Question of the Day: Will Price Hikes for 2027 Models Change Your Plans?
Prices on new vehicles have consistently risen for the past few years, but buying patterns haven’t changed nearly as much. Last week, Chevrolet announced a jump in the price for its best-selling Silverado full-size pickup and it’s safe to assume that’s going to spread to its GMC sibling soon — perhaps in an hour (check back for changes).
General Motors isn’t alone as its crosstown rival, Ford, is doing much the same on vehicles as are most of the car companies in the U.S. It’s no secret that the average transaction price for a new vehicle jumped over $50K — $50,089 — for only the second time in history. Perhaps just as importantly, it’s safe to assume the record of $50,613 set last December will be eclipsed before the year is out — maybe even the month, although that’s unlikely.
Prices continue to rise and now interest rates are set to follow in the weeks ahead after the Federal Reserve bumped up the federal funds rate by a quarter percentage point last week. This is over the protests of President Donald Trump, who believes the rate should be 1 percent, and thought it would at least go down a bit when he picked Kevin Warsh to replace his whipping boy, Jerome Powell, as the Fed chairman recently.
In short, cars — new and used — are going to be more expensive in 2027. Will this cause you to invest in your current vehicle to see if you can get another year or two out of it, buy out your off-lease vehicle, or simply decide that new sports car you wanted because you’re 50 will have to wait rather than buy a new vehicle? Let us know if you’re buying plans will change for 2027 or is this a case of “well, what can you do?”
[Images: GM, Ford]
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Michael Strong has spent more than 25 years writing about the automotive industry. A Detroit-area native, he’s written about everything from local car shows to product reviews to financial news. Currently he writes and edits for a variety of national and local publications. He’s also a longtime member of the Automotive Press Association and the International Motor Press Association, and a graduate of Georgia Southern University. Hail Southern! Despite a love for ’70s land yachts and BMWs from the late ’80s and early ’90s, his personal vehicle is neither of those.
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This seems a terrible time to buy into the new car market. Pricing, screens, design, quality, all of it. I hope we can exit this malaise (2020- ) soon.
Thank god I got out of that mess. Got into a WWE SmackDown fight over the final price of a 2025 RAV4 in December 2024. I can't hand it again!!
Plan to stay out of the market for 8 to 10 years unless the car is totaled in an accident. Then I'll fall into a funk, browsing webpages, looking for a conventional vehicle (sans turbo, sans CTV, sans EV, sans 3 pot engine, sans rotary dial shift lever, sans subscription service, etc, etc, etc). 🚗 🚗 🚗