THE SUMMER 2025 CAR BUYING EPISODE

Summary

The Carpool with Kelly and Lizz Episode: THE SUMMER 2025 CAR BUYING EPISODE Release Date: July 3, 2025

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Introduction

In this special summer edition of The Carpool Podcast, hosts Kelly Stumpe and Liz St. John provide an in-depth exploration of the current car buying landscape. Geared towards families and individuals navigating the complexities of purchasing a new or used vehicle on a budget, this episode blends practical advice with expert insights. A highlight of the episode is an enlightening interview with Zach, CEO and Founder of Car Edge, who delves into the impacts of tariffs, inventory challenges, and the evolving dynamics of the used car market.

Challenging the Stigma: New vs. Used Cars

Kelly initiates the conversation by addressing the prevailing stigma around purchasing used or pre-owned vehicles. She humorously remarks:

[00:03] Kelly: "What is the stigma around used cars and pre-owned cars? Like if you go out and buy a brand new car, Jen, like I've seen your three kids, it's going to look like a used car in 60 days."

Liz adds her perspective, emphasizing the necessity to evaluate individual needs rather than adhering to the allure of newness:

[00:16] Liz: "You really have to... consider your mom."

Kelly reiterates the importance of thoughtful decision-making:

[00:27] Kelly: "This is not to be an impulse buy. This is a really important decision to think about."

Smart Car Buying Tips on a Budget

Kelly shares valuable tips for families and individuals looking to purchase a car without breaking the bank. She emphasizes understanding the true reasons for upgrading and setting a clear budget:

[01:25] Kelly: "If you need a new car because your current car isn't working, I want you really to define what's not working about it and really determine if that is a deal breaker."

She warns against extended financing terms, advocating for keeping loan durations to 60 months or less to avoid excessive interest payments:

[05:32] Kelly: "I really like to try to keep terms to 60 months or less. So if you can't afford the new car at 60 months, I think you should shop pre-owned."

Liz concurs, highlighting the dangers of long-term financing:

[09:01] Liz: "Financing for 84 months... What does that look like when I try and go buy a new car?"

Interview with Zach from Car Edge

The core of the episode features an insightful discussion with Zach, the CEO and Founder of Car Edge, who provides a data-driven analysis of the current automotive market.

Impact of Tariffs on New Car Prices

Zach explains how tariffs are contributing to rising prices in the new car market:

[20:18] Zach: "Toyota just announced a $270 price increase on their new vehicles... The general trend is that vehicles are getting more expensive."

Kelly connects this trend to the used car market, expressing concerns about increased demand and prices:

[22:17] Kelly: "It's like a Covid 2.0. As new cars get less affordable, people are going to go to the pre-owned market and then by default, pre-owned cars are also going to get more expensive."

Zach confirms this, citing data on inventory and demand:

[22:25] Zach: "The day's supply for used vehicles nationwide is 43 days... There is a lower level of inventory and a higher level of demand at a sub $15,000 price point."

Challenges in the Used Car Market

Zach discusses factors exacerbating the used car scarcity, such as longer vehicle ownership durations and the lingering effects of the chip shortage:

[24:18] Zach: "People are holding onto their cars longer... the chip shortage... a lack of lease return vehicles."

He also touches on the influx of repossessed vehicles as a minor contributor to inventory, though not necessarily a desirable source for buyers:

[25:21] Zach: "The bright spot from the inventory perspective is that more people are unable to pay their car notes... but do you really want to buy a previously repossessed vehicle?"

Car Edge's Solution: Window Sticker Generator

Kelly and Zach delve into Car Edge's innovative tool designed to empower consumers by providing accurate vehicle information:

[30:19] Zach: "CarEdge.com/sticker... You can plug in a VIN, you can get a window sticker, you can use it for your own vehicle or a vehicle you're thinking about purchasing. It's all about leveling the playing field."

Kelly emphasizes the importance of this tool for verifying vehicle features and maximizing trade-in values:

[31:31] Kelly: "It's like, it's equally as important as checking the Carfax."

Leasing vs. Financing in the Current Market

The conversation shifts to leasing, with Zach advising consumers considering electric vehicles (EVs) to opt for leasing due to favorable incentives:

[34:51] Zach: "If you are open-minded to an electric powertrain, you should lease a vehicle... Manufacturers are subsidizing and incentivizing the leasing of those vehicles."

For other vehicles, Zach suggests that the decision between leasing and financing should align with individual financial comfort and usage needs:

[36:00] Zach: "Do whichever makes you happier and know that you get the optionality of a lease after those terms."

Kelly reinforces the practicality of leasing for growing families to avoid financial strain from extended loans:

[37:29] Kelly: "I really feel like I'm team pre-owned vehicles... just as if you're a person who likes to get a new car every two or three years but doesn't have a leasing budget."

Addressing Consumer Behaviors and Market Realities

Kelly candidly discusses consumer tendencies to overcommit financially for new cars, stressing the importance of honesty in self-assessment:

[40:32] Kelly: "People just aren't as honest with themselves as they should be... are you really gonna drive this car for 10 years?"

Zach agrees, highlighting the unsustainable nature of high transaction prices unless consumers extend loan terms, which can lead to financial pitfalls:

[39:17] Zach: "$50,000 transaction prices are not sustainable long term unless banks finance them for 84 months... that’s a recipe for disaster."

Practical Advice for Car Shoppers

Both hosts and Zach emphasize the necessity of due diligence in car shopping. Kelly advises using Car Edge’s window sticker tool as an essential step in verifying vehicle features, while Zach encourages consumers to utilize available tools and data to make informed decisions.

Lighthearted Segment: Twice Baked Potatoes Recipe

In a delightful departure from their usual topics, Zach shares his favorite recipe for twice baked potatoes, adding a personal touch to the episode:

[41:35] Zach: "Get the potatoes... mix in heavy cream, butter, sour cream, cheddar, chives, bacon... put it back in with more cheese on top... and make broccoli next to it."

Kelly and Liz humorously engage with Zach's culinary enthusiasm, wrapping up the episode on a friendly and relatable note.

