Clik here to view.
Long-Term Car Loans Rising In Popularity North Of The Border
Canadians have some of the highest household debt levels in the world, thanks to cheap mortgages and home equity credit lines. And car loans are next. Canadian household debt levels are estimated at...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Hammer Time: The Tough Choice
First the guy called. Then his wife. Then the repo driver. The truck had been out in front of their house for nearly a half hour. Lights flashing. Neighbors peeved, and humiliation aplenty. “Steve,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Have You Ever Said Goodbye To… A Money Pit?
A 1995 Volvo 960. Supple leather that made long trips easy. Great safety and visibility. It represented what I thought would be the perfect family car. I financed it quick enough. But then the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
QOTD: How Can You Minimize The Cost Of Keeping A Car?
Whether you drive a $30,000 or a $1,500 a car, one variable in life stays constant. You want to minimize your costs. The average owner in North America now spends well over $8,000 a year covering all...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Hammer Time: Repo Pro, Repo No!
“Aaahh Steve? My rig caught on fire.” At first I thought about oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico engulfed in an endless torch of black smoke and molten metal. Then I realized that the repo driver was...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Monday Mileage Champion: Saturnalia
I told you that I would report back to the TTAC faithful when something new came up. Well, for quite a few weeks there has been the usual distribution of dominance when it comes to high mileage cars...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Auction Monday: All! Hail! Mary!
When you have 120 dealers looking at the same exact car on a Monday morning, you have three options if you plan on buying a car. 1) Bid 2) Watch 3) Leave After I saw a 2003 Infiniti FX35 with 220,558...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Sub-Prime Auto Financing, Loan Terms On The Rise
Long-term auto loans, leasing and sub-prime financing all saw increases year-over-year from 2011 to 2012, according to a report by Experian, a consumer credit rating agency. While typically a dry and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Subprime Madness: Shotguns Now Accepted As Car Loan Down Payments
Anyone looking for an anecdote illustrating the QE-fueled madness that is subprime auto lending, take a look at this Reuters report on what constitutes a down payment in the subprime world. And still,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Car Loans: The Borrow Time Gets Longer And Longer
When Lee Iacocca was a Ford regional manager, he helped pioneer auto loans. Consumers could buy a 1956 Ford for 20% down and $56 a month. The loans were paid off in just 36 months. In the final...
View ArticleClik here to view.
97 Months And Running
8 years to pay off a car? A report by the Wall Street Journal claims that in Q4 of 2012, the average car loan stretched out to 65 months, or just over 5 years. Loan terms were being stretched out over...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Auto Loan Delinquencies, Reposessions Up In Q1 2013
Bad news on the subprime front, as credit rating agency Experian reports a rise in delinquencies and repossessions for auto loans in Q1 2013. Melinda Zabritski offered a rather dubious explanation for...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“All Is Fine In Sub-Prime Land,” Says Someone With A Vested Interest In Its...
The Detroit Free Press paints a pretty clear picture of the automotive lending landscape: auto loan terms are rising, with 1 in 5 loans now lasting longer than 6 years. At the same time, the average...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Leasing Accounts For A Quarter Of New Vehicle Sales As Payments, Residuals...
While the engine behind the exceptional growth in new car sales is a hotly debated topic, leasing is proving to be an undeniable catalyst behind this year’s impressive new car sales numbers. Through...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mainstream Press Finally Worried About Cheap Car Loans
Months after TTAC started to relentlessly bleat about the glut of money flowing into the auto loan sector, the mainstream media is finally taking notice. Automotive News is finally expressing some...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Maroon Velour, Coupes Galore, And An Important Four-Door for 1984
Haven’t you heard the exciting news? There’s a new Corvette out this year! Cadillac is building convertibles again! The VW Vanagon has a water-cooled engine! Oldsmobile is offering some kind of voice...
View ArticleClik here to view.
New Or Used? : A Young Driver Wants His Milk & Cookies… Right Now!
I just got a job that involves a fair amount of driving and I am looking to spend about 11-13k on a car that is fun to drive but at the same time practical and reliable. I have a large dog, bicycle,...
View ArticleBoom, Bust, And The New Car Lust
Click here to view the embedded video. 6:30 P.M. and three more cars just pulled up to my place… on a Monday… Have I just bought a McDonald’s franchise? Not quite. This is the start of what we call...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Say Hello To 144 Month Financing
One year ago, we reported on the alarming trend of 97 month loans for new car sales. It turns out that these have now been supplanted by a substantially longer term. Say hello to the 144 month loan....
View ArticleClik here to view.
NEVS “Not Insolvent,” Will Pay When Possible
Remember when Saab’s new parent company was close to being taken to court and forced to declare bankruptcy by one of its suppliers? New information may have helped changed course. Autoblog reports...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Honda’s Sales Chief Warns Of “Stupid Things” As Accord, CR-V Top Retail Sales...
In this year’s red hot new car market, the Honda Accord and CR-V have apparently captured the top spot in both new car and SUV retail sales through the first half of 2014, according to Polk...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Should I Pay Cash for a New Car? Probably Not.
You have worked hard to save the $20,000 you need to purchase the car of your dreams. You’re ready to step into the dealership, walk straight to the manager in the back, plunk down those greenbacks,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Hammer Time: A Shotgun Hit & Run
“Honey? I just got into an accident!” she said. My body experienced an instant adrenaline rush as my mind wandered through the worst “what if?” possibility of that moment, something like the image...
View ArticleTTAC News Roundup: Nissan’s LeMans Project Garaged, UAW Wants To Talk to VW,...
