In the second quarter of 2026, 20.3% of financed new-vehicle purchases carried a monthly payment of $1,000 or more, according to Edmunds. That is roughly one in five buyers, tying the record set in the fourth quarter of 2025, up from 20.0% in the first quarter of this year. The used-vehicle share hit its own record in the same quarter at 6.3%.
Dave Ramsey has been arguing against those payments for decades. Speaking to a caller weighing a new vehicle, Ramsey said, "Love yourself enough not to go into car debt. If you want to be middle class, stay in car debt. You will never build wealth because it will suck the bone marrow out of your money."