Conclusion

The Carpool Podcast's Summer 2025 Car Buying Episode offers a comprehensive guide to navigating the turbulent waters of today's automotive market. With expert advice on budgeting, financing, and leveraging tools like Car Edge's window sticker generator, Kelly and Liz equip their listeners with the knowledge needed to make informed and financially sound car purchasing decisions. The episode underscores the value of used cars in an increasingly expensive new car market and provides actionable strategies to avoid common pitfalls.

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Notable Quotes:

• [00:03] Kelly: "What is the stigma around used cars and pre-owned cars?"

• [05:32] Kelly: "I really like to try to keep terms to 60 months or less."

• [22:17] Kelly: "People are going to go to the pre-owned market and then by default, pre-owned cars are also going to get more expensive."

• [30:19] Zach: "CarEdge.com/sticker... it's all about leveling the playing field."

• [34:51] Zach: "If you are open-minded to an electric powertrain, you should lease a vehicle..."

• [40:32] Kelly: "Are you really gonna drive this car for 10 years?"

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This episode serves as a crucial resource for anyone considering a vehicle purchase this summer, blending humor, expertise, and actionable advice to demystify the car buying process.

Transcript

[Kelly]

Welcome to the Carpool Podcast with Kelly. What is the stigma around used cars and pre owned cars? Like if you go out and buy a brand new car, Jen, like I've seen your three kids, it's going to look like a used car in 60 days.

[Liz]

And Liz, it's not just like a. Well, I kind of feel like new is the move or I kind of feel like used is the move. You really have to. There's a lot you have to look at and a lot you have to consider your mom.

[Kelly]

Time off starts now. Welcome back to the Carpool Podcast with Kelly and Liz. And Liz, sit back and relax. Oh, because I've got some things I gotta say. This is a special edition of the Carpool podcast and this is specifically a special car buying edition because, you know, it's been summer, we've been doing side hustle summer, we've been traveling a little bit and we haven't been bringing you maybe not the hard hitting content, car content that you're used to. So I wanted to have a dedicated episode. On this episode we also have an interview with my friend Zach who really gives us a good temperature on all things tariffs, the car buying prices, we touch on leasing, we give some good used car buying tips. It's just like a really meaty interview. So I thought I would just film an intro to that interview and just kind of touch base on all things car buying and kind of share some tips for if you're trying to buy a car this summer or this fall.

[Liz]

I'm going to enjoy that. I'm going to be passenger Princess on this one.

[Kelly]

Be passenger Princess because. And one of the reasons I decided to do this was I did a question box recently on my Instagram and I'm going to be honest, I got to none of them because why did I think I. How are these influencers doing these? Ask me anything on a road trip. It's like Mike. And let me be clear, my kids had tablets too and they were still a pain in the butt. Like, I don't know, I got nothing done. But there was a lot of questions around car buying on a budget. So I want to kind of flesh out some of these tips a little bit more. If you need a new car, if you want a new car, if you are car shopping and you are on a tight budget, I want to share a couple of tips with you. Okay? The first tip, whenever someone tells me I need a new car, I say, why do you need a new car? I like to know the reason you are upgrading. And I Think it's very important for you to really know that reason and to really put a dollar amount around that reason. Okay. If you need a new car because yours was totaled, you can't afford to fix it. It needs too much work. Like that's kind of a separate story. If you need a new car because your current car isn't working, I want you really to define what's not working about it and really determine if that is deal breakers. I am a car reviewer who trying to like de influence people to buy a new car because I think too many people buy a car willy nilly. This is not, this is not an Amazon purchase. Okay? This is not to be an impulse buy. This is a really important decision to think about. So first, I have a lot of family and I, you know, I do these consultations and the reason I do my consultations is simply to keep me in the field. Like I like to know what my audience is going through. It keeps me relevant and it keeps me like coming up with new content ideas because I wish I could help, I wish I could just like do a consultation with everybody, but I can't. So that's why, like this is kind of a walking consultation, a working consultation. So if I have a family tell me we don't have enough room for the car seats. Not like three across, but there's not enough leg room. The first thing I say is let's get different car seats. There are a lot of car seats that. There are a lot of compact car seats front to back that can give the driver more leg room. There are a lot of car seats that are slimmer, that can accommodate three across. There are baseless infant seats that can give better third row access. There are options in terms of the car seats that can make the car work better for you. Because what I see a lot of families do is, you know, you know, we just had our second and now the Mazda CX5 is too small. And you know how I feel about the Mazda CX5. It's always too small. But I'm like, okay, are you done having kids? Yeah, we're done. We're just gonna have these two. Okay, so like your oldest is three, so. Or your oldest is two, let's say. So what, he's going to be rear facing for two more years. Do you want to buy a whole new car for two more years? Like this one's almost paid off. You want to start over? So because your eyes are going to be a little squished for two years and I know like for some people that might be a deal breaker, but I just don't think there's enough. I don't think people are slowing down this process enough. So before I get any further, please, please, please do not ruin this content by centering yourself and sending me mean messages because then I'm not going to do this. I am not talking to everybody. I am trying to create this message as broad as possible. You have to think critically yourself. This is a working session. Okay? But I really would encourage you to try to not buy a new car for just one season in your life. Because then when one of the kids is forward facing, then would the Mazda CX5 work for you again? Right. So can we maybe just try a more compact seat? Give you a couple more inches and can we just maybe be a little squished? Can we. I'm like, I'm asking is what does that help convince you? If I told you I could give you just a little bit more room, could you keep it? If I told you I could just do three across, would you keep your car? I just in whether it's making the car work or just even delaying the purchase, I think both things are very important because cars are expensive right now. Interest rates are expensive right now. Used car inventory is light because of the aftermaths of the pandemic and cars not being built. Like it's just not a great time to buy. If you need more trunk space, do you, can we get roof storage? Can we rent a car for the road trip? I know that's, I know that's a cost, but it's not the cost of a brand new car. Even a used car, your car's almost paid off.

