How tariffs driving up the cost of cars are affecting dealerships, car buyers

SALINAS, Calif. (KION-TV) -- Car sales soared over the weekend in Salinas, ahead of President Trump's plans to implement a 25 percent tariff on cars and auto parts from other countries.

Over the weekend, many consumers talked about tariffs before taking cars off the lot.

While dealerships saw a successful weekend, others are worried about what's to come.

While not many customers could be seen at dealerships in Salinas on Wednesday morning, it was a different story over the weekend when Craig Young with Gold Star said people were driving cars fresh off the lot.

"We saw a huge increase, probably a 40% increase in traffic and sales. They were taking everything from loaded yukons down to electric Chevy bolts on our used car," says Craig Young, Partner in Gold Star.

Craig says many customers had the same thought in mind.

"They're trying to beat the tariffs as the vast majority spoke about tariffs," said Young.

Customers were also talking tariffs at Frank's Auto Sales.

Although it was a good weekend for the owner, Frank Yasin, he's worried about the future.

"We sold some cars, but you know, I'm not worried about that. I'm worried about the future. That's what I've been here for 31 years I never seen the car is so expensive like right now," said Yasin.

President Trump says he believes this could raise between 600 billion to 1 trillion in revenue for the United States over the next two years.

Frank says the majority of cars he sells are imported from other countries.

"That's going be a very bad situation for us in the car business because, you know, the price is expensive right now, and the insurance is expensive, and the insurer is expensive, and now to add another 25%, that's gonna be very bad," says Yasin.

While Frank says he saw a lot of foot traffic, many customers still walked away empty-handed, saying cars were still too expensive, so he is bracing for a potential drop in sales in the near future.