Was May the Beginning of a Steadier Buying Experience?

Key Takeaways

• Rebound from April nearly across the board
• Some recovery for in-stock purchases 
• Trade-in negotiation sees biggest improvement

Moving through the fourth year of the Ease of Purchase Scorecard, we’ve tracked both steady movement over months as well as one-off monthly spikes here and there. May indeed seems to be the recovery of one of those spikes. April’s Ease of Purchase score of 81% was historically low and fell from a solid 88% in March. It seems May has bounced back with a respectable 87% but it’s unknown if this is the beginning of consistent performance or just another spike.

One of the elements that sent scores downward in April was the availability of inventory. In April, just 69% of buyers said finding the car they wanted was easy, the lowest recorded since June 2025. That number shot up in May to 80%, not only recovering but surpassing 2025’s 77% average and the highest so far in 2026.

This result follows how people bought their vehicle with only 11% in May saying they had to purchase an alternate vehicle in stock because what they wanted wasn’t on hand. That’s close to the 10% 2025 average and a significant improvement from April’s 14%. And while fewer people bought their vehicle in transit, that was offset by more people (19%) ordering from the factory.

Trade-In Negotiation Sees Big Improvement

Vehicle availability often sways the overall Ease of Purchase score the most, but the financial aspects of a car deal are generally the most negative each month. Whether it’s simply getting financed, applying for credit, or negotiating the price of the new car or the value of the trade-in, buyers score the steps tied to the cost of the car lower than areas like test drives, delivery or vehicle selection.

This month saw a welcome rebound in all of these steps but none more than agreeing to the value of the trade. May’s score of 59% was a huge boost from April’s 49% number and surpassed the 2025 average of 54% as well.

One explanation for the positive change may be that higher used values and competition to secure inventory led to rosy scenarios for buyers. One respondent highlighted that dealers were not on the same page. “Everyone was similar on price and comps. [The] only thing different was getting prices on the trade-in. There was big range in offers.”

Deals Didn’t Speed Up

One of the reasons the overall score likely didn’t go higher is that more buyers aren’t getting the deal done in the time they expected. Over the past two years, less than a third of buyers said it took longer than they expected to buy their vehicle, with 31% being the average in 2025.

In April, that number hit a very high 40% and luckily fell in May but to a still statistically high 35%.

Customer Feedback

Transparency and the ease of online options were key focuses of respondents in this month’s survey:

• “[The whole process was easy,] from pricing to financing. They had good payment methods, experts in cars and gave a clear detail on the warranty period.” 
• “The dealer was up-front about all charges and had a low interest rate.” 
• “I was able to view inventory online and this saved me a lot of time. I was also able to negotiate a price online with a sales agent and was able to schedule the pickup time for the vehicle.”

Most of the negative statements were more nuanced and didn’t have a single area of focus:

• “It was somewhat easy since it was pretty much in and out. Most of the trouble was finding a dealership that fits me.” 
• “I had to schedule a test drive for [the] following days, which was not what I wanted to do. That was the only negative statement. Once I test-drove the car I wanted it was [a] pretty easy process.”
• “The papers that were handed to me and the way things were explained made understanding the deal a bit troublesome for me.”

The impact of trade-ins and the used market could continue to impact the Ease of Purchase moving through the second half of the year as new car sales are expected to wane. But there’s no guarantee May is the start of a stabilized market.