Auto Loans
Rates: 7.01 percent (60-month, new car); 7.86 percent (36-month, used car)Auto loan rates jumped this week, breaking a five-week slide. The 48-month and 60-month, new-car loans hopped up 5 basis points, to 7.02 percent and 7.01 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, the average rate for a 36-month, used-car loan rose 4 basis points to 7.86 percent.
The wildly popular "cash for clunkers" program is in danger of running out of cash less than two weeks after the program's rules were finalized, according to an Associated Press report.
A buying frenzy quickly burned through most of the $1 billion originally approved in the bill, and Congress is working to approve another $2 billion before the August recess begins next week.
In the meantime, the National Automobile Dealers Association is warning dealers to proceed with caution. "Until further funding is approved by the Senate, dealers who accept additional clunkers deals may face a risk that they will not be reimbursed," says a spokesman for the the association.
To find updated auto rates in your area, visit Bankrate's auto rate table.
-- Sheyna Steiner