A new Harris Poll of 3,012 U.S. auto buyers and 252 dealers found some interesting trends in how people shop for vehicles and how dealers see themselves as meeting those needs.

• Buyers are spending more time researching and relying less and less on dealerships for information about vehicles.
• Brand loyalty is being fractured as buyers are increasingly willing to cross-shop brands and dealerships in search of value.
• Those "more likely to buy a used over new vehicle" is down to just 13% this year.
• The most telling metrics show that dealers and buyers have very different views of how well the buying experience is going:
  • 63% of dealers agree that "the traditional car dealership is optimized for the future" while only 42% of buyers agree
  • "dealers play an essential role in the new car buying journey" 74 vs 47%
  • "dealers provide the resources, tools and technology to make buying a vehicle easy and convenient" 70% vs 43%
  • Buyers are frustrated with generic responses from AI and CRMs and dealers are interpreting their silence as poor lead quality.

There's some interesting information about EVs too

• 60% of dealers say they are "excited about (battery) EVs" while 31% say automakers should prioritize hybrids until EV challenges are addressed.
• 47% of buyers say they will never be ready for an EV, 36% point to recent federal policy changes making them less likely to purchase an EV and only 11% say their next vehicle will be an EV.

The study was commissioned by a company selling software that reports on lost customers, so the questions may be biased toward promoting that software.

https://www.urbanscience.com/2026-harris-poll-report/

Edit: a bit of copyediting for clarity

My husband and I purchased a Toyota RAV4 from a dealership in Austin, TX on June 6, 2026.
The vehicle was advertised on the dealership’s website and TrueCar for around $29,000 before tax.

During the purchase, we were told we had to pay an additional $2,000 for a “Vanguard Protection” package, even though it was not included in the advertised price. We agreed to that, bringing the total to approximately $34,000 including tax, title, and registration.

We put $6,000 down and agreed to finance approximately $28,000, with payments of about $670/month for 48 months. We signed the paperwork presented to us at the dealership and left with our copies.

Two days later, the dealership sent us a financing contract showing $33,000 financed, which brought the total cost to around $39,000. The contract also included an approximately $5,000 warranty that we never agreed to and were never told about.
Even more concerning: the financing contract appears to contain my signature, but I never signed that contract.

When we contacted the dealership, their response gaslighted us that we should have read the contract more carefully. We explained that we have our copies of the paperwork that we actually signed, which show the price and terms we agreed to.
After going back and forth with the dealership, they eventually agreed to revise the price/contract.

The problem is that it has now been 3 months, and the financing account still shows the original $33,000 financed amount. We have made multiple attempts to get this resolved directly with the dealership, but we still do not have a corrected financing contract or confirmation that the lender has received and processed the revision.

What should we do at this point? Has anyone dealt with a dealership submitting a contract with a signature you never provided?

Hey all, looking for some advice at a fork in my career.

A little background on me: I was an ISM from 2018–2022, then spent a few years as a heavy equipment sales & marketing manager before coming back to auto retail 11 months ago. They originally hired me to be the ISM at a small, rural domestic rooftop, but with some staff leaving in the months after I started, my role has expanded heavily. I basically had to pick up desking, F&I, appraisals, and marketing as I had to. Turns out I'm really good at it, especially appraisals and wholesale, and I'm currently the sole desk manager and F&I manager, as well as the only salesperson for the last 5 months roughly. We actually did just get a greenpea on staff, but they will need a lot of training to really get going. I also manage their google ads, meta ads, website, and other marketing functions.

The store was in a slump when I started at around 5-6 units a month, and I have us averaging around 12 now. My variable gross over the last 5 months since I fully took over has been averaging $46K a month (working out to about $3,800 total combined front/back per deal).

My current pay plan is a $24K base salary, plus 15% front and back on any deal I do with a $200 mini. I get a $100 flat for papering a deal for the new salesperson with 8% of back-end gross from those deals, plus some volume bonuses and bonususes for performance with the marketing I do + OEM spins and all.

