Car loan interest rates are climbing as high as 7 percent. Meanwhile, $1000-a-month payments are becoming more common, especially in places where big trucks are de rigueur.
Average new-car prices aren't getting any more reasonable, and if you're someone who finances their vehicle, you're probably wondering where all the money’s going.
The average APR for new vehicles financed in March was 7 percent, helping create a market where the average payment for a new car is, gulp, $730. That's bad, but the number of people paying over $1000 is also on the rise. In Wyoming, more than 25 percent of car shoppers who finance have payments that high. Sorry, truck shoppers.
The average price of a new car in the U.S. has been climbing, again, and at least one Toyota executive thinks it could hit $50,000 later this year. If we're paying more for our cars, it logically follows that our monthly payments are increasing as well, especially with interest rates as high as they are. Right on cue, Edmunds has announced that the average annual percentage rate for new vehicles was at 7 percent in March, the highest level since early 2008.