Auto sales are up. Interest rates are down. Good news, right? Hmmmm... not so fast. Experian Automotive announced that along with increased sales, we're seeing an increase in subprime loans for new and used vehicles. In fact, according to their research, new vehicle loans to the "credit-challenged" are higher now than they were in 2007 and 2008! That means more loans with more risk. Maybe not so good. Experian's study, State of the Automotive Finance Market, revealed that because auto lending has eased up, more loans are being made to a wider range of customers including many that would have had a tough time getting a loan a few years ago due to not so great credit scores. These credit scores put them in the nonprime or subprime categories and are considered higher risk by the lender.
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