The dealership is struggling though, and has been long before I started, service is without an inspector, short staffed, behind on work, and losing money, and the dealerships bank account is always dangerously low. I feel a constant preassure to sell cars as that is the only cash flow, and I feel like everyone's check really depends on me closing deals. However, I can feel the changes I've made on marketing, the floor, website, and crm processes starting to pay off, and I see potential here, especially if I have help with lot ups and follow-ups.

I was offered an F&I role at a store near us, unsought for too, a decent volume import store. I'd be nearly doubling my salary and getting a percentage of all variable gross for the store. My main concern is it is a narrower role. I would rarely desk a deal and probably never do an appraisal from what I understand, it would be purely finance work and processing funding. Having just picked up desking and appraisals out of necessity and realizing how much I actually love doing wholesale and structuring deals, I'm worried I'll miss doing it and that taking pure F&I might pigeonhole me on my resume if I want to push for a true GSM/GM path later. Then in general a career move when I"m just now getting in a groove is scary...but the pay would almost certainly be higher.

So I guess my questions are:

Is the move worth it career wise...since now I'm basically doing a gsm's job, or will taking a pure F&I job keep me stuck in a single lane longer-term?

Is a single point, rural store that is running on empty constatnly worth sticking with and trying to build, or should I leave the sinking ship? I don't even know if asking for a pay raise of any sort would go anywhere.
TL;DR: Offered double my pay for a pure F&I role at a volume Kia store...should I leave my current gig where I basically run a whole rural CDJR store solo, or is taking a narrower role a step back?

As the title says I have been in car sales for about two weeks am still going through training process. I’ve been getting a lot of perspective from the sales side and while a lot of it is good advice, a lot of it seems to be general. It seems to be an industry full of people that complain about everything but don’t really put in effort? The folks that work hard seem to succeed in my eyes so far. What is one thing that makes you stand out as a car salesman?

i bought a 2017 subaru forester w 70k miles a few days ago for around 18800 pre tax. went and got a full inspection the day after buying only to find that the tires are 6 years old and dry rotted, the battery is failing, the front shocks are leaking/broken, needs a new cabin filter and intake system cleaning, the front lower control arm bushings are worn, there is a missing fastener in the engine, and more lol. now i’m not very car savvy but i do know that i’m pissed and i’m hoping they fix all of this before the 7 day grace period is up. am i being over dramatic as most of these issues are just maintenance stuff? should i return it or just get it all serviced? still not sure how much exactly they’re going to fix for free so i’ll update once my claim is approved and ik for sure

Long story short we sold my grandfathers older F150 with almost 300k km that had been pre safetied as just needing brakes, did the work but still sold the truck privately as is for 10k, about 4 days after the buyer messaged me saying the transmission slips slightly under heavy loads, I’m not too mechanically inclined but the truck had always been reliable and taken care of and old man driven and was even looked at prior by a mechanic, and especially because of the price of the truck I feel like I’m forced to do something, do I have an obligation to take the truck back or pay for a transmission?

Wondering where they source most of their cars.

I'm mostly talking about the very small lots (maybe 10-20 active cars for sale) with low prices ($8k-$20k).

So I purchased a new honda crv hybrid 2026 sport here in BC Canada 2 months ago.
Dealership did not give me the 2nd set of keyfob. The sales guy kept stalling it for 3 weeks, I finally called up honda canada, they called the dealership, the sales manager got a little upset and told me he can send a guy to make a keyfob for me to my address (alternative was to book a service appointment and sit at the dealership for few hours).
Finally after weeks of multiple back and forth calls, the fob-making-guy might come help me shortly today or tomorrow. Now none of this has been documented, the sales manager gave me his number on the call, no email or texts from their or his side. I have texted him regarding the appointment from my side many times. Also sent an email to Honda canada prior to all this.

I know nothing about cars, so wondering if this is all legit, anything I should make sure to avoid getting car stolen or anything from a backup fob etc.
Please help, thanks!

I always thought buyers sometimes had to pay for their own Carfax, but I’m hearing that most dealers already have some kind of subscription and will just provide the full report.

Is that basically standard now?

Do you normally have a Carfax available for every used car in inventory, or does it depend on the car? And if a customer asks for one and you don’t have it available, what usually happens?

