Buying a car? Here are some tips to save money.

Buckle up for some precocious state prices and rising caller and utilized conveyance prices. 

The outgo of driving is rising with the Iran war making it much costly to capable up, portion caller and utilized conveyance prices are besides giving Americans sticker shock. 

Consumers successful the marketplace for a caller conveyance faced an mean caller car terms of astir $50,000 successful March, according to Kelly Blue Book, marking a 3.5% uptick compared to March 2025. The mean caller car is besides up a whopping 30% compared to 2019, portion utilized cars won't present overmuch savings, either. 

The mean utilized car outgo $25,390 successful March, according to Kelly Blue Book.

Two main factors are contributing to rising car costs. Stubbornly precocious inflation, which reached 3.8% successful April, its highest level successful astir 3 years, is driving up costs crossed a scope of goods and services. Americans are besides purchasing larger vehicles, which are much costly than compact cars. 

For galore Americans, shelling retired $50,000 for a caller conveyance is financially impossible. 

It's important to see your monthly costs erstwhile weighing caller conveyance financing alternatives. Average car indebtedness involvement rates are astatine 7%. To bring down monthly payments, immoderate consumers are stretching the presumption of the loans. According to Edmunds data, 1 successful 4 Americans are financing their purchases for 84 months, oregon 7 years.

"People are saying, 'I privation a car, it's expensive, if I agelong retired the payments, past I tin spend it monthly,'" CBS News concern expert Jill Schlesinger said. 

In the archetypal 4th of 2026, the mean monthly outgo for a caller conveyance changeable up to $773 per month, not including car insurance, according to Edmunds. 

"We person plentifulness of radical who are paying $1,000 a period for their car payment," Schlesinger said. 

Do the math

From Schlesinger's perspective, anyone who can't spend a five-year indebtedness mightiness beryllium considering buying excessively pricey of a vehicle. 

Some Americans are weighing fixing up their older cars fixed precocious car costs. In immoderate cases it's a omniscient alternative, but car experts discourage consumers from investing excessively overmuch successful aged vehicles.

Their regularisation of thumb is not to walk much than fractional of a car's worth connected conveyance repairs oregon upgrades.

"Let's accidental your car is worthy $8,000. You're astatine the extremity of the beingness of the car. Don't beryllium paying $5,000 to hole the car," Schlesinger said. "At immoderate constituent successful the beingness rhythm of the car, it's amended to really spell into a marque caller car, with a caller warranty and past you'll person immoderate safeguards."

Leasing versus buying is different information for consumers looking to to prevention wealth astatine the car dealership. Some shoppers who similar caller vehicles with the latest bells and whistles mightiness thin toward leasing a brand-new car. But don't hide that astatine the extremity of the word of the lease, you won't ain the vehicle. By contrast, "at the extremity of a car loan, you ain the car," Schlesinger said. 

Negotiating tactics

Schlesinger said there's 1 main mode for shoppers to exert leverage implicit sellers. It's important to beryllium flexible and see aggregate car brands and dealerships, and to bash your probe online earlier visiting a dealership. 

But the azygous astir effectual bargaining spot astatine consumers' disposal is to beryllium consenting to locomotion distant from a negotiation. 

"That is your gift. If you tin locomotion away, you volition beryllium capable to negociate a amended deal. Try not to get joined to immoderate 1 dealership and store around," Schlesinger said. "The much info you have, the better."

Edited by Stephen Smith