Car Payments Hit a Record $787 a Month as 84-Month Loans Become the Norm

New-car buyers financed a record average of $44,664 in the third quarter of 2026, according to Edmunds data reported by CBT News, and stretched terms to record lengths to cope. Loans of 84 months or longer made up a record 25.5% of financed new-vehicle purchases — up from 23.9% in the second quarter and 21.8% a year ago. The average monthly payment on a financed new vehicle rose to a record $787, up from $777 in Q2 and $756 a year earlier, and a record 21.2% of buyers agreed to payments of $1,000 or more a month.

The striking part: this happened with rates flat. The average APR held steady at 7.0%, yet total interest on a financed new-vehicle purchase reached a record $9,938, up from $9,442 a year earlier — driven by larger loan amounts spread over longer terms. Among buyers paying $1,000 or more a month, 69% chose terms of 72 months or longer. Used buyers are stretching too: a record 6.5% of used-vehicle buyers also agreed to $1,000-plus monthly payments.

Demand has not collapsed — buyers are budgeting more for vehicles and shopping harder for financing, per Edmunds’ Jessica Caldwell. But as Edmunds’ Ivan Drury notes, longer terms are often the only way to afford the vehicle buyers need, and that math has a trap: financing nearly $45,000 at 7% for seven years means paying interest almost equal to a fifth of the car’s price. The total-interest number, not the monthly payment, is the figure that tells the truth about what a car costs.