New Research Shows America’s Car Buyers Have Lost Faith in the Road Ahead

A historic trust deficit and an affordability crisis are shaking the foundations of America’s car market. As new vehicles break the fifty‑thousand‑dollar average, 82 per cent of consumers say they no longer trust dealerships to treat them fairly. Yet buyers keep buying — driven by necessity rather than optimism.

The question confronting automakers and dealers alike is simple: Can transparency, empathy, and reform steer the industry back on course?

A market running on fumes
The October 2025 CarEdge Car Buying Index has become the pulse‑check few in the industry can afford to ignore. Consumer sentiment has fallen to 91.2 — well below the neutral 100 baseline — revealing a level of pessimism not seen in modern automotive retail.

The affordability sub‑index scored just 81.0, echoing an unrelenting squeeze on American households. Financing costs are the chief culprit: new‑car loans now average over 9 per cent interest, and buyers routinely face monthly payments exceeding $750, according to Edmunds and VantageScore.​

These pressures are further compounded by insurance hikes and “negative equity” traps — buyers owing more than their depreciating vehicles are worth. As Fortune reported this month, delinquencies on U.S. auto loans have soared 50 per cent since 2010, pushing cars from one of the safest credit products to among the riskiest in the nation’s financial ecosystem.​

The trust deficit
But beyond the economics lies a deeper emotional exhaustion. Eighty‑two percent of Americans now say they distrust dealerships to treat them fairly, while nearly 60 percent extend that scepticism to manufacturers themselves. This finding aligns with new research by Urban Science and The Harris Poll, which paints a concerning picture: while dealers are optimistic about electrification, online retail, and AI‑assisted sales, consumers remain wary.​

According to that study, buyers fear both affordability fallout and algorithmic bias — they doubt digital tools will prioritise fairness over profit. “Technology is moving faster than trust,” the report concludes, a concise summary of the gulf now dividing the showroom floor.

The price of necessity
For many families, the car has turned from an aspirational purchase into an unavoidable burden. “You’ve been hit by the increased cost of the car and then the financing cost of the car,” explained Rikard Bandebo, chief economist at VantageScore. His company found that one in five borrowers now spends more than $1,000 a month on car payments, while average auto balances have ballooned 57 per cent in just fifteen years.​

Seven‑year loans are increasingly common, leaving buyers “upside‑down” — owing more than their vehicles’ worth — within months of purchase. Such extended finance terms mask payments that appear affordable but accumulate risk with devastating precision. As Bandebo observed, “Consumers now are in a more precarious position than they’ve been since the last recession”.​

Buyers turn to independent sources
Yet amid distrust and debt, a paradox unfolds: Americans trust information more than they trust industry players. The CarEdge index found research confidence soaring above neutral, at 103.2. Eighty‑six percent of respondents said they believe their research is accurate and unbiased, with 78 percent citing independent sites as their primary source of truth.​

Platforms such as CarEdge have become beacons in this new landscape, arming consumers with data on pricing, incentives, and dealer mark‑ups. “Information is the great equaliser,” says CarEdge CEO Zach Shefska. He’s right: the internet has collapsed information barriers once zealously guarded by dealerships. Buyers may distrust the process, but they trust their own preparation.

Still driven by demand
Despite everything, Americans remain on the road — literally and figuratively. Fifty‑eight per cent of respondents say they still plan to buy or lease a vehicle within six months. S&P Global’s September figures confirm it: new‑car sales rose 6.2 per cent year‑on‑year, fuelled partly by last‑chance EV incentives before credit expirations.​

This persistence is less a sign of confidence than compulsion. Cars remain essential to mobility, especially beyond major metropolitan areas. The dichotomy — distrust intertwined with dependence — defines the market’s uneasy status quo.

The road back to trust
Rebuilding faith in the automotive industry will require more than marketing polish. Transparency must move from slogan to standard. Dealers experimenting with “no‑surprise” pricing — eliminating add‑ons and hidden fees — are finding engagement improving even amid grim overall sentiment scores. AI‑powered assistants that show full lifetime ownership costs at the point of sale are emerging as quiet trust‑builders, particularly for younger, digitally literate buyers.​

But real repair lies deeper. Analysts at Group Caliber argue that repairing the customer‑dealer relationship demands “moral re‑engineering,” not just operational tweaks. In their latest industry outlook, they emphasised accountability, empathy, and alignment of incentives as the triad most likely to restore the social contract between sellers and consumers.​

That social contract — once built on handshake deals and repeat loyalty — has frayed in the age of algorithms and financing churn. And yet, perhaps paradoxically, the appetite for honest commerce remains undiminished.

The CarEdge data hint at this resilience: though weary, Americans still want to believe in fairness — if only someone will show them it exists.

In the words of Ray Shefska, CarEdge’s co‑founder, “That number should scream ‘we need to change how we operate’ to both dealers and manufacturers.” His urgency captures what’s at stake. The American car‑buying journey once symbolised freedom and aspiration; today, it mirrors the nation’s economic anxieties.

The road to recovery isn’t paved with slogans, rebates, or digital filters. It begins with trust — rebuild that, and the industry just might recover its direction.

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