I was really hoping not to kick off this week's newsletter with more tariff talk, but it is hard not to.
With stock market volatility and consumer sentiment tanking amid a darkening economic outlook, the recent buying binge will probably fizzle in the months ahead as Americans hunker down.
Receipts at auto dealerships jumped 5.3% in March, the biggest advance since January 2023. Sales at building material and garden equipment suppliers shot up 3.3%. Sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument and bookstore sales rose 2.4%.
Several readers reached out to say they've purchased new cars in recent weeks amid tariff worries. One is Tracy, who lives in Newport, North Carolina. He wrote to me to say he was planning to buy his wife a new car this fall but visited the local Subaru dealership on March 31, just to check out what was in stock ahead of tariffs.
The dealership did not have the Subaru Outback his wife wanted, but they found another dealer with the ideal model within a 600-mile radius. They locked in a 60-month loan with 2.9% annual percentage rate, and the cost was $2,000 below the listed price, Tracy says.
"To say we feel lucky – both with finding what she wanted in current inventory and also beating tariff prices – is understated," Tracy wrote via email.
I also received a message from Paul, who says he is hoping to buy a newish-but-used car later this year.
Paul could not push up the timetable to purchase one before the tariffs took effect. "We are saving for a move across the country," Paul writes. "So (we) will just have to deal with the higher prices later."
Paul says he expects to pay cash for his next car – "although the decline in the market is not going to make that easier."
Let me know if you've made any big purchases ahead of tariffs or if you're eyeing anything pricey now. Write to me at onthemoney@thomsonreuters.com.
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