Roughly 24% of new vehicle loans are now stretched-out for seven years, a record high. Yet monthly payments are also at record highs, according to a second quarter analysis by Edmunds. The average cost of a new vehicle is around $50,000, and the average monthly payment is $777.
Meanwhile the average down payment reached a record low of only 11.6% of the purchase price, or about $5,815. This means that the average amount financed climbed to a record high of $44,156. Auto loan interest annual percentage rates (APRs) have also been rising and now stand at about 7%. Edmunds warns that all of this adds up to more people with underwater loans when it is time to trade-in or sell.
