Car Buyers Race to Auto Lots Before Tariffs Kick In

American car buyers are reportedly speeding up their shopping due to tariff worries.

As Reuters reported Tuesday (March 11), car dealers have an average three-month supply of vehicles, and car companies have so far gotten two reprieves on tariffs since President Donald Trump said they would go into effect.

Still, the report added, uncertainly has consumers scrambling. Searches on Cars.com climbed by 9% between Feb. 16 and Feb. 22, the report said.

“When the announcement of the tariffs first occurred in early February, it didn’t register with car shoppers right away,” said David Greene, an analyst for the car-buying site.

“But when the conversation turned to tariffs on all imports and the new auto tariffs were pushed to April, searches on Cars.com really started to climb.”

A poll by Reuters last week of 74 economists showed risks to the Mexican, Canadian and U.S. economies are stacking up due to the unpredictability of Trump’s tariffs, with increasing expectations of a recession and rising inflation making consumers more cautious.

That caution has been covered here on several occasion in recent days and weeks, including in a column earlier this week by PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster.

“Today’s environment of economic uncertainty and rising prices, the threat of tariffs and the current administration’s hints at a likely recession have significant implications for all consumers and how they will spend their paychecks in the weeks and months ahead,” Webster wrote.

“Consumers across all income brackets are likely to pull back on spending, but for different reasons. Those with savings cushions may voluntarily push pause on spending until they have more certainty in order to preserve cash and income, while those without financial shock absorbers in the form of savings will be forced to cut back out of necessity.”

The Reuters report adds that car dealers appear to have enough inventory to get through weeks — if not months — of upheaval. Cox Automotive data shows car sellers had an average of 96 days of supply in February, up 26% from the beginning of the year.

And some dealers say uncertainty, at least in the short-term, can be good for business, leading more customers to visit their lots.

“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 told Reuters the first week of March saw strong sales, but added that was due more to the deals he was offering than concerns about tariffs.