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Kelly]

So really just being mindful about if it's, if it's space, let's look at exterior storage solutions. If it's car, if it's because the kids are too tight, let's see what different car seats can do. And I would just like. And are we trying to fix a problem we're always going to have or is again, is it just a season? Is it just because the car seats are rear facing that that's the problem and you have like, you know, a giant rotating car seat. Is that the. So just slow that down. If you do need to buy and you're on a budget, I think shopping pre owned is like so important. There are so many car manufacturers and there are so many people promoting buying new and doing these like extended terms. And I want to talk about what extended terms are that to me is anything over 60 months. So if you're financing a car for 72 months, 84 months, 96 months, it's not ideal because what's really happening is you're paying off the car very slowly. Right. The car is depreciating a lot faster than you're paying it off. People are attracted to that because then they can afford the monthly payment of a brand new car. But again, remember we've talked about this, you guys, it's easy to pay. It's not easy, but it feels okay to pay 500 on a brand new car. You're you finance for 84 months. That's seven years. Is it still going to feel good to be paying 500amonth on a seven year old car? That's crazy. Yeah, like that would give you brain damage. Yeah, that is going to give you brain damage. So I really like to try to keep terms to 60 months or less. So if you can't afford the new car at 60 months, I think you should shop pre owned and like try to help. And I'm passionate about this because I just think there's, I think so many people just go to a dealership and get sold and like I just, I want that to stop. But like what is the stigma around used cars and pre owned cars? Because let's be clear, if you buy a brand new car and let's just like I sometimes it just helps me to like give it a personality. Like if you go out and buy a brand new car, Jen, like I've seen your three kids, it's going to look like a used car in 60 days.

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Kelly]

So what's it matter?

[Liz]

It's the second biggest purchase you make behind your home. We're buying used homes. You know, we don't, we don't say oh she bought a used home. She didn't.

[Kelly]

And I know that. And before I get any like. But Kelly, you only talk about new cars. One, that's not true. And two, we strategically review the new cars to eventually build a bank of every car. Yeah.

[Liz]

Because guess what? Reviews we have a 2022 Volkswagen Atlas, the 2020. When we were doing this back in 2020 and 2021 and now those are.

[Kelly]

Relevant for the used car and we review. And what also makes my reviews different, I say this in every review is I'm not reviewing the year, I'm reviewing the, the car. I'm reviewing that generation and how it works for families. That doesn't change year to year. So if you watch a 25 Telluride Tour or a 2020 Telluride Tour. My qualms with the car seat setup stay the exact same. Like, it's the same car. I'm. I'm not the car reviewer. To get into the differences between the 2020 and the 2025 in terms of the bells and whistles. That's not my expertise. I don't do that. So I know, like, if. And I feel like we do a lot of used car content. I feel like for some people, it's never enough because I always get comments saying why I don't talk about used cars when I feel like I'm literally the only car reviewer who even touches the topic.

[Liz]

Okay, let me. I want to go back to your leasing for 84 months, and I just.

[Kelly]

Want to walk through not leasing, financing.

[Liz]

Financing, financing for 84 months. And I want to. I want you to tell me. I want to walk through a scenario. Let's say I choose to finance for 84 months. So I'm paying $500 a month for a new car.

[Kelly]

Okay.

[Liz]

Let's say it's year three, and I say, actually, I need. I have to get a new car.

[Kelly]

I have twins.

[Liz]

I'm having twins. I have to get a new car, and I'm only halfway through my financing loan. What. What is hap. What does that look like when I try and go buy a new car.

[Kelly]

And trade this one in? That's a good question. It's very unlikely that you will have any equity. You will probably have inequity, meaning you owe more on your car than it's worth. And when that happens. So let's say you. Let's say you're. And I mean, I've seen people be 20, $30,000, a negative equity. Let's say you're only 10, you're 10,000. Let's say you're 5, you're $5,000 in negative equity. You have to carry that to the next vehicle. So now the car. Now the next car you can afford is less because you have to tack on the $5,000. And at some point, people, like, push the inequity so much that they can't even get financing because, like, a bank is not going to let you buy a car that's worth 30 and then tack on an extra 10 of inequity. Like a bank's like, I'm not Gonna finance you $40,000. This car itself is only worth 30.

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Kelly]

So it gets people in a really, really tricky situation. And I got a lot of feedback. What's like, well, can I do 84 months. If I plan on paying it off early, sure. Like, if you really plan on doing that, fine. Can I do 84 months if I'm gonna keep the car for 10 years? I mean, sure, I guess. But, like, in my experience, neither. In my experience, neither of those things ever happen. People never actually make extra. Not never. People rarely end up actually making extra car payments, and people rarely actually keep their car for 10 years. So, like, if that's you, I just want you to, like, take a quick beat and just be a little bit more honest with yourself and not let your. And, like, know that I'm not judging you. I'm. If you tell me, no, Cal. Like, I. I like a new car every three years. I just want to get a new car every three years, and I want to have a 500 payment. I'm like, perfect, let's go buy a used car.

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Kelly]

And I'm not judging. I'm not this Dave Ramsey. Like. And I have. I. I have a lot of respect for what they're doing, and I understand that some people just need that black and white. I'm trying to, like, bring a little bit more of the gray to the situation. Like, I don't need you to pay cash for a car. I understand the benefit, and I understand the want of a new car and how it's. And I also understand, like, prioritizing some safety features and some comfort features. I mean, we spend a lot of time in our cars. I love cars. I built a whole platform off of it. So I'm not. I don't want you to be miserable in your vehicle, but I do want you to slow down. I want you to be really honest with yourself on how long you're actually going to keep it for.

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Kelly]

And then I also got. You know, I think it's really important for us to feel really empowered when it comes to financing. So first things first. Like, if you determine your budget, you determine your monthly budget by yourself. You don't need to. First of all, you don't need to do that at the dealership. Like, that's crazy. You don't even need to determine what payment you want to be at at the dealership. I get a lot of people who. When and when I was selling cars, I would show a customer a car, and they'd be like, okay, I want to see payments. And it's like, you don't need a salesperson to show you payments. Like, you can figure out the payments. So if the first time you're seeing payments is across the desk from a Salesperson, you know. No, none. Like you are not prepared to buy a car. We have a free calculator on our website. The car says car payment calculator. You can type in what payment you want and then you can build your deal from there. Because, like, the dealership's not. The math, is the math. I mean, if you, I mean, then it's going to come down to you, you trying to negotiate more for your trader, less off their car. And like. But we're talking about a thousand bucks here or there probably. We're not talking about like going from $800 a month to $500 a month. Like, that's crazy. So you determine your term. So if you want to be like, okay, like what you're saying, Kelly, I want to pay off my car in a reasonable amount of time, I'm only going to do 60 months. You put 60 months in our calculator. You say $500 a month, 60 months. I'm going to put $2,000 down. What's my max vehicle price? And it will tell you that you can put your interest rate in there, you can put your taxes, you can put everything in this calculator and play.

