2022’s Cities that Overspend on Cars + Q1 Auto Financing Report – WalletHub Studies

With Presidents’ Day approaching and consumers having taken out another $28 billion in auto loan debt in the third quarter of 2021 alone, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released the first-quarter installment of its Auto Financing Report along with its in-depth analysis of 2022’s Cities that Overspend on Cars, as well as accompanying videos and expert commentary.

Below are some of our key findings from each of the two reports:

Cities that Overspend on Cars Cities that Spend the Least on Cars
Rio Grande City, TX Birmingham, MI
Willis, TX Westfield, NJ
Bastrop, LA San Carlos, CA
Donna, TX Belmont, CA
Deming, NM Manhattan Beach, CA
San Juan, TX Garden City, NY
Uvalde, TX Belmont, MA
Alice, TX Summit, NJ
Livingston, TX Chevy Chase, MD
San Luis, AZ Lexington, MA
Mercedes, TX Ridgewood, NJ
Leesville, LA Bloomfield Hills, MI
Brownsville, TX Mill Valley, CA
Weslaco, TX Westport, CT
Moultrie, GA Palo Alto, CA
Lake Placid, FL Cupertino, CA
Watertown, WI Bronxville, NY
Dahlonega, GA Los Altos, CA
Alamo, TX Darien, CT
Pharr, TX Scarsdale, NY

Auto Financing Report:

  • Interest rates for new cars are at one of their lowest points in three years, with the average new-car loan today charging 14 percent less interest than the average used-car loan.
  • Compared with buyers who have excellent credit, those with fair credit will spend about six times more, or about $6,296, in interest over the life of a five-year, $20,000 loan when financing a vehicle.
  • The best options for financing a new car include credit unions (rates at 30 percent below average) and car manufacturers (rates at 27 percent below average). Secondary options include national banks (rates at 7 percent above average) and regional banks (rates at 23 percent above average).
  • Car manufacturers continue to lack transparency when it comes to leasing offers, with the average automaker receiving a WalletHub Transparency Score of 4.4 out of 10.

We recommend prospective car buyers to check their credit scores for free on WalletHub and take advantage of a Car Payment Calculator to determine an auto-loan payment and timeline they can afford.

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