Auto Loans
- 4.37% (60-month, new car)
- 5.01% (36-month, used car)
Auto loan rates were mixed this week, with some falling back down to record lows set last month.
The average rate for a 60-month new-car loan subtracted 1 basis point, falling to 4.37 percent. However, the 48-month new-car loan average was flat again at 4.23 percent. A basis point is one-hundredth of 1 percentage point.
Used-car loans were also down by a small margin this week. The average rate for 36-month used-car loans declined 1 basis point to 5.01 percent.
If you're younger than 35, you may not care which way auto loan rates go. Buyers ages 18 to 34 bought only 11 percent of the cars purchased in April of this year, according to data collected by R.L. Polk & Co. and reported by Bloomberg News. That's down from 17 percent in April 2007, before the recession. That may be due in part to how poorly so-called millennials have fared in the struggling economy, but it also could indicate younger consumers are choosing electronic gadgets over a new car, according to the Bloomberg report.