More and more automotive borrowers are stretching their loan terms beyond 72 months in an effort to afford trading.

Third-quarter data compiled by North Carolina-based online lending marketplace LendingTree show that half of all auto borrowers signed loans with terms longer than 72 months, or six years. 

That’s up from 45% of auto borrowers two years earlier and from 49% in the third quarter of 2024.

A subset of the long-termers, nearly 8%, stretched their loans to the most extreme length – 84 months, or seven years, LendingTree found. 

Auto consumers are opting for the long terms to arrive at smaller monthly payments, though, as the firm points out, that means they pay more in the end due to accumulation of interest payments.

The growing segment of longer-term borrowers is dominated by generation X, 53% of whom took out 72-month-plus loans and also carried biggest loan balances. The cohort is followed closely by millennials, at 51%. Baby boomers aren’t far behind, at 48%, while generation Z was at 40%.

Meanwhile, 8% of millennials who took out auto loans in the quarter agreed to terms of 84 months, the most of any generation.

“Millennials and Gen Xers have big auto loan debts because they need and are able to get them,” says Matt Schulz, LendingTree chief consumer finance analyst.

“They’ve got super-busy lives with growing kids, aging parents, demanding jobs and homes in need of constant care. They can get bigger loans because they’re in or approaching their peak earning years and have had plenty of time to build strong credit scores,” he explains. “Gen Z will eventually have all these things too — including more auto debt.” 

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