What is the most common car loan?

Asked by: Bruce Larkin  |  Last update: April 22, 2025
Score: 4.2/5 (18 votes)

Average auto loan terms The most common terms are 60 and 72 months, but 84-month terms are becoming more common. There is no perfect term. The right one for you depends on your budget and needs. When shopping for the best auto loan rate, it is important to consider more than just the monthly payment.

What is the most common loan term for a car?

What is the Average Car Loan Length? The most common loan length is currently 72 months for both new and used vehicles. The average length of a car loan changes from time to time, and 72 months is a bit higher than in previous decades.

What is the most common car finance?

Personal Contract Purchase (PCP)

PCP loans are one of the most common forms of new car finance, but they can also be one of the most complex. With PCP, you won't buy the car outright. Instead, you'll put down a non-refundable deposit towards the vehicle's price, and borrow the rest.

What is the best type of loan for a car?

Secured auto loans

Secured loans use an asset, usually the car itself, as collateral to reduce the risk to the lender. If you apply for a secured loan, you may have better approval odds and a more attractive interest rate, as the lender can repossess the vehicle if you default.

What is the most common type of loan?

The eight most common types of loans you should know about are personal loans, cash loans, debt consolidation loans, balance transfer loans, auto refinance loans, home loans (mortgages), co-borrower loans, and payday loans.

Is it good to pay off a car loan early? | Paul Hutchings

28 related questions found

What is a common installment loan?

An installment loan is a credit account that provides a lump sum to be paid off over time in equal monthly payments. Personal loans, auto loans, mortgages and student loans are all examples of installment loans.

Which type of loan is the cheapest?

Which type of loan is the cheapest? Generally, secured loans are cheaper than unsecured loans because they have lower interest rates and more extended repayment periods. However, secured loans also require collateral, which means you risk losing your assets if you default.

What loan is best for a car?

Secured Personal Loan: Has a lower interest rate than an unsecured loan because the car you're buying is used as security.

How to buy a car and pay monthly?

You and the dealer enter into a contract where you buy a car and agree to pay, over a period of time, the amount financed plus a finance charge. The dealer typically sells the contract to a bank, finance company, or credit union that will service the account and collect your payments.

Is a car loan good or bad debt?

Generally speaking, cars purchased with a large down payment and with a short-term car loan are considered to be good debt. That's because large down payments usually mean lower interest rates. Further, a shorter loan term means you'll pay less in interest over the life of the loan.

Which bank is best for car finance?

We will walk you through the best traditional banks & lenders and alternative lenders providing car financing in South Africa.
  • Wesbank Vehicle Finance.
  • Absa Vehicle Finance.
  • FNB Vehicle Finance.
  • Alternative vehicle loan lenders.
  • Keitzman Vehicle Finance.
  • Frequently asked questions about car finance:

How do most people pay for their car?

Most people take out a car loan because they don't have the money to pay for a car up front in cash. But it's important to know that when you take out an auto loan to purchase a vehicle, you technically don't own the car.

What is the most common bought car?

FAQs. What Is The Top Selling Car? The top selling vehicle in the US is the Ford F-150 with 750,789 units sold in 2023. The best-selling cars (as in, a traditional sedan), is the Toyota Camry with 290,649 units sold in 2023.

Can you pay off a car loan early?

Some lenders charge a penalty for paying off a car loan early. The lender makes money from the interest you pay on your loan each month. Repaying a loan early usually means you won't pay any more interest, but there could be an early prepayment fee.

How many years of car loan is best?

However, if the burden of monthly EMI that short-term loans get problematic, choosing a long-term, anytime within 7 years would be wise. The monthly pay out would be reduced compared to short-term loans.

Is a 5 year car loan bad?

NerdWallet recommends financing new cars for no more than 60 months and used cars for no more than 36 months. These maximums can help you avoid some of the negative outcomes of long-term loans.

Which bank is best for a car loan?

Best rates for new-car loans: Bank of America and PenFed Credit Union. Loans for new cars typically have lower interest rates than used-car loans, so you may already be on track to score a better auto loan rate. Among all of the lenders we reviewed, Bank of America and PenFed Credit Union are our top choices.

What is the cheapest car to pay monthly?

Most Affordable Cars in SA

For instance, the Suzuki S-Presso offers a monthly instalment of R3,018 over 72 months, making it an attractive option for those on a tight budget. The Renault Kwid 1.0l Expression 5-dr ABS is another contender, with a monthly instalment of R3,353 over 72 months.

How many years is 72 months?

72 months equals 6 years. To figure this out, we recognize the well-known relationship between months and years. That is, there are 12 months in 1 year.

What is the most common car loan term?

A car's loan term, or how long you have to repay the loan, affects everything from your monthly payment to how much interest you pay overall. The most common car loan terms are 24, 36, 48, 60, 72 and 84 months, but some lenders also offer 12-month and 96-month car loans.

How to qualify for a car loan?

How can I get a car loan?
  1. Check your credit score. ...
  2. Research the lender you'd like to finance your vehicle with. ...
  3. Check for incentives and rebates. ...
  4. Get prequalified for an auto loan. ...
  5. Use your loan offer to set a budget. ...
  6. Be thinking about a down payment: ...
  7. Be prepared with required documents and paperwork. ...
  8. In summary.

What is the most common type of auto loan?

Fixed-Rate Auto Loans

A fixed-rate auto loan has an interest rate that remains constant throughout the life of the loan. Whether the loan term is 3 years, 5 years, or longer, the rate you agree to when you sign the contract will not change. Fixed-rate loans are the most common type of auto loans used by car buyers.

Which bank is best for loans?

Top 10 Banks with the Lowest Interest Rates on Loans
  • State Bank of India (SBI) SBI, the largest public sector bank in India, offers some of the less interest loan banks in the market. ...
  • HDFC Bank. ...
  • ICICI Bank. ...
  • Bank of Baroda. ...
  • Axis Bank. ...
  • Punjab National Bank (PNB) ...
  • Kotak Mahindra Bank. ...
  • Union Bank of India.

Which loan type is better?

Most borrowers choose fixed-rate mortgages. Your monthly payments are more likely to be stable with a fixed-rate loan, so you might prefer this option if you value certainty about your loan costs over the long term. With a fixed-rate loan, your interest rate and monthly principal and interest payment stay the same.

What is the cheapest way of finance?

The correct option is D retained earning Retained earning is the cheapest source of finance.
  • The cheapest source of finance is. ...
  • Assertion :Preference shares capital is a more costly source of finance than debentures for profit-earning companies. ...
  • (a) Discuss any three characteristics of debentures.