This Is An Actual Conversation With A Car Dealer — And It Shows How The Industry Is Juicing Sales - Yahoo Finance This is actually a pretty enlightening article about a back and forth conversation between Adam Jonas and his cousin "Chuck" who owns a car dealership which really gives some insight into new car market and some of the things they are doing right now on auto loans. It is kinda scary the position that people are putting themselves in and if we are not careful we will see another credit crash because of people just getting crazy loans that they can't really afford. It is also interesting to see that while the appetite for new cars are there it isn't really seeming to grow like they were expecting it to.
Hmm, nothing too crazy there IMO. I don't think the longer loan/lease times are really harmful. They're just spreading out the same amount over a longer time. Sure you may end up paying more in interest, but that's often the case with any loan.
The real problem with these longer term loans is that people wind up upside-down after a few years. Then they want a new car after 3-4 years and the dealer rolls the net difference of their trade-in into the new loan! I have an employee who's done just that...it's crazy.
I agree, though folks also have to take responsibility for their own actions too. If you're going to sign a loan for 6 years, be sure you plan to keep it that long or pay it off early.