20% Pays $1,000 a Month

New data paints a gloomy picture for car buyers. The average monthly payment for a new car rose to $806 in March, with nearly one in five financing customers paying more than $1,000 per month.

The majority of customers paying $1,000 or more buy premium models and pickups. According to JD’s strengthNon-pickup truck buyers in general accounted for only 9.3 percent of all loans of $1,000 or more last month.

One contributor to rising monthly payments, outside of price, is negative equity. This is where a customer trades in with a loan balance that exceeds the value of the vehicle. This shortfall is often rolled into the new loan, increasing payments.

Automakers and Banks Win, You Lose

In March, nearly a third, or 31.2 percent, of used vehicle trades had negative equity. That figure increases from 26 percent in 2025 and 24 percent in 2024. To combat this, customers are taking out longer loans, which can result in lower monthly payments and paying more interest to the bank.

Loan terms have also increased. The data and analytics company reported that loans for terms of 84 months or longer accounted for nearly 13 percent of all new car sales in March, and of those, 34.1 percent were for trucks, even though they accounted for only 18.4 percent of sales.

Seventy-two month loans are also becoming more popular, representing 40.5 percent of sales.

The data also shows that companies with longer loan terms have a greater likelihood of returning to the market than those with shorter loan terms. According to JD’s strength20 percent of all new car buyers shop for another new model within three to four years. That percentage jumps to 44.6 percent for those with loans for 84 months.

Motorcycle Pickup1: We don’t expect new car prices to fall any time soon, and monthly payments will reflect that. Extending the loan term may lower monthly payments, but this comes at the cost of more people being willing to pay if they want a new vehicle.