Transportation
If the Economy Is So Great, Why Are Car Loan Defaults at a Record High?
For low-income buyers, new predatory lending techniques may make it easier to get behind the wheel, and harder to escape a debt trap.
To live and work in much of the U.S., access to a car is virtually a requirement. Jobs, shops, doctors, and daycare are often unreachable by transit, and too far by foot or bike. Owning a car, the research shows, means your life is likely to be more stable and your bank account more flush.
Unless you’re among the growing number of Americans who own a car that they can’t afford, and who are now drowning in the debt.