Buyers are shopping for cheaper cars. New-car prices are still near a record.

New vehicle prices are just $52 away from a fresh record high.

FREDERIC J.

BROWN/AFP via Getty Images Shoppers are turning to smaller cars as gas and vehicle prices keep climbing.

They're even willing to try out new car brands, Cox Automotive found.

Still, car prices keep climbing and are nearing an all-time record.

There's a tension playing out on American car dealership lots: Shoppers want cheap cars , but prices keep going up and up.

That's what Cox Automotive found in its September numbers.

Last month, the average new car transaction price was $50,562, a nearly 1% rise from the month before, and just $52 below a record high, the data firm found.

The average price is up 0.7% from a year ago.

At the same time, buyers are gravitating away from full-size segments toward more affordable options.

"Customers continue to show us that they're willing to adapt by either going to smaller vehicles, like sedans, or smaller-sized SUVs," Erin Keating, Cox Auto's executive analyst , told Business Insider.

She said shoppers are also willing to switch brands to make their finances work.

That flexibility has helped restrain the industrywide average price, Keating said — but now, smaller vehicles are increasing the numbers on their window stickers.

The average price of a compact car rose 3.2% year over year in September, to $27,977, while subcompact SUVs rose 1.5%, to $31,213.