Historically, auto loans have been considered some of the safest credit products out there. Lenders could usually depend on consumers keeping up with their car payments. But over the past 15 years, there’s been a 50% rise in auto loan delinquencies, according to a new study from VantageScore. The change is a potential indicator of deeper trouble for consumers. 

Right after the great recession, auto loans were among the safest out there, said Rikard Bandebo, chief economist at VantageScore. But since then, things have changed.

“In 2025 now, we saw for the first time that auto loans were the riskiest product, excluding student loans,” Bandebo said.

And it’s just not lower income consumers falling 60 or more days behind on car payments.

“We basically saw that the increase in delinquencies was consistent low income, middle income and higher income,” Bandebo said.

One reason? Car ownership is more expensive. Sticker prices are way up — and so are maintenance and insurance. Plus, Americans are buying bigger cars with more fancy stuff. 

“The bigger trucks, the bigger SUVs, with all the amenities,” said Jessica Caldwell, head of insights at the car buying site Edmunds. “And now there's not a lot of low-end type vehicles.”

Caldwell said in September, the average price of a new vehicle was more than $49,000. Factor in high interest rates, and the average monthly payment is $760. 

“That's a pretty hefty chunk. And if we rewind time and went back to 2019 around this time, it was about $550,” Caldwell said.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Christopher Palmer studies household debt. He said defaulting on a car payment is usually a borrower’s last resort, since people often need cars to get to work, so they’re more likely to not pay other bills first. 

“That could include not paying their mortgages or their rent, in part because it takes a long time to evict someone or to foreclose on a house,” Palmer said.

Compared to cars, which he said can be repossessed relatively quickly. That’s why he said auto delinquencies are like a canary in the coal mine; another indicator of how squeezed consumers are.