If someone told you that a bank--a major bank at that--forced borrowers to shell out more money for services they really didn't need, which bank would you immediately think of? Yes, Wells Fargo has done it again. The bank that can ill-afford another scandal is at the center of another one. A plague...Read More»
So, we have bad news and bad news. Which would you like first? Fine, we'll start with the bad news. The U.S. auto market is cooling off. April's light vehicle sales were down 4.7 percent compared to those of April 2016, and year-to-date sales are off 2.4 percent across the board. Nearly all...Read More»
Donald Trump isn't terribly sentimental about government agencies. The National Endowment for the Arts, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, and 59 other agencies and programs stand to be eliminated under the president's current budget. But Trump's...Read More»
Ever had the feeling you were being watched? If you've taken out an auto loan in recent years, your hunch may have been correct, and now, the U.S. government is investigating. It's not uncommon for lending institutions to require that borrowers equip their new vehicles with GPS devices and other...Read More»
Economists aren't typically known for their unbridled optimism. They tend to be a cautious lot, who seem most anxious when the markets are doing well. They trade nervous glances waiting for something to go wrong. Has something gone wrong? Maybe so: the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has confirmed...Read More»
There are only about two weeks left in 2016, and that means two things: it's time for a host of year-end wrap ups and plenty of predictions about 2017. We'll leave the year-in-review article for another time (because, of course, a lot could still happen in the last 15 days of December), but...Read More»
In the aftermath of the Great Recession, you probably heard about plenty of people whose homes were underwater. Maybe you were one of them. Now, the analysts at Edmunds say plenty of cars are underwater, too. How did this happen? When we say that something is "underwater", we mean that (a) it was...Read More»
Buying a car is serious business, especially when you're buying one fresh off the assembly line. In fact, a study from Bankrate reveals that most U.S. families can't truly afford to buy brand-new vehicles. To reach that conclusion, Bankrate used three important figures: the average price of a new...Read More»
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was created in 2011 to ensure that lenders treat borrowers fairly and transparently. However, a curious legal loophole prevented the CFPB from overseeing car dealerships, even though those dealerships broker billions of auto loans each year. The loophole...Read More»
If the thought of debt unnerves you, may we suggest skipping ahead to the next article? Because this news could send you right into a panic attack. There's no way to sugar coat it, so we're just going to come out and say it: Americans owe $1 trillion in car loans for the first time ever. How did...Read More»
Remember the Great Recession? It upended the world less than a decade ago, but already, some folks seem to have forgotten its lessons. And according to the financial blog Zero Hedge, we may be doomed to repeat them. If you're not familiar with Zero Hedge, it's well worth a look. It's written...Read More»
We all have stories about that one lousy schmuck who ruined things for the rest of us. The guy who took greedy fists full of candy from the Halloween bowl on the neighbor's porch. The student who hid formulas behind her calculator, which meant that on future math tests, everyone had to remember...Read More»
Earlier today, we reported that the Department of Justice had launched an investigation of U.S. auto lending practices. Specifically, the DOJ is concerned that minority borrowers are being offered loans with higher interest rates than those presented to their white peers. Auto News reports that New...Read More»
Following the Great Recession, credit dried up, dealing a brutal blow to the auto industry. Lenders tightened up so much that even people boasting fairly good credit scores were offered loans with sky-high interest rates or denied altogether. Half a dozen years down the road, credit restrictions...Read More»
Today, many Americans have a pretty solid understanding of how credit scores work. Thanks to the internet and the many, many resources it offers, we know what makes scores go down, and we know how to bring them back up again. Among the worst things for your credit score are defaults, late payments...Read More»
As the price of vehicles pushes upward and household income stagnates, it’s not all that surprising that new-car shoppers are increasingly looking not to traditional 60-month loans, or 72-month ones, but to the longest 84-month loans. According to Experian Automotive, this year the length of...Read More»
To buy or to lease? That is the question Consumer Reports asked in a recent article examining the pros and cons of buying and leasing new cars. The answer? "In general it makes financial sense for most to buy a vehicle". The magazine says that goes double for slobs and parents -- and probably...Read More»
Have you been thinking about buying a car? Whether you're in the market for a brand new ride or something slightly used, now could be a good time to act. If you're a new-car fan, you know that most 2015 models have either rolled into showrooms or will soon be on their way. If you're a used-car fan...Read More»
Back in July, Equifax revealed that Americans have taken out $902.2 billion in car loans -- an all-time high. But the credit company also told us not to worry, because nearly everyone is paying back those loans on time. In fact, the number of loans in delinquency now hovers near record lows. Then...Read More»
