A seven-year car loan might help you to get those monthly payments nice and low, but think about it, you're going to spend 84 months paying this thing off. Even if we assume a nice, low interest rate of just 5%, that comes out to total loan interest of more than $9,000 on a $50,000 vehicle, meaning that we're paying close to one dollar to our lender for every five we're spending on a new Ford F-150 or Chevy Silverado.
And it's not just the borrower's pockets that are hurting as a result of these long-term loans. When loans take longer to pay off, the cars eventually hit the market with higher miles and more wear and tear. If you're wondering why it's so hard to find a reliable used vehicle these days, these seven-year loan terms are a big part of the problem.
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