Car buyers may benefit from automakers and dealers' standoff.

Automakers and dealers are at odds over incentives and markups, with dealers wanting to sell their surplus of cars through discounts and other incentives, while automakers want to keep prices and profit margins high. Consumers may benefit from this game of chicken as car companies and their retailers battle it out. Car companies are trying to keep inventory low without spending on big discount packages, while dealers are spending more to keep cars sitting. Without discounts to ease rising interest rates, more customers are delaying their purchases and hoping to wait out the interest rates.