Americans Are Keeping Up On Car Payments Despite Easy Credit

December 20, 2012 10:18 AM " One of the major contributing factors to the Great Recession was the U.S. credit crunch. For years, banks had been loaning money to many people who probably shouldn’t have been taking on additional debt. When the economy began tanking, a significant number of those consumers defaulted on their loans. As a result, banks became more cautious with their lending, which had a ripple effect on the entire country — not least of all, the auto industry.

Five years down the line, the U.S. has begun to recover, and, not surprisingly, credit has become much easier to find. That’s worried some folks (including us), but so far, Americans are keeping up with their financial obligations — or at least their car notes.

Speaking to Peter Turek, the vice president of automotive financial services at TransUnion, the Detroit Free press reports that the percentage of Americans who are 60-days behind on their car notes is projected to reach 0.36% by the end of December. That’s near the record low.

Why focus on those who are 60 days late? Because that’s how TransUnion defines delinquency "

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