Overview
- Average transaction prices briefly exceeded $50,000 in September, slipped in October, and experts now expect them to climb back above that threshold and stick there.
- Edmunds reports record strain in October with a $766 average monthly payment and $43,218 average amount financed, alongside longer terms and smaller down payments.
- More shoppers are abandoning new models for used vehicles, yet relief is limited because fewer off-lease cars are returning, keeping desirable used prices elevated.
- The expiration of the $7,500 EV purchase credit helped pull sales forward, followed by the slowest selling rate in over a year and a market leaning on higher-income households.
- Dealers are leaning on bigger discounts and flexible financing, yet delinquency metrics have climbed and forecasts call for flat growth into 2026.