Young Adults Crushed by High-Interest Car Loans

What were the July payments?

“I had a great paying job, but changed careers to follow my passion (the never ending story). I have a $400 car payment every month, which was very affordable with my last job. Now, it’s over my head. I am moderately responsible with my budgeting - queen of cheap meal prep, having some fun nights out when I need to but limiting spending. I’m not sure where to go from here. Any advice out there? submitted by /u/Gloomy-Rub-391 [link] [comments]”

“So I was just in the hospital and am in a bad bind but need to get my car insurance reinstated. Gig work is how I make ends meet. I'm looking for something around $500-$1500. I have very poor credit. I realize the terms will be awful but I can't even get offered the bad terms at what I've seen so far. submitted by /u/DrMisterNobody [link] [comments]”

“I owe $8,200 on a car thats worth about $4,500. My auto loan is at a 2.7% interest rate, I only pay about $400 in interest a year. I have done some car shopping recently and even with a 730+ credit score i’m failing to find an interest rate lower than 6%. I have the ability to pay off the car in a single payment, but is it worth it? I feel as if having that $8000 ready for anything that may pop up in life is worth paying the $400 in interest a year. submitted by /u/Tricky-Parsnip6411”

“I got a car in January of this year and my credit score and income have both gone up significantly since then, is it worth the time to refinance my car. And if I do decide to do it what is the best way to approach it? submitted by /u/Synestia125 [link] [comments]”

“My payments are $598.79. I have September, October & November left to pay. Which total is $1796.37. I was gonna pay it off but both the principal balance & payoff amount is more. Principal Balance shows $2556.05 & payoff amount is $2558.99. I don’t get it. submitted by /u/masterofyourmomma [link] [comments]”

“Sale price isn’t trade price. If the sale price is even with what they owe at $10K the dealer is offering them $7K at best considering the age and body damage. Even if they do manage to break even on the loan they still have $0 in equity”

“The solution to regret for overspending on a car is not to buy a new car. Payments are one piece of the puzzle only. You need to look at the cost of ownership, depreciation, and associated fees. Over any ownership window a new car will depreciate more and cost more to insure. Comparing only the monthly payments on totally dissimilar goods/dissimilar timelines is moot.”

“I don't think they're really underwater, used car prices are insane right now. It might be close.”

“Yeah, you can drop the payment to nothing, extend the loan to 7 years, then put 5 years with no interest. Depending on the loan terms, if you don’t pay it off in 5 years, you’ll owe interest on the full principle of the loan.”

“I took out an AEON personal loan with an 84 month tenure. Is there any way I can pay it off sooner? I borrowed RM23,000 but I feel really bad after seeing that the deferred sale price is RM37,000. I honestly feel so stupid :’( but it’s too late now. I have to pay it anyway, so I just want to know if there’s a way to finish paying it off earlier. submitted by /u/Haunting-Monitor-810 [link] [comments]”

“Sell ot, at $22 per hour the $550 payment plus $860 in gas and insurance is eating a brutal chunk of your take home, and you're sitting on $16.7k equity that clears your credit card debt with room left over, that's not a close call given where your income actually is right now”

What kind of Nissan is it, OP?

“Hi Everyone, Need advice, so I have a car loan (present o/s 2.84 lacs; ROI 8.65%; Residual Tenor: 18 months). I have around 4 lacs surplus funds (after keeping 3 odd lacs aside as an emergency fund) in my savings a/c and have a monthly income of 2 lacs post tax. Should I prepay the entire car loan or should I invest the funds in a mutual fund /bond (with 10% interest). What would be the best way to navigate this situation? submitted by /u/SnooPears6118 [link] [comments]”

“I had got a car with my childsupport and I had a cosigner with me but I was never added too the loan now westlake dont want too fix the issue they only put my ex as the primerie owner and left me out of the title now my ex took my car that ive been paying on for almost 2yrs now i cant groove the car is mine I need help how can I get ny car back why cant they fix the issue i got my car in ft worth white settlement I need help can any one lead me too the right place and number submitted by &”

