NORWOOD, Ohio — President Donald Trump announced tariffs of at least 10% on practically all goods coming into the US, plus even higher rates on dozens of countries that have the highest trade deficits with the US.
Trump said the money generated from tariffs would be used to reduce taxes and pay down the national debt.
Those reciprocal tariffs will go into effect next Wednesday, but a 25% tariff is about to hit every imported car starting April 3.
The tariffs on cars and car parts could drive up prices for new cars, but I wanted to find out even if you're not in the market for a new car, what does this mean for you the next time you need a repair?
Keith Brown with K&M Automotive in Norwood said there's still a lot of uncertainty, however, there are some things, such as labor, that won't change.
"Your labor is not going to go up, your labor is not gonna change,” he said.
Watch the video below to hear which car parts could go up in price
He said imported car parts could get more expensive for customers across the board.
"Your markup is pretty much set in your computer; it's a percentage,” he said. “So, as prices creep up on our end, the markup will creep up as well."
Brown said manufacturers and sellers are well stocked on parts, which he said will keep you from spending more, at least for now.
“If you order parts for your car today, they're not gonna come from Canada this afternoon to get here. They're already here, so you really shouldn't be paying any markup on it at this point,” he said.
If you've been putting off any repairs, you may want to get it taken care of sooner rather than later. Brown said manufacturers are already preparing to offset costs.
"One Goodyear in particular sent out a memo today that you can expect May 1, tire prices are gonna go up by about 4%," Brown said.
In the meantime, there are things you can do to keep repair costs down. Brown said to look at different options for parts.
"When you get an estimate for your vehicle, ask, is there another grade of part that you can get if that part is too expensive,” he said. “Likely there's a little bit lower quality part that's still gonna fit and work the same way. It might not carry the same warranty that the other part did, but it will be a little bit cheaper, and that could save you some money."
You could also save money by making simple repairs yourself. However, if you're not confident about what you're doing, you could cause further damage to your car, so in that case, just take it to a shop so you don't waste your money.
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