Buying a new car is far more expensive than it was just a few years ago. In August 2024, the average price for a new car was $47,870, down 1.7% from August 2023, but still up significantly from four years earlier, when prices where in the upper $38,000s, according to automotive-research company Kelley Blue Book.
And according to Edmunds, an online resource for car shoppers, the average new-car loan came with a 7.1% interest rate, a 68.8-month payment term (almost six years) and a whopping $736 monthly payment.
