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Edmunds says the average APR for a U.S. new-vehicle loan was 6.36% in March, putting dealers and consumers on the cusp of a ‘dramatic shift’ toward the used-car market.
With September in the books, Edmunds reported this week that interest rates have stayed above 5% for eight months in a row and now mirror levels not seen since before the Great Recession.
Two years ago, zero percent finance deals accounted for 14.6% of transactions. Last month, they only accounted for 7.4%. Edmunds analysts point to higher interest rates as one of the reasons for the scarcity in zero percent finance deals in August.
Failing to recognize the difference between a loan and a retail installment contract led to a costly violation of the Georgia Motor Vehicle Act.
The CFPB’s inability to master the basic vocabulary of automotive finance does a disservice to the consumers whose interests it is charged with protecting.
Auto financing extended to subprime and deep-subprime car buyers fell 4.5% from a year ago, as the auto finance industry continued to squash fears of a forming subprime bubble. Newly originated loans made to prime car buyers jumped 2% to encompass nearly 60% of auto loans originated during the period.
Total auto loan balances in the third quarter grew 9% from a year ago to $1.1 trillion, with subprime balances leading the way, TransUnion reported on Monday.
Slowing demand for new vehicles points to auto finance sources having to contend with increased compeittion for consumer loans. That was the conclusion of Equifax's Nation Consumer Credit Trends report for August, which showed that auto originations for the first six months of year grew 3.5% compared to a year ago.
Credit unions funded a record 529,000 auto loans through CU Direct’s Lending 360 and CUDL platforms in the first half of 2016. That amounts to more than $16.1 billion in funded automotive loans.
CU Direct's credit union network was the No. 3 auto loan originator in the first quarter. However, the network posted the highest year-over-year growth in auto originations.