Car Ownership Is Painfully Expensive, Even When Car Dealers and Mechanics Are Honest
If you can remember when a car payment on a five-year loan was affordable, you are officially old. Today, five-year auto loans are for people who are so rich that they can afford home mortgages with a repayment term of twenty years or less. Seven-year loans are the new normal, and even many of those come with a steep monthly payment. If only the loan payment were the only reason that owning a car is so expensive. If that were the case, you could chalk it up to good debt because your car enables you to commute to and from work, and failing that, you could get some relief by refinancing the loan or paying part of it off with a debt consolidation loan. According to a recent report by CNBC Personal Finance, auto loans are only part of the reason that car ownership has become so financially burdensome these days. The average vehicle owner pays more than $5,800 per year on gasoline and vehicle repairs. When you combine that with your car payment, car-related expenses can eat up a substantial portion of your paycheck. If you are struggling to keep up with your car payment and all the other costs of car ownership, contact a Philadelphia debt relief lawyer.
The Auto Loan Is Just One of Many Burdensome, Car-Related Expenses
You can avoid taking on an expensive car payment. In fact, fewer people are buying cars these days, even used cars that are well past their certified pre-owned window of opportunity, because no one can afford them. Simply holding onto your old clunker for as long as it will clunk its way from point A to point B is not a sure way to become fluish with cash, though.
Unless you have an electric vehicle, and those are beyond most people’s price range, you will have to buy gas, and 2026 has been the worst year for gas prices since 2014. The other problem with continuing to drive old cars is that they need ever increasing amounts of maintenance.
Are Macroeconomic Forces Ripping You Off, or Is It Something Closer to Home?
These financial doldrums are nothing new. If you are struggling because of expensive car prices and gas prices, you are in the same boat as everyone else, and your lot will improve when everyone else’s does. Your vehicle repair costs can skyrocket because of dishonest business practices, though. You can end up paying much more than you need to if a mechanic convinces you to make unnecessary repairs or if a used car dealership conceals problems with the car, so that it starts needing major maintenance shortly after you buy it.
Contact CONSUMERLAWPA.com About Coping With Your Car Expense-Burdened Situation
A Philadelphia consumer law attorney can help you if more than half your monthly paycheck goes to car payments, gasoline, and car repairs. Contact CONSUMERLAWPA.com to set up a free, confidential consultation.
Source:
cnbc.com/2026/09/14/car-ownership-costs-insurance-gas-maintenance-auto-loan-payments.html
