What Is the Average Car Payment in 2026?

Average car payment for new and used cars

The average car payment depends on whose data you read, but every major tracker shows the same thing: payments are at or near record highs. Here are Experian’s latest averages for loans taken out in the second quarter of 2026.

Source: Experian, Q2 2026 data, updated Sep 2026.

Edmunds, which tracks dealer transactions, reports even higher numbers for the third quarter of 2026: $787 a month for new cars and $582 for used. Its average new car buyer financed $44,664 at 7% and will pay about $9,938 in interest over the life of the loan.

Leasing is cheaper per month but you do not own the car at the end. A LendingTree analysis of Experian data put the average new lease payment at $619 in Q1 2026, as reported by FOX Business. Our lease vs buy guide walks through the tradeoff.

Average car payment by credit score

Your credit score mostly changes the interest rate, which then changes the payment. Here is how Experian’s Q2 2026 numbers break down.

Source: Experian, Q2 2026 data.

Payments look fairly similar across tiers because borrowers with weaker credit tend to take smaller loans. Deep subprime new car buyers borrowed $36,713 on average versus $41,667 for super prime buyers, yet still paid more each month. The gap in APR is the real story: on a used car, a deep subprime borrower pays more than three times the rate of a super prime borrower (our calculation).

How long car loans are getting

Stretching the term is the main way buyers keep payments down, and it costs more in interest.

• Experian’s average new car loan runs 69.5 months, and near prime buyers average more than 75 months.
• Edmunds says 25.5% of new car loans in Q3 2026 were 84 months or longer, up from 21.8% a year earlier.
• Among buyers paying $1,000 a month or more, 69% had a term of at least 72 months, per Edmunds.

A longer loan also means you can owe more than the car is worth for longer, which matters if you trade it in early or it is totaled.

What people actually report

• $1,000 payments are now common. Edmunds found 21.2% of new car buyers committed to a payment of $1,000 or more in Q3 2026, up from 19.1% a year earlier.
• Many owners spend a big share of income on their car. In an ExtremeTerrain survey of 1,003 U.S. car owners (December 2025), about 1 in 6 said they spend more than 20% of their monthly income on their vehicle, and 23% spend 11% to 20%.
• Some are underwater. Nearly 1 in 10 owners in the same survey said they owe more than their car is worth.
• Costs force tradeoffs. 25% said they delayed or skipped maintenance, and 11% said they regret buying their vehicle because the ongoing costs became too much, per ExtremeTerrain.

Example: financing a $30,000 car

Say you borrow $30,000 at 7%, which is Edmunds’ average new car APR for Q3 2026, and you are choosing a loan term.

Source: our calculation using a 7% APR from Edmunds, Q3 2026. Experian’s own 48-month example at 7% is $718.39.

1. The payment drops with a longer term. Going from 48 to 84 months cuts the payment by about $265 a month (our calculation).
2. The interest climbs. The same move adds about $3,551 in interest (our calculation).
3. Add insurance. NerdWallet’s average full coverage rate is about $197 a month, so the 60-month option really costs about $791 a month before gas and upkeep (our calculation).
4. Credit matters as much as term. At the 10.6% average used car APR from Edmunds, the same $30,000 over 60 months would cost about $646 a month (our calculation).

Try your own numbers in our car loan calculator.

How to lower your car payment

1. Raise your credit score before you shop. In Experian’s data, the APR gap between prime and near prime new car buyers is more than 3.5 percentage points.
2. Put more money down. Every dollar you do not borrow is a dollar you do not pay interest on.
3. Shop the rate, not just the car. A preapproval from a bank or credit union gives you a number to beat at the dealer.
4. Consider a less expensive car or a used one. The average used car loan in Experian’s data is about $15,758 smaller than the average new car loan (our calculation), though used car rates are higher.
5. Keep the term as short as you can afford. It raises the payment but cuts total interest, as the example above shows.
6. Budget for the whole car. Chase suggests keeping the total cost of a car within 10% to 15% of income. Insurance, fuel and repairs all count, which is why we track them in the true cost of owning a car and our car insurance cost guide.

See how we research every number on our method page, or browse more car costs.