The United Auto Workers’ strike to eliminate a tiered wage system and restore pensions could lead to higher car prices, but for many U.S. households, buying a new vehicle is already a luxury they can’t afford. And soaring sticker prices are only partly to blame.
The average price of a new car is $48,451, and used cars cost $26,651 on average, according to Kelley Blue Book. The good news: Those prices are down slightly from the record highs they hit in 2022. The bad news: Higher interest rates just pushed monthly payments for new cars to record highs.
With the average annual percentage rate on a new-car loan at 7.4%, average monthly loan payments hit an all-time high of $736 in the third quarter, the car-buying site Edmunds said Tuesday. For used cars, the average APR was 11.2% in Q3, with an average monthly payment of $567.
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