Prepare to pay the sticker price for a car Car dealer lots have only a fraction of the vehicles that they typically have — both new and used. It’s helping send prices to record levels. The average new car price was $37,200 in the first quarter, according to JD Power, up 8.4% from the same period just a year ago. About half of car buyers are paying within 5% of the sticker price, according to JD Power stats, with some even paying above sticker. About two million more car buyers this year will end up paying that close to sticker price than a couple of years ago.