DAYTON — Nearly one in three drivers are behind on their car loans.
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A new joint report by CarEdge and Black Book revealed that 31 percent of drivers are behind on car loan payments and that number increases to 39 percent when the car is 2022 or newer.
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“You’ve got the $1,000 on car payments, or whatever ridiculous amount people are paying these days, and you can’t afford to buy groceries, can’t afford gas in it, so you start hitting the credit cards and then eventually it just gets out of control,” Andrew Ziegler, a bankruptcy lawyer from Kennel & Ziegler, LLC, said.
He said the problem is only getting worse. Ziegler added that with many of these loans extending to six or seven years and monthly payments sometimes as high as $1,000 a month, the debt can pile up.
As reported on News Center 7 at 5:30, his advice is to make a sound budget before you decide on a car and payment.
“If we unload the credit card debts, then we can afford to make the mortgage payment, afford to make the car payments,” Ziegler said.
He added if there’s still not enough money to go around, then consider getting something cheaper.
CarEdge told News Center 7 that they expect their specific Ohio auto loan numbers later this year. For his part, Ziegler said he anticipates a little relief for car buyers in the coming weeks as some of those interest rates continue to drop a bit.
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