TAMPA, Fla. — Getting work done on your car—It’s the pricey responsibility of owning a set of wheels.
Judi Cordts did her car maintenance on Tuesday. Yet the idea of tariffs isn’t far from her mind.
“You have to think twice on what you can afford and what needs to be taken care of now, and it’s not worth the delay because we don’t know what’s going to happen in the next couple months or the year,” said Cordts.
Potential tariffs are cause for concern for drivers, as they could impact everything from parts and repairs to new cars.
“The owners of these businesses, this one and other ones, I feel because they don’t have many choices but to pass it on to the consumer, and then we as consumers, what are we going to do?” said Cordts.
Scott Strouphauer is the Manager at Ice Cold Air Discount Auto Repair. He’s been fixing cars for more than three decades.
“I do see that it’s probably coming, and it’s not going to be cheap,” said Strouphauer.
While he hasn’t seen any price increases yet, Strouphauer explained the ripple effect is real.
“The cost of the part is going to go up. That’s going to get pushed to the consumer, which is going to make your repair on your vehicle go up,” said Strouphauer.
Don’t count out the cost of buying a new car either.
“I believe if tariffs go into effect, and you’re buying a vehicle that has the tariffs on it, the cost of the vehicle will go up between 10 and 20 percent,” said Michael Murphy, the President and CEO of Murphy Auto Group.
The good news for consumers: Murphy said there’s a 90-day supply of current vehicles on the ground.
“From now until April, plus 90 days, if you’re remotely interested in buying a new car, now’s the right time,” said Murphy. “I think by July, tariffed vehicles will become the standard norm if they’re built in Mexico or Canada.”
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