How the 25% tariffs on imported cars and parts will impact Southern Coloradans

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) - Thursday marks one week away from President Donald Trump's 25% tariffs on imported cars and parts taking effect.

A used car dealership in Pueblo tells KRDO13 they've been preparing for the tariffs. Owner of Discount Motors, Dominic Mannino, says he's been stocking up on trucks and other large vehicles to try and fill a gap in the market. He says new trucks are already pricey and he wants to serve customers at a more affordable price.

"With the tariffs, they're going to be even higher. So we're working on that. We even stocked up really high on trucks, so we're expecting a big influx in the market," shared Mannino.

He says that cars that you may think would be cheaper due to their domestic origin are still faced with the price increase of part due to tariffs.

"Even the domestic cars, there are a lot of these trucks that are made in Mexico and Canada," said Dominic Mannino.

He also added that the increase in the price of parts would eventually impact their prices, but says that is minor compared to the cost of a new car. Mannino says he'll do everything in his power to keep their prices low to meet customers where they are.

"It's amazing how the prices keep going up and up. So that's why I think the market for used cars is going to be better than it was before because a lot of people are going to turn to used vehicles," explained Mannino.

Economists say the cost of a new car will go up. Tatiana Bailey, an economist with Data-Driven Economic Strategies, tells KRDO13 the cost of every new car coming in will be at least $4,000-$6,000 more for shoppers. On the high end, she says the cars could even cost an additional $12,000.

In addition to that, she says that bargaining abilities for shoppers will go down.

"Think about it. If you own a dealership with, let's just say, a couple thousand cars. Well, you know, those cars are premium now. Right? So you might not be as willing to, you know, help finance that car at a lower interest rate since interest rates are high, you might not be willing to, you know, negotiate down by a couple thousand dollars, whatever the case may be," explained Bailey, "But I'll tell you what I would I would go try because I don't see any way that this isn't going to raise prices, you know, above, what you might get on a lot right now."

She also pointed to automakers that supply to the dealerships that are struggling already.

"If they're already struggling, if they've already become, more cautious about increasing production, this is only going to make matters worse because, you know, they have economists like me and finance people who do projections and they're like, okay, we estimate prices are going to go up by this amount. That means demand is going to go down by this much. You're not going to make this number of cars they made before. That's a liability. That's a cost for them. So they're going to pull back production. And what happens when you pull back production and supply goes down prices go up. So that's another sort of unintended consequence of tariffs that is not talked about enough," explained Bailey.

She recommends shopping around now if you are in the market to buy a car because she says they aren't getting cheaper anytime soon.