auto loans

13 Stories

Squeezed Consumers Are Missing Credit Card, Auto Loan Payments

Analysts say problem is going to get worse in the months ahead

(Newser) - Americans squeezed by high prices and high interest rates are failing to make payments on credit cards and auto loans—and analysts expect loan delinquencies to keep rising before the situation improves for consumers, especially those on lower incomes. "The increase in delinquencies and defaults is symptomatic of the...

Wells Fargo Takes 'Important Step in Making Things Right'

Company will pay at least $385M to settle class-action suit on auto loans, car insurance

(Newser) - Wells Fargo has agreed to pay at least $385 million to settle a California lawsuit alleging it signed up thousands of auto loan customers for costly car insurance without their consent, resulting in many having their vehicles repossessed. The bank filed the agreement Thursday in a federal court in Santa...

7M of Us Are Behind on Our Car Loans. Is It a Red Flag?
We Haven't Been This Behind
on Car Loans Since 2010
the rundown

We Haven't Been This Behind on Car Loans Since 2010

NY Fed says more than 7M Americans are 90 days or more behind

(Newser) - Borrowers are behind in their auto loan payments in numbers not seen since delinquencies peaked at the end of 2010, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York . More than 7 million Americans were 90 or more days behind on their car loans at the end of last year,...

Over Owning? Cadillac Tries a New Idea

It's launching a monthly subscription service

(Newser) - It's kind of like Netflix, but with Cadillacs instead of movies. The car company is experimenting with a modern twist on car ownership: Don't own at all and instead try out a new vehicle every month or close to it. In a press release , the company says it...

Lenders Shutting Off Cars Over Missed Payments

Electronic devices becoming common in subprime loans: NY Times

(Newser) - T. Candice Smith lost control of her car on the Las Vegas freeway when it suddenly shut off. She alleges it happened because the lender of her subprime auto loan activated a starter-interrupt device installed in the car as a condition of the loan. The New York Times reports that...

Times Probe Unveils Next Subprime Bubble

Used-car loans look a lot like old subprime mortgages

(Newser) - Hey, it's great if you're a car repossessor—but for borrowers, the new subprime bubble in used-car loans could become a major headache. According to a New York Times investigation, more Americans with poor credit are taking on unaffordable car loans at high interest rates. The loans usually...

Subprime's New Frontier: Auto Loans

Banks jumping back into lucrative market

(Newser) - That whole "subprime crisis" hasn't scared banks away from the lucrative world of subprime lending. The nation's top subprime lenders—like Capital One, GM Financial, HSBC, and JPMorgan Chase—are all trying to woo back less-creditworthy borrowers, who tend to rack up late fees while paying rates...

US Takes Majority Stake in GMAC
US Takes Majority Stake
in GMAC

US Takes Majority Stake in GMAC

Government gives auto lender another $3.8B in aid

(Newser) - The government gave GMAC Financial Services another $3.8 billion in cash and took a majority stake in the auto lender, aiming to stabilize the company as it struggles with big losses in its home mortgage unit. The fresh infusion is on top of $12.5 billion in taxpayer money...

Chrysler Wants $1.5B More for Auto Loans

(Newser) - Chrysler, which has received $4 billion in federal money for its manufacturing operations and $1.5 billion for lending, wants another $1.5 billion for its loan arm, the Detroit Free Press reports. “We’ve gone to Treasury and said we need to re-up that amount,” Chrysler’s...

Chrysler's Loan Arm Gets $1.5B Federal Loan

Attempt to unfreeze auto-loan market is on top of $17B coming to Detroit from TARP

(Newser) - The Treasury Department will lend Chrysler’s financing arm $1.5 billion to encourage the struggling auto-loan market, the Washington Post reports today. The 5-year loan comes at an interest rate of about 1.36%, and carries limits on executive compensation: Chrysler Financial will have to cut its bonus pool...

Americans Drive Cycle of Auto Debt
Americans
Drive Cycle
of Auto Debt

Americans Drive Cycle of Auto Debt

New cars tempt buyers into larger, longer loans that outlast the vehicle

(Newser) - More and more Americans are entering a cycle of larger, longer, and far riskier auto loans, raising the possibility of a debt crisis similar to the one that has hit the housing market. The Los Angeles Times explores the increasing trend of trading in a used car for a new...

Auto-Loan Delinquencies Rise as Stress Spreads

Lenders are tightening credit, raising rates as delinquencies rise

(Newser) - Consumer auto loans are beginning to show the strain of the subprime collapse, with delinquencies among top-rated borrowers from 2006 rising 55%, to 4.5%, in September. That's the largest month-to-month increase in delinquencies in nearly a decade, the Wall Street Journal reports. Delinquencies among less credit-worthy consumers rose to...

Big Banks Settle on Superfund Terms
Big Banks Settle on Superfund Terms

Big Banks Settle on Superfund Terms

Paulson says fund will help, but analysts bearish on its prospects

(Newser) - The country’s top three banks have finalized agreements for the $75 billion superfund they hope will cushion further blows to the credit market, reports the NY Times. After nearly two months of haggling, Bank of America, Citigroup, and JPMorgan Chase agreed to simpler conditions than outlined in the fund’...

13 Stories
Most Read on Newser