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🚗 OPEN TAuto QUICK DEALS »Heads up if you're shopping: the average new vehicle hit $49,220 in May — up a mild 1.2% year over year (the smallest gain of 2026, so prices are moderating but still near records). The typical used car now lists around $26,918, the highest since mid‑2023. Behind it all: import tariffs have piled on roughly $30 billion in industry costs and lifted average MSRP about 10% — imported models carry an estimated $5,000–$8,900 more, while U.S.‑assembled vehicles run about $1,600–$2,000 higher.
Translation for buyers: the “out‑the‑door” number matters more than ever. Run the real total — price + tax + every fee — before you sign anything. Our Out‑the‑Door Price and Vehicle Cost Analyzer tools do exactly that.
» OUT‑THE‑DOOR CALC «Don't count on cheaper money soon: the Fed held its benchmark at 3.5–3.75% on June 17, and under new chair Kevin Warsh its latest projections now lean toward a possible rate hike rather than more cuts. The average new‑car loan runs about 6.9% APR — top‑tier (“super‑prime”) buyers see around 4.66%, but rates climb to roughly 13% (subprime) and 16%+ (deep subprime), so your credit score really moves the payment.
The flip side is deals: automakers are clearing leftover 2025s with 0% financing (up to 72 months on select models) and cash that's up more than 20% year over year to about $3,300 per vehicle — EVs are averaging north of $10,000 in incentives. The catch: the average new‑car payment just hit a record $773/month on terms stretching to about 69.5 months (and 84‑month loans are now 22.9% of deals). Know your number before you walk in.
» PAYMENT GRID «Big change for EV shoppers: the federal EV tax credit — up to $7,500 on new and $4,000 on used — expired September 30, 2025, and nothing has replaced it. U.S. EV share has since slid to about 5.8% of new sales in Q1 2026 (down from a 10.6% peak in Q3 2025, when buyers rushed to claim the credit); new‑EV sales fell 28% year over year. The average new EV now runs $54,532, down 4% from a year ago.
Globally the lead keeps flipping: China's BYD took the 2025 crown with about 2.26 million EVs to Tesla's 1.64 million — but Tesla reclaimed the top spot in Q1 2026 (about 358,000 deliveries vs BYD's 310,000, a 25% BYD drop). Thinking electric? Weigh the real cost both ways — our Lease vs Buy and the Vehicle Cost Analyzer (it has an EV mode) help you see the true number now that the tax‑credit cushion is gone.
» LEASE vs BUY «Reading the news is half of it — running your numbers is the other half. The TAuto toolbox is free, works on your phone, and saves a clean PDF of anything:
VIN Decoder (full specs + compare two VINs) · Out‑the‑Door Price · Payment Grid · Trade‑In Equity · Lease vs Buy · What Can I Afford? · APR ↔ Money Factor · Vehicle Cost Analyzer · plus dealer forms: Smart Deal Jacket, Deal Jacket Dinosaur and We Owe / Due Bill.
» OPEN THE TOOLBOX «© MMXXVI PLAYGROUND · TAuto · autotechnologies.org
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