One local car dealership owner says interest rates have nearly doubled since the pandemic. He says that over the last few weeks, the Federal Reserve has made some cuts to lower those rates, but they are still higher than they were just a few years ago.
Eric Allen is one of the owners of the Boalsburg Car Company in Centre County.
According to AutoTech IQ, Pennsylvanians currently pay the fourth-lowest amount on average for a used car, and the Commonwealth is one of 20 states below the nationwide average of just over $30,000 for a used car.
He says that before the pandemic interest rates were down to less than 5%, but doesn’t think that will be the case again for several months, even if you have great credit.
“Things are trending to be more affordable, but I don’t think it’s going to have a meaningful effect on affordability waiting for a car purchase for 3 months versus 6 months,” said Allen. “It’s not going to really move the needle, you’re just going to have to bite the bullet when you do it,” he continued.
Allen also says that many of their customers come to them when they absolutely need a car, but says that they have seen more customers recently coming in just because they like a certain car. He says that probably has to do with them becoming slightly more affordable.
“We have seen some easing with The Fed in the last couple of weeks that is starting to hit the used car market and interest rates so it’s probably now around 6% for your average car purchase rather than 7% two months ago,” said Allen.
He also says that when buying or leasing a car, it’s also important to prepare for potential maintenance costs along with staying up to date with interest rates and pricing.
