Experian Report: Average Auto Buyer Payment: $474 per Month in Q1

A new report has indicated that Americans borrowed a record amount towards their auto loans during the first quarter of 2014. The average amount borrowed was around $474 dollars per month. The other statistic that jumps off the page is that 24.8 percent of auto loans as reported by Experian Automotive were between 6 and 7 years. That’s the highest ever amount of auto loans for that length according to this report. The data is based on 4.7 million loans between January and March of 2014.

It appears that consumers are more and more willing to take on larger amounts of debt so long as it’s spaced out over an amount of time that lowers the monthly payment. The average loan amount borrowed was just over $27,000 that number was around $24,000 just five years ago.

With buyers willing to put off larger loan amounts over more years to lower their monthly payments, many are turning to another option: leasing. Without a wide range of stats on leasing, the general consensus was that it will save consumers approximately $100 per month. If current trends continue, leasing could very well become more and more popular among a save money now group of consumers.

Have you seen an uptick at long-term loans at your dealership?