New Cars Cost $50,562 and Loans Still Run 6.35% — but the Deals Are on Outgoing Models

The average new vehicle sold for $50,562 in September, according to Experian’s quarterly finance data — just $52 short of the record set in December 2025. Kelley Blue Book reports that new-vehicle prices rose for a fourth straight month in September, with the year-over-year increase a mild 0.7%. Factory incentives also shrank compared with a year ago: discounts averaged 6.6% of the transaction price in September, or $3,359, down from 7.3% a year earlier.

Borrowing has eased only slightly. Experian’s latest quarterly finance data puts the average APR at 6.35% for new vehicles and 11.19% for used ones in the second quarter of 2026. Other measures run hotter: Edmunds put August’s averages at roughly 7% for new and 10.6% for used, and Bankrate’s weekly survey of advertised rates had a 60-month new-car loan at 7.06% and a 48-month used-car loan at 7.47% as of late October.

The pain is not evenly spread. Compact car prices rose 3.2% from a year earlier to $27,977, while full-size pickups averaged $67,573. The average EV sold for $55,879 in September, down 3% from a year earlier — and the $7,500 federal EV credit expired more than a year ago, so that softening is market-driven, not subsidy-driven.

The deals are on outgoing metal. Jalopnik, citing Cox Automotive, found the gap clearly on 2026 models being replaced: Kia is offering $10,000 in cash on the final-year Niro EV, Volkswagen has $6,000 on the ID.4, and Chevrolet has up to $6,500 on outgoing Silverado 1500 trims. Year-end shoppers should look for these model-specific deals rather than relying on the average. And cheap cars still exist: the 2027 Nissan Kicks starts at $22,790, the 2026 Mazda CX-30 at $26,375, the 2027 Chevrolet Bolt at $28,995 and the 2026 Nissan Leaf at $29,990 — though there was only a 63-day supply of vehicles priced below $30,000 in September, so the cheapest cars are also the scarcest.