Yup.
We always did that. If a potential buyer said no way, he was no longer a potential buyer. 
I would be thinking about buying a new car, but I am not ready to replace my 2017 Prius v. It is just the right size and has just the right carrying capacity for me. I hope it doesnât get totaled or something. (And I wish they had not stopped making the v.)
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Reminds me of the old Annual Vehicle Tax on Car Dealersâ Inventory imposed by the State of Georgia. All new vehicles for sale in Georgia on a certain date where subject to Georgiaâs annual inventory tax. Car dealerâs avoided the tax by moving all vehicles for sale out of state for that particular day.
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Iâm turning in my 2009 Mercedes ML350 SUV with 190K on it for a ânewâ 2021 Mercedes GLE 350 SUV with 35K. My stepD lives in FL and sheâs married to a guy who is into cars. I told them what I wanted and they started looking for me. A few dealers told them that since the tariff was announced they had a huge upswing in sales for old and new vehicles. H and I will fly to FL and drive back to MA with the car.
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Like OP we tend to keep our cars around 8-12 years, basically until unplanned repairs start to crop up. Coincidentally like OP I also have a 2014 BMW. Itâs working fine but Iâm planning on trading it in for a new car in July. Or was, anyway. The new car is being built in Germany but if the price is higher on delivery due to tariffs then Iâll pass on delivery and keep the old BMW until the tariffs go away.
Anyway, to the original question - we have 2 cars and the larger one is normally the designated road-trip car. We trade it once we lose confidence there wonât be an issue with it on a road trip. Nobody wants to break down when youâre in the middle of the desert on a 110F day with no cell service and 30 miles from the nearest town which is population 100! Iâve had many BMWs and theyâve been very reliable up until around 10 years when (expected) stuff like water pumps, fuel pumps, alternators, hoses, etc start to go. Not a big deal to replace unless youâre stuck in the middle of the aforementioned desert.
So if I didnât have a custom-ordered car being built and was happy with something on the lot, yes 100% Iâd go buy one this weekend.
Road trips was the main reason we started car shopping in December (plus a bit of concern about tariffs).
We visit various friends/family on East coast each summer, 5000+ miles. My husbandâs 2012 Audi A6 has been terrific for this (though I did none of the driving, ânot my carâ - not confident enough for highway traffic). But last year in 104 degrees I70 travel on last afternoon, we had a check engine light. Eastern CO is pretty desolate, and it was not a happy feeling. The turbo problem has a sort-of fix right now, but we just lost confidence in it. Choices were $4k turbo fix or start car shopping. In the end, we decided dedicate the beloved A6 to travels around town and CO. Replaced my 2006 Odyssey (103k miles - sold it to a dear friend in need of a reliable vehicle). I donât drive much, so the new Lexus NX 350h (small suv hybrid) will be both my around town car and our road trip car. Loving all the new cameras and safety features, though still learning some of the bells and whistles.
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Those are pretty young cars, especially given that you donât drive a lot. My husbandâs 2004 Honda Accord at 208,000 miles is still humming along (a few repairs along the way) and my 2018 Subaru (a hand me down from my daughter) is still sweet at 80,000 miles.
My brother in law, a mechanical engineer who rebuilds cars as a hobby, says âitâs always cheaper to fix it than buy newâ until it isnât. I dumped my 2007 Toyota Sienna last year because it became unreliable and was showing its age, just in time to take back the Subaru when my daughter bought a new car.
When the Hondaâs time comes, we are going to experiment being a one-car family (two empty nest retirees).
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It is almost always cheaper to fix, but it can become too much of a hassle if stuff (even cheap stuff) keeps needing to be fixed frequently.
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That poor Honda has had a few weird repairs related to a car that is more than 20 years old. One of them was the little button on the gearshift needed to be replaced (we have a trusted mechanic). My BIL was like âhow many millions of times do you think youâve pressed that buttonâ lol.
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I think we lucked out. Last March we traded in 14 year old car with 130K miles for a Toyota Venza hybrid, which we love. Did it by choice, wanted a nicer, newer, better equipped car.
Then in November we HAD to replace wifeâs 14 year old, 101K miles car, as it had a problem that prevented it from passing state inspection. Got a good trade-in, surprisingly, and bought a nicely equipped 3 year old Hyundai Tucson that had 29K miles.
Phew!! Glad weâre not looking to buy any cars for a while (fingers crossed)
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I drive by the luxury car dealerships daily and coming home this afternoon I noticed at both the Audi and BMW dealerships less cars on the lot. Iâve been eyeing a cute greenish colored Audi for a few months and all three of them are now gone. My car has just over 50,000 miles so Iâm only in the market in my fantasy land.
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Mercedes-Benz on April 7 said it will not increase sticker prices on 2025 models, despite the Trump administration now charging a 25 percent tariff on vehicle imports to the U.S.
Imports accounted for 35 percent of the 324,528 cars and light trucks Mercedes sold in the U.S. last year.
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Ya, but floor mats are an extra $5,000 and that first service will be $25,000. 
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Of course, dealer discounts or markups can change.
Of course - supply and demand. But if you believe this headline, their msrp will not change.
Also dealer incentives from the OEM can be lowered etc.
This thread was bumped after 2-3 months. A graph of available stats for new and used car prices is below. New car prices appeared to have peaked in mid 2023 and reacedh a trough in late 2024. Prices as a whole are higher than late 2024, but not dramatically higher like occurred in 2021 and 2022 (first half of graph).
Used car prices appear to have peaked near Sept 2022. Prices seem to have dipped around Feb-March most years, which occurred in 2025 as well. Itâs unclear how much of the increase since Feb-March 2025 is normal vs tariffs. Overall I think it is likely tariffs or fears that tariffs may occur in future has bumped up prices, but not dramatic changes.
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H is buying his new Lexus and will be happy to pick it up in Aug/Sept. Itâs more than the BMW but makes him happy it still has knobs & dials. Iâm happy because heâs happy. Ig will be white with red interior.
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I love that car - whatever it is !!!
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I looked at this again last month when my office manager suggested a buy a new car given the tariffs. I really want a Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV) that will be electric around town but will enable me to drive the six hours to our vacation house and the 22 hours we drive to Florida and the 10 hours to my in-laws (and other trips to NY or Vermont). BMW does not make PHEV versions of the body shape/size car I want. Iâll wait until I need to buy and who knows tariffs may be gone by then anyway.
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