Auto Financing
How Much Might YOU Overpay on Your Car Loan?
Many car dealers are like loan brokers – they typically write the car loan, then sell the loan to a third party lender. Markups involve kickbacks from the third party loan purchaser (or lender) to the dealer for arranging a loan. Before arriving at an agreement with a customer, a dealer will contact several potential lenders. Purchasers tell the dealer the interest rate at which they are willing to buy the loan, a rate known as the “buy rate." Unfortunately for the car buyer, the purchaser often agrees to allow the dealer to arbitrarily add interest to the buy rate, placing the buyer in a more expensive loan than what they qualify for. The extra profit is either split between the dealer and lender or pocketed entirely by the dealer. Auto dealer loan markups cost Americans more than $20 billion each year.
Whether you bought a car recently, are in the market for one, or are curious about the real cost of auto financing, insert the relevant information in the calculator below to discover the possible range of overpayments by consumers.
Take Action
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Our Money, Our Choice: Sign our petition demanding fair financial practices and products
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Share Your Story about Predatory Auto Financing
Research &
Publications
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Auto Race to the Bottom (Report by Cambridge Winter Center for Financial Institutions Policy evaluates whether auto dealers should be exempt from the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency)
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Car Trouble: Predatory Auto Loans Burden North Carolina Consumers
Resources
Headlines
- The CFPA: How a Crusade to Protect Consumers Lost Its Steam
Washington Post, 01/31/10 - Sink, McCollum Now Both Want to Regulate Rogue Debt Collectors
Orlando Sentinel (FL), 01/25/10 - Regulators Find Flaws in Foreclosure Program
Washington Post, 01/21/10 - Coalition of Experts Demand Reforms that End Racial Profiling by Financial Institutions
Huffington Post (NY), 01/21/10
