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Car buyers with negative equity face record payments amid rising costs
Edmunds data cited in the story shows negative-equity trades carried average monthly payments of $932 in Q1 2026, alongside average borrowings of nearly $56,000.
A personal finance story from Yahoo Finance highlights how some vehicle buyers who rolled previous loan balances into new auto loans are finding themselves “stuck” when costs and budgets change. The example centers on Cassie, 26, who financed about $60,000 for a Chevrolet Silverado 3500HD after trading in a Jeep Wrangler, with the new loan including negative equity from the older vehicle.
About a year later, a job transfer turned her commute into a 100-mile daily drive, pushing up diesel expenses and affecting her overall housing plan. As a result, she is paying roughly $900 a month for the truck despite rarely driving it, using another vehicle she owns outright because it is cheaper to run.
The story also notes the financial imbalance behind the predicament, saying Cassie still owes about $53,000 while the truck is worth around $39,000. That leaves an approximately $14,000 gap she would need to cover if she sold the vehicle, such as by taking out a separate loan or trading into something cheaper while rolling remaining debt into a new purchase.
Yahoo Finance further cites Edmunds data indicating that more than three in 10 Americans trading in a vehicle owe more than it is worth. It adds that negative-equity buyers financed an average of nearly $56,000 in the first quarter of 2026, with average monthly payments reaching a record $932.