Auto Loan Crisis: Car Debt Grows and Negative Equity Explodes
Money is more expensive than ever, and that inflation correlates with cars and what it takes to buy one these days. Buyers are taking out longer loans than ever before, with Edmunds reporting that the average payment on a new vehicle is $932/month.
We're making the same wincing face you are.
Given the state of the economy, it's no surprise that people are taking out longer, higher-value loans than ever before. It's not like cars are getting any less expensive, and it's also (very unfortunately) not like the cost of living is decreasing at all. So here we are, facing reality.
According to that same report, over 30% of Americans with vehicle loans are upside-down on their loans. The report says that's to the tune of $7,183 in the red on the finances, and that's also the highest number ever reported for a first quarter and simultaneously the second highest quarter ever on record.
It's not just how much people are borrowing that is worrisome, but also for how long. 72-month and 84-month loans are becoming the norm, while those upside-down on their loans are paying anywhere from 6.9-7.9% APR—never mind the countless number of Americans who are rolling negative equity from one vehicle into another.
For more context, the same data shows that 26% of buyers are rolling over $10k worth of debt into their next purchase, and 9.3% are taking $15k of negative equity into their next buy. Yikes.
All of this is to say, buyers are both being forced into worse purchasing conditions than ever, and also potentially making worse buying decisions than ever before. Whether there's a causation-and-correlation effect here or not, well, we can only make our best assumptions. You make yours.
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Based in Connecticut, Ross hosts The Hooniverse Podcast. He has been in the off-road world since he was a kid riding in the back of his dad’s YJ Wrangler. He works in marketing by day and in his free time contributes to Hooniverse, AutoGuide, and ATV.com, and in the past has contributed to UTV Driver, ATV Rider, and Everyday Driver. Ross drives a 2018 Lexus GX460 that is an ongoing build project featured on multiple websites and the podcast.
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