“I’m trying to figure out what the smartest financial move is here and would appreciate some outside opinions. I have a 2020 Ram 1500 Built to Serve Edition . I really like this truck and honestly it’s probably the best truck I’ve ever owned, so I’m having a hard time with the idea of selling it. The problem is that my financial situation has changed quite a bit since I bought it. When I originally bought the truck, I was making around $60/hour . I’m currently in the middle of a career change and”

“I didn’t say I need a new car. Just a loan to cover whatever I can’t save if this car completely dies sooner rather than later”

“Thats the plan! I’m just scared and want a plan in case it does sooner rather than later”

“The dealer cited me only having one line of credit to give me a high payment and the interest rate is also high and in a feuge state I agreed to gap insurance, rookie stuff”

“Car payment is $450/month with $10k left to go. We have $19k in various accounts that we use as emergency savings. Things have been tight lately and I’d love to redirect this payment to $4k of cc debt and then invest/reup on savings account. Is this a smart idea? My job is stable, partner’s is as well. We have three kids. I don’t want to spend down the $ and then something comes up but I need the breathing room. What would you do? submitted by /u/zeppitydoodaa [link] [comments]”

“It’s probably fine to drive, old cars make noise. Keep driving it until you can’t. Why would you want to go back into debt right after bankruptcy? And maybe more importantly, why would anyone lend to you? Keep driving it until it is paid off, then keep driving it some more until the $200 per month car fund you’re established by paying your old payment into a savings account can buy a newer, nicer car.”

“I’m in the process of filing chapter 7 and my attorney told me to keep paying my car loan because it’s only $200/ month and the loan has less than $4,000 remaining. Well my car decided to start making noises and after 3 mechanics I was quoted $3,000 to fix the exhaust. Obviously I will not be paying that (car value and repairs are basically the same). So first how impossible will it be to get a car loan again probably in the winter or spring depending on how long this car holds out? (I know a de”

“Hey guys. So, am looking to get a family vehicle - it's a need cause my family uses it for their work (not just to drive to location). I do have money to cover 70% of it, and can loan the other 30% via personal loan. Question is - does it make sense to put all the money into paying the vehicle upfront like this (i would still have some cash flow but <$30k) vs taking a car loan? The EIR will end up being about 6.5% (IR is 3.46%) working out to be interest of $28k over 7 years. I personally”

“My current car (paid off) is worth $10,000. I plan to either sell it or trade it in. What would you do? Sell my old car and keep all $10K and finance new car without trade in or down payment: pay monthly payment of $1000 for 48 months Sell old car, keep $5K, put down payment $5K for new car: pay monthly payment of $900 for 48 month Trade in old car ($10K) for the new one: pay monthly payment of $770 for 48 months Note: all 3 options above will qualify for 0% financing for 48 months. submit”

“I have a 2019 Honda Crv that I’m financing and still owe about 11,000 on. The turbo died and when I tried to get it fixed the person fixing the car messed up the engine. Will I have him all of my money, my family and I are living in a hotel. Thankfully my husband and I are working but we need transportation. I want to trade it in but our credit together of not the best ( 545-640). I just don’t know what to do, I honestly thought about carvana but I’m so scared from all the horror stories.”

“Don’t borrow money to buy a car. Save up and buy one in cash. It shouldn’t be more than half of what you earn annually. Make sure you check the VIN and get a signed pink slip. Meet them at the DMV if you’re concerned it’s a forged slip.”

“So. My car got repoed in Oct 2025, the loan went to collections, I’ve been, working struggling to save money, lay off, blah blah same old same old. Recently I’ve gotten amazing checks and I should’ve been able to buy a beater by now, I cancelled most subscriptions, I eat less often, I just thought I could do it, my job is 30mins away and it’s good 20$ hr, I’m happy but my families car is breaking down so I’ve been ubering for 1 month straight, despite all the over time, I am not progressing fina”

“My fiance has a car that she currently owes something like $11k on, and the motor recently ate itself. (Allegedly ran out of oil or something...) We reached out to her loan servicer/lien holder and described our situation to them: she's not working and has no income right now, we're looking at a $6k repair to get the car working (totally not worth it as she's not taken good care of it) and don't think it's worth continuing to make payments on a car that we can't use and c”

“DO NOT blow your emergency fund. What if you lost your job tomorrow. Is the car big enough to live in?”