[Liz]

With that a little bit as many times as you want.

[Kelly]

It's free. You can do it as many times as you want. But play with that and really get a good understanding of what that budget is going to look like for you. I also got a DM with this girl saying, hey, just so you know, and she had nothing, but she was just trying to share this information with me. She's like, hey, now I was talking about the 84 month thing. She's like, just so you know, my dealership only offered 72 and 84 month loans. And I'm like, no, that's not true. That's not true. They were trying to show you low payments. And like, you just, and it's not. You just didn't think that. You just didn't ask. But like, you determine how long you want to finance for and at the dealership. A dealership is not a bank. So everyone needs to remember that. That's why we don't get a better deal if we pay cash at the dealership. The dealership is not financing it unless it's a buy here, pay here lot. But you're not, you're probably not shopping at those, like any, any of the dealerships you're going to. They are taking your loan and they're selling it to bank of America, to Nissan, to Capital One. And they are the bank, they are the ones financing your loan. Okay. Which is why I also, I'm a big fan of getting pre qualified before you go. You don't have to get pre approved, but I think you should go to Capital One and get pre qualified because then it will show you what rate you qualify for. So then when you go to the dealership and they show you 8%, you're like, oh, I was pre qualified for five. Right. Because the dealership was trying to make money there by marking up the rate. Which is fine. I mean, which is fine. Like I'm not but say, oh, I wanted to be at the 5% that Capital One pre qualified me for. So if you can match that and then magically they'll be able to match it. And we get more into this in the car buying course. So I don't mean to get like too granular on all like the terms and stuff, but I just wanted to give that like longer version of 84 months because I got some comments of people saying I kind of got like some really mixed feedback being like this is very out of touch. Like that's, that's the only way people can afford cars. And I just think, no, that's the only way they can force themselves to afford a new car. And I don't think that's a smart idea. And I just don't know why. I drive a used car.

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Kelly]

Tyler truck is a 2018.

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Kelly]

My trucks, mine's a 2023. So I get that it's newer, but I'm not, I have no plans to buy a new one anytime soon.

[Liz]

Yeah, yeah.

[Kelly]

So I like pre owned cars. They depreciate slower, they have a lower price. Now is it a higher interest rate? Yes. Than a used car? Than a new car? Yes. So run the numbers. I mean you can run the numbers. I'm not saying that nobody should buy a new car, but just because you save less. But financing. But if you're going to take the lower interest rate and then finance for 84 months, well that's a moot point because then you're going to pay because you finance for 84 months.

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Kelly]

So like. So again do the math.

[Liz]

You've got to do the math. You've got to run all the numbers. You've got to. It's not just like a. Well, I kind of feel like new is the move or I kind of feel like use is the move. You really have to. There's a lot you have to look at and a lot you have to consider and you have you just, you have to run the numbers and you have to do it before you get to the dealership because you're gonna, you might get there and you might be very overwhelmed of like, lose the plot a little bit.

[Kelly]

And I always, I ask people, like, so why do you want to buy new? And I hate when they say, because I'm just really looking for something I can keep for a long time. I say, why you can keep a used car for a long time? Like, I would rather you say, because I just want the status of a new car. Like, I'd rather that. Like, to me that reason makes more sense. Like that I'm like, okay, sure, go off queen. Like, I'm not here to judge. But a hundred. I said, again, a hundred thousand miles is not too many miles. Pre owned cars are cars over a hundred thousand miles. Ask yourself one, how long you want to keep it for? And don't just say 10. Don't just say till the wheels fall off because you feel like it. People just, I think, tell me that answer because they think it's a good answer. No. What's the actual answer? Do you only want to keep it for five years? Because we can fight. We can figure out a way for you to only keep this thing for three to five years and then get something new. How many miles do you drive? You drive 10,000 a year. Okay, so you want to keep this car five years. You drive 10,000 miles a year. You're talking about putting 50,000 miles on a car. That's nothing. Yeah, go buy a car with a hundred thousand miles on it. It'll have 150,000. Tyler's truck is more. It's nothing. The average car on the road has 112. Like, it's fine. Some people say, well, what about, does it cost more to maintain them? Yes. But it's nothing compared to the price of going to a brand new car. You know, like, it's. So what I would do is like, yeah, so that's that. That's what I wanted to say. I just felt like I needed a longer form than just my Instagram stories to really get that out.

[Liz]

Yeah. Well, I'm happy you got it out. I can tell you've just like, really, you, you.

[Kelly]

I've been stewing, really stewing.

[Liz]

Like, I'm happy you got that out.

[Kelly]

Yeah.

[Liz]

And we also the, the good used car content. If you're enjoying this, if you haven't turned it off, if you're enjoying this episode, then you're gonna really, really love this interview. We have with Zach. So, Zach, welcome to the carpool podcast.

[Kelly]

Zach, welcome back to the carpool podcast. Is this your third time? Second time.

[Zach]

I think it's my second time. I. I'm so grateful to be here. Kelly and Liz, thank you both that.

[Kelly]

We have been keeping up with all of things Car Edge. Zach, if you don't know, Zach, is the CEO Founder of Car Edge. Is that the right title?

[Zach]

Wow. Yeah, it makes me sound official.

[Kelly]

I know. I'm sorry. I just know he was like, zach, I'm pretty sure in my phone you're Zach Karadge.

[Zach]

Love it.

[Kelly]

And I never really, like, went the extra step to be like, but what exactly is your role there? But you did found. Find you're the founder.

[Zach]

Yeah. Founded this. It's been almost five and a half. It'll be six years in December, Kelly. Which is kind of crazy. So. Yeah. But working on courage for a while now, just trying to. Just trying to help people.

