The announcement of steep tariffs on imported vehicles is causing concern among car owners, despite a new 90-day delay on some tariffs announced by President Tr
The announcement of steep tariffs on imported vehicles is causing concern among car owners, despite a new 90-day delay on some tariffs announced by President Trump on Wednesday. Seattle -area repair shops are working to calm those fears about potential increases in repair bills and auto parts charges.
Mose Auto, a repair shop in Georgetown, was experiencing increased business after expanding to include a body shop and used car sales lot. Now, the shop is grappling with the uncertainty of a looming 25% tariff on imported car parts, following the 90-day pause on most tariffs. "Things are very volatile right now. People are coming in and asking, ‘Hey, are tariffs happening?’" said Mose Auto owner Mariajose Barrera. She added that she is facing potentially higher insurance rates to cover more expensive parts. As a small business owner, Barrera noted that profit margins are relatively low, so future tariffs would likely be passed on to customers. "We live in a global economy nowadays, and tariffs are going to affect everybody, not only business owners but our employees," Barrera said. "Also, if people can’t do maintenance on their car, then it’s going to be even tougher because things can break and it gets even more expensive." In Ballard, High Road Automotive Owner Fred Wilson sent a letter to customers to help ease concerns about repair costs. He wrote that their suppliers have not yet announced price hikes, and emphasized that labor costs, which make up more than half of most repair bills, are unaffected by tariffs."We’re still dealing with the effects of Covid in the supply chains in some sense," Wilson told KOMO News. "We’re hopeful the amount of time this uncertainty goes on is fairly short, and so we can get back to a stable parts supply." High Road Automotive, a busy shop serving Ballard since the 1980s, has faced challenges like the 2008 recession and the pandemic head-on. Wilson said he has learned to avoid stressing about what’s out of his control and to wait out the storm, applying the same approach to handling tariffs. "Most of these things are temporary but they move through. They resolve. Then we’re back to fixing cars again," Wilson stated. Wilson said he wants customers to know High Road Automotive is taking a "wait-and-see" approach regarding the tariffs' impact on parts prices and availability. For now, there haven't been any drastic changes, and they aim to be transparent with customers if and when costs do go up.
Root Parts Supply Repair Costs Seattle Imported Vehicles Uncertainty Small Business Auto Repair Local Tariffs
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