According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, a record 7 million Americans are 90 days or more behind on their car loan payments, which is even worse than how it was during our last financial crisis.
This is a truly surprising fact, seen as how the economy has been described as being strong right now, with low unemployment rates. In reality though, it seems many American consumers are still struggling to make ends meet.
A chilling reality
“The substantial and growing number of distressed borrowers suggests that not all Americans have benefited from the strong labor market,” was written in a New York Fed blog post.
Since a car loan is usually one of the first payments people tend to make (they need cars to get to work), when issues with these loans are on the rise, it usually means trouble for low-income and working-class Americans.
“Your car loan is your No.1 priority in terms of payment,” said Fitch Ratings exec, Michael Taiano. “If you don’t have a car, you can’t get back and forth to work in a lot of areas in of the country. A car is usually a higher-priority payment than a home mortgage or rent.”
Consumers who are behind on their car payments by 90 days or more will often lose the vehicle, reports The Washington Post, which in turn makes it more difficult for them to get around – not just at work, but also to see a doctor.
As for how the numbers compare now to those from 2010 when unemployment was at 10%, there were over a million more “troubled borrowers” at the end of last year (unemployment at 4%) than there were at the end of the last decade. Since most consumers who are behind on their car loan payments also have low credit scores and are under the age of 30, it would seem that young people are struggling to pay off their cars and their student loans at the same time.
Based on searched conducted by Lendingtree, Gen Xers carry the highest car loan balances with a median of $18,741, and are the most likely of any age group to have a car loan.
There’s also been an increase in average monthly payment costs, with $530 for new vehicles (up 5% year over year), $381 for used models (up 4%) and $430 for new vehicle leases, also up 4%.
While car loans have surged in past years, experts have warned the American public to be careful where they get their financing from, seen as how traditional banks and credit unions have considerably smaller default rates than “auto finance” companies.
“The No.1 piece of advice I have is to not get your financing from a car dealership,” stated Christopher Peterson, a law professor at the University of Utah and former special adviser to the consumer Financial Protection Bureau. “Shop separately for the vehicle and the financing. Go to a credit union or community bank to get a low-cost loan.”
According to NerdWallet, a borrower with a healthy credit score in the range of 661 to 780 can get a car loan rate of about 4.5 to 6%, whereas borrowers on the other end of the spectrum are looking at rates between 14.5 and 20%. Also, unlike with mortgages, there aren’t any heavy restrictions on auto loans.
“Predatory lending practices and a lack of real transportation options leave many households trapped in debt with few ways out,” stated Faye Park, a consumer protection advocate.
Is our economy safe?
So what does this mean for the entire financial system going forward? Well, for starters, bad car loans aren’t going to break down the system the same way mortgages did in the lead-up to the 2008-2009 crisis, seen as how the total car loan market is just over $1 trillion, compared to the $9 trillion home mortgage market.
Same goes for how much money people generally borrow to buy a car – usually under $35,000, which is far less than the several hundreds of thousands of dollars borrowed as part of a home loan. So in the long run, the economy should endure.