As we try to encourage more people in Rochester to use mass transit, it is clear that cars are still in charge in our metropolitan area. And with the nation’s economy slowly recovering, new auto sales in Monroe County and all across the country are defying expectations as the latest figures show dramatically increased sales.

“What we’re seeing is certainly beyond expectations,” said Kelley Blue Book senior analyst Alec Gutierrez.
According to the Rochester Automobile Dealers’ Association, new vehicle sales in Monroe County rose in May. Last month, dealerships were able to sell 4,730 new cars and trucks — an 18% increase from sales last year’s sales figures. In April, sales were up by nearly 10% as well.
Since January, Monroe County dealers have been able to sell 19,290 new vehicle, which is an 8% increase than the number of vehicles sold in the first five months of 2013.

Automakers also reported higher-than-anticipated new car sales in the United States for May, too. Thanks to rising consumer demand and a recovering economy, there were 1.6 million new car sales in May. This is the strongest annual sales rate recorded by the auto industry since before the 2008 recession.

According to a compilation of manufacturers’ results put together by Reuters, industry sales rose 11.3% to 1,606,264 vehicles sold.

While this is certainly good news for the automotive industry and for the nation’s economy, those shopping for new vehicles should be a bit wary. When sales increased back in January, transaction prices rose as well, as reported by the International Business Times. This means that new car shoppers can expect to see higher prices soon.

When the prices do increase, new car shoppers need to carefully negotiate, lest they not be able to get the deal they’d like. This means taking such steps as going to the dealerships towards the beginning or end of the month, and not revealing to the sales person the highest possible monthly payment one can afford.

And remember — you can always opt out of buying that new car and just ride the bus, take your bike, walk or a combination of all three.