[Kelly]

And Zach and I always have a lot of synergy in our content because we're very much just about, like, empowering the consumer before they go to the dealership. And what I've always really liked about Zach's content is it's very data driven. So if you're somebody who really likes to dive into the numbers and the. Why, I find your content just super helpful. And it's good when you go to the negotiating table with the dealership. It's nice to know that you're backing it up with actual data instead of just like, feelings and vibes, which I feel like is how some other people try to negotiate a car deal. Zach keeps it all numbers, all business. And I'm excited to have you on the podcast today.

[Zach]

Appreciate it, Kelly. Like I said, so grateful to be here and, yeah, ready to. Ready to jump into the data.

[Kelly]

So let's start with, like, the name on everybody's lips, which is the word, the T word, the tariffs. I. I've kind of kept, like, a little bit of distance between just covering the content because it's very much like one day irrelevant, one day you're not. And it's been very hard to keep up with on top of managing the different. You know, some manufacturers are doing it differently by car, by make, by model. Like, it's just been very hard to keep up with. So can you give us, like, the TLDR on what's currently happening with tariffs as of June 23rd and what it means for new car shoppers?

[Zach]

Yeah, absolutely. So we'll start with the new car market, like you said. Unfortunately, today, the day, the day that we're recording this, Toyota just announced a 270 price increase on their new vehicles across the lineup starting in the beginning of July. And that's also including a $208 price increase on average for Lexus vehicles, which is interesting. It's a lower, lower increase. And Toyota framed it as, hey, this is just our annual review and this is the price increase we're going to do. However, I think we've all been in the car business, three of us, long enough to know that's not typically how it works. Usually new model years, maybe pricing gets changed around, but there's usually not just a blanket increase in price. Mitsubishi, which is a relatively small brand relative to some of, you know, like Toyota for example, from a volume perspective, they increase prices 2.1%, Subaru, even certain models of Subarus. We've seen price increases of 700 over $2,500. I'm thinking of the Audi Q5 which Audi said was unrelated to tariffs. However, one of the, one of the price increases on the Q5 is upwards of $5,000 year year. Ford increasing prices on some of their vehicles, although Ford also decreasing the price of the F1, excuse me, the Bronco Raptor by $10,000 year over year. So tariffs are impacting prices, typically moving prices higher for new vehicles. But again, like the Bronco Raptor, a $10,000 price decrease year over year is kind of nice. So it's a little bit all over the place. But the general trend is that vehicles are getting more expensive, which at least for new cars is really scary because the average transaction price has been hovering around $50,000 for a while now. And I personally can't really fathom spending $50,000 on a car. And I know a lot of people out there, you know, struggle with that concept as well.

[Kelly]

No, I, I totally agree but I want to talk about why I think these tariffs are important, even, even those not in the new car market. Because one of my fears is it's kind of in a way feels like a Covid 2.0. It's like as the new cars get less affordable, people are going to go to the pre owned market and when there's more demand in the pre owned market, well then by default then pre owned cars are also going to get more expensive. Do you think that's true?

[Zach]

It's 100% true. So one of the metrics that I look at religiously is day supply of inventory. And you can look at days supply for new cars or used and Tell.

[Kelly]

Us what that really means. Like in layman's terms, day supply is.

[Zach]

Is kind of a complex phrase, but it's simple to understand. It's how many days it would take to sell all available inventory based on current sales rate. So if I had a 1000 days supply of F150 pickup trucks, that would insinuate that there's not a lot of demand for F150 pickup trucks, but a lot of supply. So the higher the number, the more slow moving the vehicle is, the lower the number.

[Kelly]

What would you consider? What would you consider a high number?

[Zach]

Yeah, and fortunately I don't even have to come up with that, that barometer. The industry provides it above 60 days, above 90 days, that's a high day supply. A dealership wants to turn their inventory every 60 days. Toyota, for example, right now has a day's supply under 30, which is kind of why getting a quote unquote good deal on a Toyota is a little bit harder. But the reason I bring this up, Kelly, is because the day's supply for used vehicles nationwide right now at the time of recording is 43 days. But when you start to break down the days supply by price point, the price point at $15,000 or below has a 31 days supply, which is five days lower than this time last year and 12 days lower than the day's supply for the overall industry. So to your point, there is a lower level of inventory and a higher level of demand at a sub $15,000 price point in the used car market today than there was a year ago. And then there is compared to the overall used car market. So yeah, the data indicates that people want cheaper options and unfortunately there's not a lot of quality inventory at those cheaper options, which, it's scary, but then that drives the price up even more.

[Kelly]

And do you think that's because of, is it strictly because of the demand or do you think it's because people are holding onto their cars longer? They're not, they're, they're not, they're, they're just not entering the used car market. Do you think we're feeling any of the after effects of the chip shortage? And like, you know, five years ago we had a bunch of cars that never got built. So now here we are five years later and now there's a bunch of cars not entering the market. Is it just kind of like a perfect storm thing?

[Zach]

I think, yeah, I think you're summarizing what's happening fairly well. Tim Kaniskis, the CEO at Ram, recently Came out and he announced that Ram is offering a 10 year 100, 000 mile warranty on their Ram pickup trucks. Which is the first time we've got a powertrain warranty from one of the big pickup truck companies for 10 years, 100,000 miles. Well, why do it? They did it because they said their average customer is financing for 84 months. That's a whole different topic we can talk about. And they also said that their customers are holding onto their vehicles for 12 years on average. So to your point, yeah, people are holding on to their cars longer. Okay, so those few, those people are introducing their trade ins at a lower rate back into the market. Then you had the chip shortage in the pandemic. That was five years ago, four years ago and 10 plus million vehicles weren't produced that should have been produced that would have gone back in to the used car market. You had people buying out their leased vehicles instead of returning them to dealerships. You have a lack of lease return vehicles. Really the only bright spot from a used vehicle inventory perspective, and it pains me to frame it as a bright spot, are repossessed vehicles and like. Yeah, exactly like it.

[Kelly]

I didn't know where you going with that?