From DNF to DNS, the Nissan GT-R LM project has finally been retired. That, and it’s lights out for some Crown Vics, the UAW just wants to talk, Hyundai will spend more to lend more, and more … after...
View ArticleHow An 86-Year-Old African-American Woman Was Charged Over Sticker For Last...
Imagine the following scenario: You’re a Buick salesman. An elderly woman comes into your showroom to inquire about a replacement for her Regal. You decide that she’s a great candidate for an Encore,...
View ArticleInside GM’s December Sales
Speaking to Bloomberg yesterday, GM Sales Boss Susan Docherty called December’s sales results “very encouraging.” Her argument: heavy fleet sales in December 2008 explain why December 09 results look...
View ArticleEV Startup Scores $25m, Ford Still Banking With Uncle Sam
According to Detroit lore, Henry Kaiser once loudly threatened to throw one hundred million dollars in 1940s money towards the greater glory of Kaiser Motors, drawing a bemused chuckle from GM Chairman...
View ArticleEdmunds: Record Percentage Of March Sales Were Financed At Zero Percent
Ever since a debt crisis toppled the already-precarious auto sector into undeniable crisis there’s been a running debate about when US car sales would “return to normal.” By now though, even the most...
View ArticleChinese Lease Special: Only $1,860 Per Month!
Whenever the insane growth rates of Chinese car sales come up, there is one inevitable comment: ”Wait until credit tightens. Those sales will come crashing down.” My (in the meantime canned) answer:...
View ArticleDesperately Seeking Subprime: White House Admits GM’s IPO Dash Hurting Ally’s...
The WSJ [sub] reports that GM is officially looking outside of its former captive finance arm Ally Financial (formerly GMAC) as it seeks more subprime loan deals to drive sales volume ahead of its IPO....
View ArticleAutomakers Push Financing As China Market Growth Slows
Some of the world’s biggest automakers are relying on continued strong growth in the Chinese market in the face of sluggish US and European sales, but those plans are facing a challenge as Chinese...
View ArticleCar Buying, China Style: No Credit, No Problem
As China’s car market no longer delivers the obscene growth rates it used to deliver (pretty hard when you compare with prior-year months where car sales jumped nearly 100 percent), carmakers are...
View ArticleNew or Used: A Prius Seller’s Market?
TTAC Commentator gman37 writes: Steve and Sajeev: I was hoping to pick your brain for a second regarding the used Prius market right now. Help a Hammer Time follower out! I own a 2010 base Prius...
View ArticleTreasury Won’t Sell GM Until Stock Improves. GM To The Rescue?
Bloomberg reports that a “person familiar with the matter” says the US Treasury won’t sell its remaining stake in GM as long as the automaker trades below its $33/share IPO price. Previously the...
View ArticleAmerican Car Buyers Can’t Get Enough of Long-Term Car Loans
The low, low monthly payments offered by spreading the cost of a new or used vehicle across a vast gulf of time is certainly an attractive one, even though the practice is fraught with hidden danger....
View ArticleUh Oh, Your Car’s Worth Less Than You Owe – What Comes Next?
Years back, after the desire to purchase one particularly fetching model became too great, you walked into the dealership, marched right over to the salesman’s cubbyhole, and signed over several years’...
View ArticleCanadian Borrowers Seeing More Loan Debt While U.S. Sees Subprime Loans Rise
Car buyers who borrowed money to finance their purchase are seeing higher loan debt per borrower rates, along with higher delinquency rates. And it’s happening on both sides of the border. Let’s start...
View ArticleGenerational Study: How Will Your Five-year-old Finance an Automobile?
People love generational studies. The notion that being born a few years away from another person creates a disparate, irreconcilable identity is an appealing one and is, to some extent, backed by...
View ArticleTime to Revive TTAC’s Tesla Deathwatch? Tesla Could Run Out of Cash This Year
Tesla Motors is 15 years old and it is still not profitable. Hyperbolic stock values have encouraged investors to keep showering Elon Musk and his crew with billions of dollars to keep the EV company...
View ArticleTime to Stock Up On ElioCoins
Earlier this year, Elio Motors said it would launch its own cryptocurrency as a way of funding its troubled three-wheeler. During the initial ElioCoin announcement in April, Elio also said it partnered...
View ArticleAs Interest Rates and New Vehicle Prices Rise, Loan Terms and Payments Reach...
Image, for a moment, that the trailer pictured above is filled with debt. It’s a good representation of the average new vehicle purchase. Looking at last month’s stats, you’d have to go back to the...
View ArticleChinese Auto Market Continues Its Decline; U.S. Future Also Looking Bleak
China’s auto sales declined for the ninth consecutive month in March, further proving that the market isn’t as infallible as once thought. The assumption was that, as North America surpassed peak...
View ArticleAs ATPs Rise and Loan Terms Grow Obese, Trade-ins are Less of a Trade-off
Auto loan terms have been creeping up for as long as anyone can remember. Back in 1997, the average financing period on a new car was somewhere around 54 months. That crept up to over 60 months by 2004...
View ArticleSlashed Rates Factor High in Premium Push
As you read last week, the U.S. auto industry continues its climb out of the coronavirus ditch, with foreign automakers pushing back at a briefly dominant Detroit in a bid to restore sales sanity. The...
View ArticleFord Follows GM’s Financing Lead, but Not Entirely
We told you earlier this week how the month of June brought changes to General Motors’ pandemic-era financing offers. No longer is the automaker tempting buyers with zero-percent, 84-month loans on...
View Article