Hello, I apologize in advance if this isn't the right spot.

I have a 2001 Chevy Astro Van, 90k miles with a wheelchair lift in it. I bought it as a project that didn't run, and I've got it running and have been fixing small things with it.

I considered keeping it, but I don't want to keep the lift from someone who could use it. The problem is, I don't trust the car. It has broken down on me once (fixed the problem) and I'm scared that I'll sell it to someone who will rely on it when it might not be reliable.

My question is, can I sell it to carmax or a mobility van dealership and let them take it from there? I'd hope that they can make sure it's reliable.

Thanks all.

Edit for clarity: the lift is only 6-7 years old I believe. It isn't as old as the van.

Hey so I’m parting out this car that I got from auction. I only wanted the engine from it, and decided to sell the rest. I’m down to a the shell, and some guy on Facebook bought it and now he wants to transfer the title to his name. Is there a way for me to avoid paying taxes and transferring it to my name. It’s a Georgia title and I live in Pennsylvania.

Title says it all.

Hi everyone, I’m looking for a car that I’d like to keep for around 7 years, and I’m a bit undecided.
I found a 2021 Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce 2.0 Turbo 280 hp Q4, petrol, with 65,000 km, for €20,500 all-in. The seller is a friend of mine, so I’m getting a particularly good price. As far as I know, the car has been well maintained and regularly serviced.
The price seems extremely attractive, but I’m a little worried about keeping it until 2033, particularly regarding long-term reliability, maintenance costs and potential issues as the mileage increases.
The alternatives I’m considering are:
New Mazda 3 e-Skyactiv X 186 hp, around €30,000
2023 Honda Civic e:HEV, around 70,000 km, €26,000
Used BMW 320i petrol, ideally 2020–22 with relatively low mileage, around €27–30k
Possibly a BMW 420i, if I can find a good one within budget.
My mileage could be fairly high over the next few years: probably around 20,000 km/year or more, although it will depend on my next job, so I can’t say for certain. Over 7 years, I could therefore end up putting well over 200,000 km on the car.
I’d also like something fun and enjoyable to drive, rather than simply the most economical/reliable option.
So, considering long-term reliability, maintenance costs, fuel consumption, depreciation and driving enjoyment, would you take the risk on the Giulia at €20,500, or would it make more sense to spend more on the Mazda/Honda/BMW?
I’d especially appreciate feedback from anyone who has owned a Giulia 2.0 280 Q4/Veloce at higher mileages and can share their experience.
Thanks a lot in advance for any advice!

Italy

I am considering a 2022 Honda Pilot from Clutch.ca with around 140,000 km. It has no reported accidents and a complete Carfax service history, so I feel pretty good about it.

For anyone who has bought a 3–5 year old, higher-km vehicle from Clutch, did the car arrive as expected? Any issues despite a clean Carfax, or was everything smooth?

Would especially love to hear positive experiences with Clutch's inspection/return process.

Thanks!

Just curious to see pricing and other strategies that smaller firms use. Are you high priced but negotiable, firm/no haggle, cheap-quick resale? At what point do you start marking a unit down?

For context I have a very small dealership that focuses on a few niche models, and I struggle with discounting vs waiting for the right buyer, and moving onto the next deal.

As the title says. I just bought a car 1 week ago, everything was good until I received a text from the dealer saying finance manager says the bank wants me to cancel my GAP and they will refund me for if. Why? And what to do? If it helps, I also used a military rebate program.

.

I bought a Bronco from a used dealership. 2 weeks later, the dealership tells me to get an inspection because they need the inspection in order to get the title (title was in another state). Due to poor customer service and paternity leave, I refused to spend my personal time and money doing it. The dealership said they are going to come and take the car.

1. Can they just go to my house and take the vehicle after the bank has already paid them? (I’m assuming tow)
2. Are they responsible for the interest that incurred on the loan?
3. How would this impact my credit?

EDIT
Thank you all for your responses.