[Zach]

Yeah, I don't like framing that. As you know, the bright spot from the inventory perspective of the market is that more people are unable to pay their car notes. But that is the one area where we are seeing a higher rate of inventory come from. Which then if you're a shopper, do you really want to buy a previously repossessed vehicle? That's, you know, pun intended. Your mileage may vary. So it is a tricky dynamic on the inventory side right now. And I think that's why we've seen especially prices of newer used cars stay so high. But eventually that has this trickle down effect on those more, or excuse me, the more inexpensive vehicles, the less expensive vehicles that consumers want as well. That's why their prices continue to trickle up. The one actual bright spot in this is if you have a car to sell and you continue to be in a position where it's worth more. So that is a genuine overall net.

[Kelly]

Positive for the, for the consumer that's a net positive. And I, I do, I like to look at the data of, you know, how, how old is the average car on the road? How many miles does the average car on the road have? And I think those numbers are a lot more shocking than what people realize because last time I checked the average mileage was over 150. And that's so that's average. So I take a little bit of comfort in knowing like these cars are built to last longer. And I think a lot of my audience is who maybe you know, is finding themselves, you know, in, in a lower price point than what they were hoping for, are just shocked at like how, how you can't touch a new three row SUV for under 50.

[Zach]

Yeah.

[Kelly]

Taking comfort and like hey, an SUV with a hundred thousand miles on it, like that's not too many miles for you. Like that's actually, actually it's got some proven reliability on it. It's a lower price point, it's a slower depreciation and there's no reason why that car can't make it to 200 0, continue to maintain it well. So that's also kind of a bright spot for me. I think it's just kind of changing some consumer, consumer behavior and letting them know like a hundred thousand is not, is, is not too many.

[Liz]

I also feel like there haven't been so, so many new crazy safety or tech features put on that. Like if you buy a car from the last eight years, it's like you don't have anything that crazy or new that you're missing out on.

[Kelly]

I, I think there definitely used to be the conversation of like I want the latest and greatest in safety tech. And I've, I, I would, I've always kind of said like, I feel like from 2017 on like things have kind of plateaued and especially as you're used car shopping, you know, and you can afford that higher trim level, you can get blind spot, you can get frontal collision warning, you can get automatic emergency braking. Like they have all those features on there now. Prior to 16, you know, the cars didn't even have to have backup cameras yet. So like, but a lot happened between like 16 and 17 where I, yeah, to your point Liz, you're not getting like that much. You're not getting a safer car really. So I'm on team pre owned.

[Zach]

I will also share with both of you, many manufacturers have extended the terms for their certified pre owned programs. So it used to be if you wanted to get a certified pre owned name the brand vehicle, it had to be less than three years old, less than 40,000 miles, things like that. There are some brands now you can get a certified pre owned that has six years of previous ownership, 80,000 plus miles on the odometer. And I think that's an indication of, of the automakers also waking up and having the same realization as both, as all three of us, which Is, you know, the cars still run fine, let's slap CPO on it, do the inspection, an additional warranty. And so I think that's indicative of. And to your point earlier, Kelly, the average age of a car on the road is 12.6 years and has 150,000 miles. Like, the fleet's just aging. And that's not necessarily a bad thing, especially amidst all the recalls for new vehicles that were produced during the pandemic that seemingly have a lot of challenges initially. So, like, there's a case to be made for older vehicles being a good value.

[Kelly]

So I feel like this is actually kind of a good segue to one of the, one of the main reasons I wanted to have you on. Because when you are pre owned shopping and if you're after this like, and if you're looking for, you know, a car that does have some of this great crash prevention technology, I'm going to give a little background. But like, as someone in the business, you guys would not believe how difficult it is to find out what equipment comes on a vehicle. Like when, when a, when a sales manager is appraising a trade, especially if it's a trade that's outside of the model or the make that they sell, it is the blind leading the blind. Like, you pull up the VIN number, you would be shocked at how little information the VIN number of the vehicle actually tells you. And that's very frustrating for consumers and dealers and potential buyers because it's hard to value the car with these manufacturers making it so complicated on what comes with this car. Okay, if you get that package, you get the sunroof, but then you can also just add on the sunroof on this extra package. And then if you like, it's, it's impossible. And it's, it's honestly not a good, it's not a good user experience on any front. So one thing that courage has done and made this investment in which I'm giving that context because I feel like when I'm gonna say it, people are gonna be like, wait, that wasn't around. And it's like, no, it wasn't around. And it's been so frustrating because car ed has built the technology where now you can put a VIN number into their windows sticker generator. Sure. We'll workshop it and it will pull up the original window sticker of the car you're looking at.

[Zach]

Yeah, I mean, this has been an insane crusade that we've been on. And I will posit it doesn't work for every single brand for Example, getting our hands on the data for Porsches and Land Rovers. It's like you got to move mountains to be able and you got to write a big check to get access to all the information. But your mainstream brands, we've got that information. And Kelly, it is insane that products like this have not been accessible to consumers because there have been dealers even, there have been like some attempts at doing it business to business and they haven't been like super effective. And that's why we have dealers using our tool as well. We made it free, which cost us a lot of money every single month. But it's an investment, it's an investment in the brand that I've been trying to build in Car Edge and trying to build, you know, awareness to what we're doing. And yeah, I mean you can plug in a vin, you can get a Windows sticker, you can, you can use it for your own vehicle that you own. You can use it for a vehicle that you're thinking about purchasing. And it's all about leveling that playing field for everyone involved. Because unless, unless the person who traded in the car has the original window sticker in the glove box, like you're kind of SOL. And so yeah, it's been a big effort. Car edge.com sticker and it'll take you right there and it is free. Like there's no, there's no gimmicks here, anything like that. So I'm really proud of, I mean it took our team months and at many times I was questioning why we were doing it. We got to the other side.

