Americans Are Falling Behind on Their Car Payments

data from Edmunds says a record 17.5% of borrowers have payments of $1,000 or more

That is a crazy high number. You are approaching mortgage territory there (yes, mortgages can be that price outside of cities). People need to stop spending so much on cars. They do not retain value.

Well, yeah, when people are spending $30K-$80K on a car, they're likely gonna miss payments eventually. The car market, including used cars, has been over-inflated for years.

We had a 2003 Honda Element that we bought in 2008 for $8000. It had less than 50,000 miles on it. We saw that same exact model in a car lot this year, with over 150,000 miles and they were selling it for $10,000. Over 15 years later and over 100,000 miles more on it and it's selling for more. There is a serious problem with the car market right now.

I'm in Austin, TX. It BAFFLES me how many folks own these huge trucks and SUVs. My wife and I bought a used Ford Fiesta for $12k, payments are about $225. Even that's tough to swing sometimes. Still, it's been worth it for the gas mileage alone. Currently sitting at about 34mpg. I can't imagine what some of those huge trucks get. Not to mention that I don't understand how they're practical to drive much of anywhere in. Just so damn huge and unwieldy. I'm happy with my tiny car. Would be happier with a train.

Americans are falling behind.

FTFY.

I was shocked... My wife totalled my car 3 weeks ago. It was a 2013, but it was paid for.

I was COMPLETELY unprepared to go shopping for a car and I'm really not interested in having a car payment again.

So $12,000 down thanks to the insurance payment, even financing a small amount through my credit union and having an 800 credit score was getting rates in the 7-8% range. I saw some silliness and nonsense of 12.25%. On a CAR loan.

Called in some markers so I'll be able to pay the rest in cash.

Americans are falling behind on all payments. Surprised pichachu face...

Improve public transportation with good lines and timetable. People will use them.

Supersized SUVs aren't because Americans want big cars. They are due to poorly crafted emissions standards.

Engines are expensive and complex. Transmissions are expensive and complex. Body panels are simple and cheap. So, when manufacturers were told that they needed to tighten up emissions standards, regulators expected them to do R&D on engines and drivetrains. Instead, they just stamped longer and wider body panels, bumping their model up into a larger class that allowed greater emissions.

This is why people are saying they're not confident in the economy despite "trusted" measures like inflation, fed rate, and Dow Jones.

Because there's something more going on and no one's doing enough about it.

Don’t get me wrong, car companies absolutely jacked the price of their cars up, and lenders absolutely loaned money they shouldn’t have, but Americans bought $60k trucks with no money down on 7 and 8 year loans. FFS stop doing this shit! I bought my truck when it was 4 years old, for $16k, it’s now 13 years old, and I still have it. You probably don’t need a brand new car, and you almost definitely need to trade in the one on which you still owe money.

The low interest for years has made people far too willing to just pay it back over years. Credit, credit, credit. Who cares, you can afford it!

Now the interest rates are up again, nobody has any fucking money to buy anything. The billionaires have stolen your wallet, and are now holding out the begging bowl for more so their precious lines can go up.

Hopefully this will be the end of supersized SUVs everywhere.

No shit, all you had to do is look at the litany of patents for ways to bully and punish people who miss payments that the car manufacturers have been filing and you could have figured out that people were struggling to pay.

I feel like the ven diagram of people who are getting behind on their car payments and people who could use any of the tactics listed in the article is essentially two non-intersecting circles. The only one that had a chance is "sell your expensive car and buy a cheap one" but that only works if you're not to far gone.

joke's on you, I don't have a car payment! fuck cars

Worry not: soon it will be mortgage payments.

(How bad it will be depends mainly of the proportion of people with variable rate contracts)

Do Americans predominantly buy new cars then? Seems like a really weird thing to do if your cash strapped couldn't you just get a second-hand car?

They car I've got his third hand and other than a minor electrical issue it works fine and I paid the equivalent of about 1000 dollars for it

Getting a loan on a depreciating asset...

Dealers are getting nervous. I have to be honest, I like them squirming after the last few years.

Step 1: don't buy the largest possible vehicle. Buy at or near at what the minimum will work for you is.

Step 2: enjoy a vehicle you can afford

I mostly use an e-scooter these days and honestly it’s great

Do not, I cannot stress this enough, own a car.