“6.9% isn't an emergency, and you have to consider the opportunity cost of using that money. I wouldn't drain my emergency fund to clear it.”

“Hi, im looking for different ideas on what I could do about getting my cosigner off the auto loan we share. Im the only contributing person to the loan which isnt an issues. They consigned to help me out. Currently, I owe 36k on my 2024 nissan frontier. It also has high mileage sitting at 130k. I have a good savings of 6k saved. Ive never made a late payment, and my credit is 600 but should go up after paying my credit card off. Im not worried about paying this vehicle off.... My ONLY goal here”

“I've got about $9,400 sitting in a HYSA earning around 4.1%, and my car loan balance is roughly $8,700 at 6.9% with about three years left on it. I keep telling myself the math says pay it off, but that HYSA is also my only emergency fund and wiping it out to zero feels wrong even though I'd technically come out ahead on interest. I've run the numbers a few times and the gap is maybe $15 a month in my favor if I pay it off, which isn't nothing but isn't huge either. What made”

“If you live in NYC, why do you need a car? And if you need a car, why do you need such an expensive one with such a high car payment?”

“Hi all - as the title suggests, I'm trying to determine whether or not I should refinance my car loan. For context, my previous car was totaled from an accident in 2023, so I had to purchase a new car outright. I needed a vehicle to get to work, so I couldn't exactly take my time to shop around unfortunately. I wound up buying a 2023 Mazda CX-5 and finance $28,144.05 financed through Chase. At the time of purchase, the loan was an 84-month term with an 8.14% interest rate. Not great, I k”

“Hello everyone, I am 23 and started my first "actual" job last year in September. Right before I started it, my old 2000 Chevy Truck died on me, and I hastily bought a 2026 Honda Civic. I really regret it because I feel so stuck. The car is in my parent's name, and the loan has about $30,000 (60 month/5.5%) on it still since I have only been making minimal payments ($700 mo/). I had planned on paying down the car faster but I developed a really bad gambling habit, thankfully I am t”

No one’s giving you 5k for a car with a bad transmission

“My principal balance on the car I finance is 9,000. My car is worth about 5000 now(KBB) and may need a new transmission soon which I’m being quoted about 7k for. I don’t have the money for the upcoming repairs. I’m trying to figure out my options. I think I’m going to have to do a voluntary surrender or continue to pay for a car I won’t be able to use. Ideally I would sell the car and have that money go to pay down the principal and continue paying the rest but from my research, the rest of the”

“Hey all, as the title says, I’m 23 and my car loan is killing me slowly…what’s the best way to get out of it? I got it in May from a Mitsubishi dealership that sent me an offer to buy out my previous car loan payments went up a bit to $720 with a 7% interest rate…thought I could handle the extra bit of money on the monthly payment because I’ve never missed a payment at all before, and $40 extra in the grand scheme of things didn’t seem much more. Insurance is also $300 a month on it. But, me and”

“> It's not about the more expensive car It clearly is when people have to make ends meet, and can't afford the extra cash or monthly payment for something more expensive.”

“You’re gonna hate your life a lot more when it gets towed away and you have no car because you can’t afford to fix it You need to be way more honest about your personal financial situation and make choices accordingly.”

“Think of it this way…. You can buy your car for 1k. Buying anything else you probably start at -10k”

“I’m married and currently living in the U.S. I’m an immigrant and I’m still waiting for my work authorization. My spouse wants to finance a vehicle and is pressuring me to co-sign the loan. I have clearly told him that I do not want to co-sign, become a co-borrower, or take responsibility for this debt. When I refuse, he threatens me. He has said that if I don’t sign, he will call the police and contact our immigration lawyer about making me return to my home country. I feel like my immigration”

“Good morning friends! I need a new car but have horrible credit. I need some advice with a few things! So, a few years back i had to take out a pretty fat loan to save my fur baby. Of course, since the loan was big they took advantage of my instant need for it and gave me one w a 33% interest rate and they now hold the title to my car. The payments are $300 a month, i live in cali away from my parents & have all my other necessary bills including gas to drive 40+ miles to and from work. So,”

“I filed chapter 7, and I have a vehicle that is financed at 19%, the payment is 550 a month, and I told the trustee that I plan to keep the vehicle and just keep making payments month-to-month. This vehicle is not affirmed which means I am not responsible for the remaining balance, which is around 25,000 with 5 years remaining. I need advice if I should quickly pay off this vehicle or just keep making minimum payments until I get my credit up to buy something else two years down the road. The be”

“Current Miata is pretty expensive.”