[Kelly]

It is, I think, I mean obviously I love it for the potential of car shopping because really like my message to my audience is you and it's not, I'm not, I, it's not even the dealership's fault. Like if you're buying a pre owned car to dealership and their website listing says it has automated cruise control, it might not. And honestly it's, I'm telling you, it's not the dealership's fault because you have no idea how like the salesperson probably really thought it did or like the sales manager probably really thought it did. So you have to do your diligence if you're after certain features to like take that step and see the original window sticker. On the flip side, it's always been a piece of my car buying advice like if you want to get the most money for your trade because again, it's so hard for the dealership to do it, keep your window sticker so that they can see all the equipment. So you're getting paid for every bell and whistle on the car. So if you don't have your window sticker. Yeah, I, I mean, it's like if I was car shopping, I would be like, running that. I'd be running every VIN through that. Like, I almost. It's like, to me, it's equally as important as checking the carfax.

[Zach]

We. We have quite a few people that cost car decent amount of money that.

[Kelly]

I would be such a problem. I would be. You should. Should. I am surprised you guys don't cap it. Like, okay, you can only do like 10, and then you gotta pay. There.

[Zach]

There is a cap at a hundred per day. So please do not do more than 100. Do not put us out of business, y' all. I mean, it's to be clear. So, like, I'm an entrepreneur that's been in this space for almost six years now, and it's. It's been incredible to. To build. Like, solving this problem is so worth it. Do we lose money on it? Yes. Do I think it's still worth it? Absolutely. Like, there's a long game to be played here to. You know, I appreciate, like, being able to come on here and share what we' like it is worth just trying to provide more clear information. And to your point, don't blame the dealership. I actually point, like, a major finger to the OEMs here. Like, they.

[Kelly]

I agree with you. I agree.

[Zach]

They don't make. There's no, like, one single clearinghouse for automotive data. They all have their own systems, their own infrastructures. Like, it's a total piece of work, and it takes a lot of really smart people to wake up every day and be dedicated to solving that problem. Which, you know, I don't blame a lot of people for not waking up and wanting to do that. Like, we got to pay people a lot of money to wake up and think about solving those problems. So it's, it's. It's a lot of work. But ultimately, the end result is everyone wins. There's more information, smarter shopping, the whole nine yards.

[Liz]

And can you say the. The URL one more time so people can check it out?

[Zach]

Appreciate you, Liz. Car Edge C A R e d g e.com sticker. It'll take you right there. It's 100% free. All you got to do is put in a VIN and you're good to go. I also mentioned that on the Car Edge car search, there's a call to action on Every single, what's called a vdp, a vehicle detail page. You can just cl. View the window sticker right there as well. So if you're shopping for a car, you can use that and it's super, super easy and accessible.

[Kelly]

I love it. Zach, last thing and I'm sorry we like, we're kind of jumping all over the place, but I would like to get your pulse check on all things leasing right now. Sure. Where are we at on leasing? Because I, I've historically I like the idea of leasing for a lot of my audience because I think it can be, it's growing families. It's going to be very hard to, to, to buy like that 10 year car for a growing family because like your needs year one or not your needs year six. So I do like to promote leasing when it makes financial sense for the right family. And I want to know bird's eye view, how is it looking?

[Zach]

If you are open minded to an electric powertrain, you should lease a vehicle that is 100% the subset of this industry right now where the lease incentives are through the roof and the share of people actually choosing a lease versus finance is growing exponentially. So if you're in the market and you're open minded to an electric powertrain, I would say, I would go so far as to say don't even think about buying an EV right now. Lease the ev. The reason I'm saying that is because the manufacturers are subsidizing and incentivizing the purchase of, excuse me, the leasing of those vehicles. They're buying down the money factors, they're inflating the residual values and they're really ultimately like leading the consumer to an easy decision, which is a lower payment than you would get if you were to finance the purchase of that vehicle. So EV is definitely the area pretty much all other vehicles. The lease incentives right now are like, like fine. There's really no pocket of the market right now, unlike similar to EVs where it's like so clear if you're thinking about leasing, you lease and ev, you don't even think about financing.

[Kelly]

So for other people or for people interested in other vehicles, it would come more down to are you interested in the other benefits of leasing outside of just like an like a super lower payment? Because yeah, like if you're in the.

[Zach]

Market, if you're in the market right now, Kelly, for an F150 and you're thinking should I lease or should I buy? Or if you're in the market for that Suburban, like really at the end of the day you're buying optionality. The pricing and the payment and everything you're gonna get is gonna be fairly simple. Similar like the incentives are not that dramatically different between financing and leasing. They are to be again explicit in, in evs. Like it's really, it shouldn't even be a decision. You're going to lease an ev, not buy it for pretty much any other type of vehicle that your audience is interested in. Do whichever makes you happier and know that you get the optionality of a lease after those whatever the term is, two years, three years, four years, which I agree with is a huge value, especially for an evolving family.

[Kelly]

Yeah, well, because I, but I would say to caveat that what I see happen to a lot of my audience is they end up buying and then they end up trying to get out of in three years because they have twins or because like they needed more trunk space than they thought. And that's when people get themselves in bad situations. So I really feel like I'm like so team, I think you should delay your family car purchase for as long as possible. Like have two kids in the Toyota Camry. Like it'll be fine. Like just do that like and then, and then see where you're at. Or again that's why I like, I love shopping pre owned because pre owned is like if you're a person who likes to get a new car every two or three years but doesn't have like leasing budget, okay, go buy a 2016 and get a new 2000. Get a new like you know, get a new 8 to 10 year old car every two or three years because like just they're such a cheaper price, they depreciate so much lower. Like it's kind of like a lease.

[Zach]

Yeah, I totally agree. And also just start to do some of the math. If the average transaction price for a new car is 50 grand, you're going to need probably if you're me at least to feel comfortable in your monthly budget, you're going to need that 84 month loan. Which to be clear, I am not advocating for people to take out seven year car loans. That's a recipe for disaster. And so the other option to get a monthly payment that fits my budget is to lease. And to be clear, you don't just walk into the dealership and say, hey, hey, my monthly payment goal is $500. What's the best you can do for me? You know, we educate consumers on, you negotiate an out the door price. You stay focused on that one number and you can still choose to lease on the other side of that and end up with a, with a monthly payment that fits. So yeah, the, the hand is being forced a little bit towards leasing or to your point, those, those used vehicles where you can afford it monthly.

