Rising vehicle prices are quietly reshaping how Americans buy cars, and a new LendingTree study puts hard numbers behind what many shoppers already feel at the dealership. More buyers are stretching auto loans far beyond traditional timelines just to make monthly payments workable, even as interest rates and insurance costs climb.
According to LendingTree’s newly released generation-focused auto loan analysis, nearly half of all Americans with active auto loans now rely on terms longer than 72 months. The study reviewed anonymized credit data from more than 70,000 consumers, examining loan balances, interest costs, monthly payments, and term lengths across generations.
The findings point to a broad affordability squeeze that cuts across age groups, even though the details vary.
The New Normal: Stretching Loans Past Six Years
The headline number is striking. About 47.5 percent of borrowers with auto loans have repayment terms longer than six years. That includes 39.9 percent with loans longer than 72 months and another 7.6 percent who have pushed past 84 months. Once considered an exception, seven and even eight-year car loans are rapidly becoming normal.
Gen X borrowers stand out the most. More than half of Gen X drivers with auto loans, roughly 53 percent, have terms longer than 72 months. About 7.7 percent are locked into loans exceeding 84 months. This group also carries the highest monthly payments on average, at $594, and they are the most likely to be paying four figures every month.
Nearly 9 percent of Gen X borrowers have car payments of $1,000 or more, the highest share among all generations.
Different Stages of the Same Squeeze
Millennials are not far behind when it comes to debt load. Along with Gen X, they carry the largest average loan balances, at $22,627 for millennials and $22,514 for Gen X. These figures reflect not only higher vehicle prices, but also the tendency to roll taxes, fees, and sometimes negative equity from previous vehicles into new loans.
Gen Z, while still early in their car buying years, shows a different pattern. They are the least likely to have ultra-long loan terms, though the numbers are still high by historical standards. About 40 percent of Gen Z borrowers have loans longer than 72 months, and 5.4 percent exceed 84 months.
Their average loan balances are lower, at $20,241, but that may change as this generation ages into higher income brackets and more expensive vehicles.
Across all age groups, the burden of monthly payments is growing. LendingTree found that 5.3 percent of all auto loan borrowers now pay $1,000 or more per month. That figure would have seemed extreme just a few years ago, yet it now reflects the combined impact of higher vehicle prices, elevated interest rates, and longer loan terms that increase total interest costs over time.
The Financial Squeeze
Matt Schulz, LendingTree’s chief consumer finance analyst, says buyers are being squeezed from multiple directions at once. High sticker prices, higher borrowing rates, rising insurance premiums, and uncertainty around tariffs are all adding pressure.
“Car buyers face pressure from every angle right now,” he says, “— high prices, high rates, rising insurance costs and tariff uncertainty. Buyers need to shop rates aggressively, shorten loan terms when possible and focus on total cost, not just the monthly payment.”
While longer loans can lower the monthly payment, they often increase the total cost of the vehicle and leave owners upside down for years.
For those in the market for new or used cars, the study offers a snapshot and a warning. Stretching loan terms may feel like the only way to get into a new or newer vehicle, but it comes with long term tradeoffs. As affordability challenges refuses to bulge, more Americans are learning that the true cost of a car is not just the monthly payment, but how long they will be paying it and how much interest they will ultimately hand over along the way.