Auto loan performance hit a troubling milestone in 2026. According to delinquency tracking data, the U.S. auto loan 90-plus-day serious delinquency rate reached 5.5% in the second quarter of 2026 — a series record that actually exceeds the 5.3% peak seen during the 2010 Great Recession. Subprime borrowers are faring worse still, with 60-plus-day delinquency hitting 6.9% in January, a 32-year record for that measure.

The picture isn’t uniform across all borrowers

The reporting is careful to note this isn’t an across-the-board crisis: prime borrower portfolios remain relatively stable, while subprime portfolios are carrying the bulk of the pressure. Delinquencies also vary meaningfully by geography — states with a higher share of used-vehicle financing, like Mississippi, Louisiana, and Georgia, are seeing more stress than markets weighted toward new-vehicle loans, partly because higher loan-to-value ratios and longer loan terms on used-car deals leave less room for error.

What this means if you’re financing a car right now

The clearest lesson from the data on struggling loans is the role of loan term and loan-to-value ratio: longer terms (72-84 months) and financing a larger share of the vehicle’s value both correlate with weaker repayment performance. Neither guarantees trouble on their own, but they reduce the margin for error if your financial situation changes during the loan.

Check your own numbers before signing

Our car loan calculator factors in trade-in value and sales tax to show your real monthly payment and total interest across different loan terms, so you can see the tradeoff between a lower payment and a longer, riskier term before committing.