If you’ve been thinking/wanting/needing a new or newer vehicle – hang on a bit longer. If you’ve bought one in the last year – sorry: You overpaid a lot – I mean a lot! If you didn’t have a choice, your only hope is to keep the vehicle for a long time: The old saying: Drive it into the ground.

For those who waited, there are already small price reductions and more to come. For both new and used vehicles, relief is on the way if you hold on until the fall. As inventories for new vehicles grow, the prices will drop with more supply and less demand. 20 of something on a dealer lot and tens of thousands coming out of the factory is going to soften prices pretty quickly.

It’ll then reduce used vehicle prices in tandem. The first ones will be the dealership used cars. It will take another 90 days or so for the private sellers to get a reality check that their ‘yesterday’ price is no longer realistic. Many will try – few will get a buyer and then those prices will also adjust. Just make sure you don’t pay attention to the Auto Trader recommendations of “good deal” or not!

Before you start shopping (and then financing your purchase), however, read the Money Tools & Rules chapter on car buying. A $20 book and a 10-minute read, just in that chapter, is potentially going to save you thousands of dollars!