In a surprising shift, CDK’s June “Ease of Purchase” study revealed the largest monthly drop in buyer satisfaction in three years of tracking. Only 77% of car buyers said the process was easy — down sharply from 90% in May — as challenges emerged across nearly every step of the journey.
“These unprecedented results might be an aberration, but the issues surrounding credit, a tightening of captive finance deals, and other factors will remain throughout the summer, if not longer,” said David Thomas, director of content for CDK.
Credit Crunch Hits Hard
Inventory has been a key lever in the Ease of Purchase score in the past. In June, much of the issue was found in the F&I department. The recent credit crunch is having a major impact on car buyers with just over half (53%) saying it was easy to apply for credit — a historic low, and down from 67% just in May. That number is generally never below 60% but did hit 57% in February 2025.
F&I Frustrations
Applying for credit wasn’t the only issue inside the F&I office, as 57% of buyers said selecting additional F&I products was easy, down from 66% in May. Even filling out paperwork dropped to 68% from 74% in May.
Price & Trade-In Pain Points
Having issues with credit often leads to fluctuations in the interest rates buyers can secure, impacting the final price. That could explain why agreeing on the final price saw a significant drop in June as well, falling to 56% from 65% in May.
And despite a bustling used car market driving valuations up — making customers generally happy with their trade-in value — that was not the case in June. Less than half (48%) said agreeing on the trade-in value was easy, down from 55% in May.
Inventory Still a Struggle
Running into these multiple issues across the board is rare in CDK’s tracking. Inventory disruptions impacting scores is more common, but in June there was a twist: Only 67% of buyers said it was easy to find the vehicle they wanted, down from 74% in May.
Shoppers Settle
But how they found the car they ended up with shifted in a new way. Far fewer people opted to wait on what they wanted to arrive — ordering it from the factory (15% in June down from 20% in May) and buying it in transit (19% in June down from 22% in May).
Instead, more people picked an alternate car in stock, 15% up from just 9% in May. Think of all the issues buyers encountered throughout the process, and the car they end up with isn’t even the perfect color or trim they originally wanted. Would that lead them to say it was an easy experience?
Longer Waits
Waiting longer at the dealership during all these steps wouldn’t help improve scores either and, indeed, more than a third (36%) of buyers said the process took longer than they expected, up from 31% in May. That’s one of the highest numbers CDK has seen in that category and is often considerably lower.
These results may be a one-month anomaly, but with credit tightening and inventory challenges persisting, the summer could remain tough for both buyers and dealers.
