Overview
- Average new-car payments hit $773 in Q1 2026, with about one in five buyers now paying $1,000 or more each month.
- Loans of 84 months or longer made up 22.9% of financed new purchases in Q1 2026, which cuts the monthly bill but raises the total interest cost and delays equity.
- Outstanding auto debt climbed to a record $1.68 trillion by late 2025 as new-vehicle prices neared $49,000 and sub-$25,000 options shrank to only four models.
- A record 30.9% of trade-ins for new purchases carried negative equity in Q1 2026, with an average of $7,183 still owed on the old loan.
- Stress is most acute for lower-credit borrowers, with 60-day subprime delinquencies reaching 6.9% in January 2026 even as Capital One says typical car payments hold near 10% of income.