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»
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»
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»
When last we spoke of repo (wo)men, we spoke of how they're using license plate readers to find folks who are late on loan repayments. (As if stalking people on Facebook weren't bad enough.) But wait, it gets worse: according to the New York Times, if you're a subprime borrower -- generally...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»
Car sales are booming, and banks are doing brisk business in auto loans, especially subprime loans for borrowers with poor credit or no credit at all. That has many analysts worried that we're seeing a bubble in the subprime market -- that same sort of bubble that burst in 2007/2008 and helped hurl...Read More»
According to consumer credit reporting agency Equifax, Americans now owe a staggering $902.2 billion in auto loans -- a 10 percent increase from this time last year and an all-time high. That might seem like terrifying news to folks wary of debt or those who fear another lending bubble like the one...Read More»
UPDATE: See below In America, auto sales are going strong, and as we mentioned earlier, they're poised to get even stronger this weekend. But if you're one of the many folks planning to purchase a new vehicle today -- or any day -- spend some time preparing for your shopping excursion. As the New...Read More»
Though America's economic recovery seemed iffy at one time, it now appears that we're on the right track. Consumer confidence is mostly high, stocks are mostly up, and though it's not as robust as we'd like, economic growth is in mostly positive territory. In the auto world, the recovery has had...Read More»
After all the crashes, mergers, and investigations that bankers have endured the past few years, you'd think they might've learned a thing or two. Apparently, you'd be wrong. According to Reuters, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ruled yesterday that U.S. Bank and Dealers' Financial...Read More»
Earlier this week, we offered a rundown on auto sales for March. While we were very happy to see a number of manufacturers set new records, we were a little concerned that some of the market's strength might be due to an easing of credit restrictions. After all, we remember where that got us last...Read More»
One of the major contributing factors to the Great Recession was the U.S. credit crunch. For years, banks had been loaning money to many people who probably shouldn't have been taking on additional debt. When the economy began tanking, a significant number of those consumers defaulted on their...Read More»
With interest rates hovering near record-lows, plenty of homeowners have chosen to refinance their mortgages. But auto loans can be refinanced, too -- the only problem being that most people don't know it. That wee bit of info comes from a new survey released by CarFinance.com, which makes its...Read More»
Yesterday, we told you that Chrysler was on the brink of announcing a plan to repay its debts to governments of Canada and the U.S. Now, they've gone and done it: according to a Chrysler press release issued this morning, the repayment will officially take place sometime between now and June 30...Read More»
Late last summer, we sent a warning to anyone who might be behind on a car note, credit card, or mortgage: don't accept that mysterious Facebook friend request! At the time, we'd begun hearing stories about creditors tracking borrowers' activities on social networks, then using those same networks...Read More»
