With Presidents’ Day approaching and consumers having taken out another $28 billion in auto loan debt in the third quarter of 2021 alone, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released the first-quarter installment of its Auto Financing Report along with its in-depth analysis of 2022’s Cities that Overspend on Cars, as well as accompanying videos and expert commentary.
Below are some of our key findings from each of the two reports:
| Cities that Overspend on Cars | Cities that Spend the Least on Cars |
| Rio Grande City, TX | Birmingham, MI |
| Willis, TX | Westfield, NJ |
| Bastrop, LA | San Carlos, CA |
| Donna, TX | Belmont, CA |
| Deming, NM | Manhattan Beach, CA |
| San Juan, TX | Garden City, NY |
| Uvalde, TX | Belmont, MA |
| Alice, TX | Summit, NJ |
| Livingston, TX | Chevy Chase, MD |
| San Luis, AZ | Lexington, MA |
| Mercedes, TX | Ridgewood, NJ |
| Leesville, LA | Bloomfield Hills, MI |
| Brownsville, TX | Mill Valley, CA |
| Weslaco, TX | Westport, CT |
| Moultrie, GA | Palo Alto, CA |
| Lake Placid, FL | Cupertino, CA |
| Watertown, WI | Bronxville, NY |
| Dahlonega, GA | Los Altos, CA |
| Alamo, TX | Darien, CT |
| Pharr, TX | Scarsdale, NY |
Auto Financing Report:
- Interest rates for new cars are at one of their lowest points in three years, with the average new-car loan today charging 14 percent less interest than the average used-car loan.
- Compared with buyers who have excellent credit, those with fair credit will spend about six times more, or about $6,296, in interest over the life of a five-year, $20,000 loan when financing a vehicle.
- The best options for financing a new car include credit unions (rates at 30 percent below average) and car manufacturers (rates at 27 percent below average). Secondary options include national banks (rates at 7 percent above average) and regional banks (rates at 23 percent above average).
- Car manufacturers continue to lack transparency when it comes to leasing offers, with the average automaker receiving a WalletHub Transparency Score of 4.4 out of 10.
We recommend prospective car buyers to check their credit scores for free on WalletHub and take advantage of a Car Payment Calculator to determine an auto-loan payment and timeline they can afford.