“It’s crazy how 6,700$ went to interest, if that’s not daylight robbery I don’t what is, there’s nothing in this world that can convince me taking a loan for a house or a car is a smart move, it’s like everyone lives in a bubble. Sorry I don’t have advice for your problem but I can’t get over how banks literally rob people and everyone seems to be okay with it”

“What will you do if it needs an expensive repair you can't pay for? You'll still be paying off more than $20k debt for this car, but still need a car to drive. It seems like a really bad choice to me. Also the fact that you're talking about financing without mentioning the interest rate, duration of the loan or other details suggests you don't understand what you're walking in to.”

“So I just got this car from the dealer 2-3 days ago, they told me I don’t start making monthly payments until October 3rd. 599 a month, put down 3k and my APR is 17%. The Cars worth 23k and I’m on a 72 month plan. So when I’m done paying this off it’s gonna be like 44k. My credit score is 670 atm it was like 679 before I got the car.Salesperson was cool my dumbass just forgot to ask about interest rates. I also believe I can only refinance after a year of paying off the car. Any tips would be gr”

“Your loan may not have the thing where it makes you choose that. It's probably a predatory kind of "feature" I'm pretty sure my most recent car loan in 2019, that wasn't the case. Although I was also at that point wise enough to check”

“I have an auto loan with a 6.83% interest rate, I have around 51 months left on the loan. If I were to make one full payment before the due date and then a second one on the due date would it drastically affect time remaining to payoff or the interest paid on the loan ? I would keep paying as planned after making essentially two payments in the next month, then one normal above required payment the following months. submitted by /u/rise_awakening [link] [comments]”

“Park the car. Do not drive it. Find out its current trade-in value on Edmunds. Make payments until the loan payoff draws even with trade-in value. Sell car immediately and never do this again.”

“I 33(M) have been very irresponsible with money my entire life and I am desperately trying to fix it before it's too late. I have a 2021 Civic and the details of my loan are as follows: Original loan was for $23,939 with a monthly payment of $504 and an APR of 14.6%. I've had the loan for 2 years and 4 months but the payoff quote right now is $23,615 because I took an offer to only pay $254/mo during a time when my income was lower. $1,338 has gone toward the principal, $6,474 has gone t”

“First move is to read the purchase contract like it contains the nuclear codes: sale price, loan term, warranty, GAP, add-ons, and any cancellation windows. 10.8% is rough but not supernatural for a thin file; hit up a credit union now, not in a year, and see if they can refinance once the loan is funded. Also cancel any dealer extras you do not need and throw extra principal at it, because the Trax should not be allowed to cosplay as a mortgage.”

“I agree he should keep sending in money to his lender. Or keep that money on the side ready when they come.”

“I have like 30 more payments on my car, can't wait to get that cash flow back.”

“Can you look online at your payments and statements to see how the balance went down and if there was any large payments?”

“A friend of mine bought a 2020 Civic from the dealership with an interest rate of 18%. He didn’t realize it at the time, but now, after a few days, he’s discovered he can’t afford that much interest. If he continues making payments, he’ll end up paying over $42,000. His credit score is in the 600s, which makes this even more problematic. What should he do now? Also, he seems okay with potentially damaging his credit history. What options does he has? Based in Vancouver, Canada submitted by”

“Agreed. Do NOT cosign. If youre making 100k there are plenty of banks out there that will work with you. Maybe your interest is a little higher, but you could also speak with them on how you can obtain a better credit score. Save money and purchase a reasonable vehicle (get pre purchase inspection whatever you do any dealership not willing to allow you to do that walk away) you make a down payment on.”

“Get your bank to pre-approve you for a $15k personal loan or a car loan (15k or less), then compare which one offers the better interest rate. Refinance after six months. Co-signing usually doesn’t end well.”