July Car Purchase Process Gets No Summertime Boost

June historically isn’t a good month for car buyers when it comes to completing an easy purchase process. Both last month and June 2025 saw a drop in Ease of Purchase scores that CDK tracks. Last year, July bounced back up almost as far as it went down in June. That, unfortunately, wasn’t the case this year.

Only 81% of buyers said the process was easy, barely up from the 80% in June and far below July 2025’s 86% and the 2025 average of 84%. The record high was 92% in January 2025, with the record low of 66% following in November of that year. It’s not a linear story, and it doesn’t seem to be seasonal.

Availability

Despite inventories tightening, 58% of buyers were able to find what they wanted in stock. But they said it was harder to do. The hunt, be it searching for the right model online or at the dealership, seemed to be an issue. Just 73% of buyers said it was easy to find the vehicle they wanted. That’s down slightly from 75% in June but off from May’s 80% and one percentage higher than the lowest scores reported over the past year and a half.

Purchase Process

With the sole exception of the test drive, every part of the purchase process stayed flat or fell in July. Every one. Based on direct buyer feedback from this month’s survey, it seems higher prices and less negotiating power are dampening moods at the dealership. There were a number of comments about a lack of meeting the customer’s monthly budget and ability to “work with me” to land on a satisfactory number.

Negotiating the final price (59%) and agreeing to the trade-in value (50%) were down 4% and 1%, respectively, versus May and both were also below the 2025 average.

Time

While there were a few comments about exceptionally long buying experiences, the numbers in this regard curbed a bit but remained positive. While fewer people said the time it took was less than expected, there was a larger increase in those who said it was about what they expected. In fact, the 55% figure in July was a record high and far above the 49% 2025 average.

Customer Feedback

Both positive and negative feedback centered around the negotiations and the amount of time it took to complete the deal, sometimes in the same comment.

• "They handled the financing in house and in my terms and even was able to locate the exact vehicle I wanted and had it brought to the dealership for me to take possession."
• "Got a good deal on the pickup. The dealer had all the paperwork ready for us, all we had to do was sign."
• "The process was easy but took basically all day test driving [and] negotiating the terms of the vehicle then by the time they got the car cleaned up and ready to go. It was a six hour day. The dealership was very nice and the person that sold us the vehicle was very helpful so that made the experience easier."
• "The dealership patiently answered all of our questions and showed us all around. They had a large assortment to look at. We were able to design the truck like we wanted. The salesman was very knowledgeable, and introduced us to the mechanics so we could ask questions."

These comments are clear examples of where things went wrong. There were also a number of shorter responses that stressed long waits and issues with overall affordability.

• "I think they could have got a better price. Reducing the monthly payment to something I could afford instead they kept adding things to the price until it went over budget. It was difficult to get the payment down to something that fit the budget."
• "I wish they just would have worked with me as far as the cost of the vehicle and maybe brought it down a little more than they had."
• "It took way too much time."