cosenzi, adding that
this demand translates into those higher
trade-in values she mentioned; and
• A similar increase in demand for
service contracts as consumers read and
hear about how the prices of parts might
be soaring as well due to tariffs.
“Consumers are getting smart when it
comes to how to manipulate the market
and take advantage of the best opportu-
nity and time to upgrade their vehicle and learning how to really
maximize their equity,” said Cosenzi as she surveyed the landscape
and what’s she’s seeing from her front-row seat regarding all of the
above.
As for what comes next ... well, that’s where uncertainty takes
over, especially with headlines changing seemingly every week, or
even every day, on the levels of tariffs, possible exemptions, new
deals with countries — such as the 90-day truce recently struck with
China — and possibly individual manufacturers, and more.
“Nobody’s making major adjustments — the manufacturers are
not making wild swings in what they’re doing because the land-
scape is changing almost by the day,” said Sullivan, who drew a
Ben Sullivan says there are too many variables and unknowns
to say with any kind of certainty what the short and long term
look like for auto dealers.
Staff Photo
parallel to the recent run on iPhones, a surge that quickly abated
when it was announced that there would be exemptions on those
products, but then picked up again when it was announced that the
chips inside them would not be exempt.
“Overall, I don’t believe the tariff news will end up being as bad
as we fear or as good as we hope,” said Sullivan as he summed
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