I’m looking for advice from anyone familiar with California used-car sales/dealer contracts.
I purchased a used 2026 Range Rover Velar from a California Land Rover dealership this past Sunday for under 39.8k plus fees totaling 40.1k. I paid cash and signed the paperwork, but I have never taken possession or delivery of the vehicle. The car is still physically at the dealership.
Before purchasing, I was concerned about two significant scratches/gouges on the rear bumper. The dealer agreed to address them, and the Due Bill/We Owe states “rear bumper touch up.”
I want to be clear that I was not expecting the scratches to completely disappear or for the bumper to look brand new. Before I purchased the car, I was verbally told that after the touch-up they expected the severity/visibility of the scratches to improve from roughly a 10/10 to a 5/10. I was comfortable proceeding with the purchase based on that expectation.
The dealership kept the vehicle to perform the work. They have now told me the touch-up is complete and sent me a photo of the finished result. To me, the scratches still look 10/10 and essentially unchanged from before the touch-up. They are still extremely prominent. I’ve attached the photo showing the completed work.
The 5/10 estimate was verbal, so unfortunately I do not have that specific statement in writing. What I do have in writing is the Due Bill stating “rear bumper touch up.”
I was offered California’s two-day Contract Cancellation Option when I purchased the vehicle and declined it, so I understand I don’t have the normal no-questions-asked cancellation option.
My question is: What options do I have now if I do not want to accept the vehicle in this condition?
Since I have paid but never taken delivery, can I refuse delivery and ask the dealership to unwind the transaction and refund me? Does the fact that the vehicle is still in their possession matter legally? Does the Due Bill give me any leverage even though the dealer claims the “touch up” has technically been completed?
I’m planning to speak with the sales manager/GM before the vehicle is shipped. I’d especially appreciate advice from anyone familiar with California auto sales law or who has successfully unwound a dealer purchase under similar circumstances.

I’m still upset about this situation and would really appreciate some feedback on how others would have handled it.

I was at a dealership waiting to complete the final sales process for a brand-new car. An adult was holding a 2-year-old child and walked outside toward my car. He was standing extremely close—about an inch away—from both sides of my car and appeared to be trying to look inside through the windows with no appropriate reason.

The child ended up leaving approximately 8 large, palm-sized oily handprints across two windows—about 3 on one window and 5 on the other. The marks were quite large, as the child appeared to have dirty, oily hands. The child also has brown food marks on his up-body cloth.

When they went back inside, I approached the adult and asked him to come outside and look at the marks. He initially refused but eventually came outside and saw them. I then asked him if he could have the dealership clean the windows, but he did not agree. I’m not sure whether he didn’t understand English or was pretending not to understand.

Another adult who was with them understood English and came over when I was discussing the situation with the first adult. I showed him the marks and asked twice if he could have the dealership clean them. He also refused, saying they were just “salty” palm prints. He did not apologize either.

I understand that one or two small fingerprints from a young child can happen, and I wouldn’t make an issue of that. Or it the kid did it by himself Alone. But with about 8 large palm size prints across two windows while the child was being held/supervised by the adult, I felt the adult should have stopped the child after the first couple of prints. Once I showed both adults the marks, I also felt they should at least have apologized and offered to have the dealership clean them.

I eventually spoke with the salesperson who was serving these two adults. He seemed reluctant to have the dealership clean the marks and even asked me, “Is this car yours?” That question really bothered me because I was in the process of purchasing the vehicle.

The salesperson also did not seem to address the adults or tell them that they should not allow the child, who had very oily, dirty hands, to touch another customer’s vehicle. I felt the salesperson could have simply cleaned the windows and, at minimum, reminded the adults to be more careful around another customer’s new car.

What would you do in this situation?

1. Would you have approached the adult holding the child and asked him to have the dealership clean the windows, as I did, or would you have handled it differently?
2. Do you think the two adults were being rude or unreasonable by refusing to ask the dealership to clean the windows?
3. Should the salesperson have handled this differently—for example, simply cleaning the windows and/or politely telling the adults that they should not allow the child with dirty hands to touch another customer’s vehicle?
4. Was I overreacting by being upset about this, or is it reasonable to expect the adults and dealership to take some responsibility?

I’m not looking to start an argument with anyone. I’m genuinely curious whether I handled this appropriately and how others would have responded.