[Kelly]

Yeah, just like such like I'm so on team pre owned vehicles and I just think there's not enough people creating content around used cars and because I get it because like the car reviewers are all about just like what sells in the, in the newest. But like if I get in one more car or go to like one more press release and like they're trying to tell me that it has a 55 inch display, like I'm just gonna wax them upside the head. Like people can't afford their cars. Like bring me something more interesting than, and I mean I make the content because unfortunately the content does perform well. But like no Lincoln, like we didn't need like a built in spa in the car. Like we needed like a reliable transmission and like, like an under $100,000 starting price. Like is that too much to ask? It just feels like they're filling it with the wrong crap. Like I was always so team, like I always was like the cars are getting more expensive but like, and this was back when I was selling cars, I would tell people like, I know it's more expensive but like you're getting such good safety tech in this car. Like the car is so much safer. Like look at all this technology. And now I'm like, yeah, you get a bunch of crap you're not going to use like a wireless charger. Like it's just. They've lost the plot. Yeah, they've lost the plot.

[Zach]

I totally agree.

[Kelly]

I just, I, I'll get off my soapbox now. But I'm just like, gosh, Liz and.

[Zach]

I are just looking at you, we're like, yup, she's right.

[Liz]

We're all thinking, yeah, yeah.

[Zach]

So no, I definitely, to be clear, $50,000 transaction prices are not sustainable long term unless banks finance them for 84 months. Which to be clear is exactly what we're seeing happen. Which I think is a recipe for disaster a couple years from now when people like you just said Kelly want to get into a different vehicle, but next thing you know they didn't realize they're paying $30,000 in interest over the life of that loan instead of what it could have been, which was $20,000 in interest.

[Kelly]

Like, I know it's. And I really feel like I'll put a little bit Of I'll put a little bit of blame on the consumer because I think that people just aren't as honest with themselves as they should be. Because so many times people are like, nope, I'm gonna drive it. Like, I'm looking for my forever car. It's like, like, are you. And first of all, if you like, that's okay not to be. Like, it's okay to want new things and to like, or at least new to you things, but like, take a beat and be honest with yourself, sister. Because like, are you really gonna drive this car for 10 years? Because like, what did your kids do to the last car you drove for 10 years? Like, you're gonna be just. And what also drives me, like, another thing we don't think about is like, that 84 month payment is so easy to stomach because it's a brand new car. So it's 500 bucks a month, but it's a brand new car.

[Zach]

Yep.

[Kelly]

It's still 500 bucks a month when it's a six year old car. That hurts. That hurts.

[Zach]

One more. I hate to pile on. Insurance costs have gone through the roof. Like, through the roof. One of the big things that we work on at Car Edge is we have cost of ownership, five year cost of ownership rankings for all vehicles. So like you search Honda Civic cost of ownership, Car Edge should pop right up. And all the analysis we've done on insurance premiums, it's insane how expensive they've gotten. And to your point, it's not like it's going to get cheaper, you know, in year five when you're still paying that car note, your insurance is actually going to go up each year too. So I hate to pile on, but I do think there's, you know, some challenges which then again make used cars a really viable option. And that's why get that, get that window sticker. That'll definitely help you out.

[Kelly]

All right, well, Zach, thank you so much for joining the carpool podcast. This was really informative. A little depressing, slightly optimistic.

[Zach]

This is how my friends describe me. So. Yeah, right.

[Kelly]

Okay. So. So we nailed it.

[Zach]

Well, wait, can I at least tell you guys my recipe? Like.

[Kelly]

Oh, yeah, yeah, I'm sorry, I didn't want to pressure you. Like, I didn't know. I don't know. I. I didn't know if you were gonna be the kind of guy to bring a ditch to the drive thru, but yes, please.

[Zach]

All right, so here's the deal. I've been getting into twice baked potatoes you can make.

[Kelly]

I love where this is going.

[Zach]

Okay, so here's what you do. You get the potatoes, you know, the russet potatoes. You, you can, like, if you're feeling lazy, you can microwave them or whatever. But I, you know, bake them, put them in 400 degrees for, I don't know, like, whatever it is, an hour, two hours, they get kind of crispy. Cut them open, take all. I'm teaching people how to make a twice baked. What am I doing? Anyway? Cut them open, take the potato out of the potato. Make your mixture. The mixture is the potato. Some heavy cream, some butter. You're going to want to put in some sour cream, lots of sharp cheddar, a little bit of those chives, some bacon if you really want to go for it. And then you mix it all up. Mix it all up, put it back in to your potato skins, then you put it back in with more cheese on top. And then make broccoli next to it so you don't feel like a glutton when you're eating that dinner. But man, oh, man, I've been making twice baked potatoes and they are a winner around town.

[Kelly]

It's such an American delicacy.

[Zach]

So good.

[Liz]

Twice baked potatoes are such an elite way to have a potato.

[Zach]

I agree.

[Liz]

I mean, no, they do take some time to make. So like you, you know, you do have to be be around the oven. But why do they taste so much better than just a regular baked potato?

[Zach]

I don't know. It could be the twice baked. It could be the fact that you.

[Liz]

Make sure, you know, you're adding more.

[Zach]

Say, Liz, though, like, it is a time commitment to make it. And the reason it's top of mind me is like, I'm kind of fallen for this girl. So I like, made twice baked potatoes recently. So, like, you gotta, like, you gotta commit yourself to it.

[Kelly]

All right?

[Zach]

So I want to be. This is.

[Liz]

This is a meal to impress.

[Zach]

This is a meal to, well, a meal to impress and then take a nap after. But yes, it is a meal to impress for sure. And make the vegetable with it.

[Liz]

Definitely make the vegetable with it.

[Kelly]

And you know what?

[Liz]

It's good with every protein, too.

[Zach]

It is.

[Liz]

It's good with chicken, it's good with steak, it's good with pork. You know, it's good with it all.

[Kelly]

Zach.

[Liz]

Well, thank you so much for coming back on the Carpool podcast. Always so interested to just hear what you have to say. We love having you on and we appreciate you. So thank you so much for listening to the Carpool podcast. And we'll talk to you next time.

[Kelly]

Thank you for listening to the Carpool Podcast with Kelly and Liz. Make sure you're subscribed so you never miss an episode. And if you enjoyed riding with us, tell everybody you know there's room in the car for everyone. Sam.