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Caleb Naysmith

America’s Car Payment Problem Just Hit $1.68 Trillion: 86 Million Americans Are Carrying a Record Debt Load with 7-Year Car Loans Gaining Traction

For many Americans, a car payment is not optional. It is the price of getting to work, picking up children, buying groceries, and living in places where mass transit does not reach.

That necessity is colliding with a record debt load. Protect Borrowers and The Century Foundation reported that 86 million Americans now owe $1.68 trillion in auto loan debt. New York Fed data for Q1 2026 put auto loan balances at $1.69 trillion.

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