Used Car Repossession Rates Double for Both Sub-Prime and Prime Borrowers, Indicates Trouble on Main Street

Barrons has an interesting article on an increase in bank auto repossession rates connected to defaults [see here]. Essentially, used car prices have surged significantly and the timeline seems to indicate the temporary covid-19 stimulus spending had a lot to do with the increase in demand. According to data assembled by CoPilot, used cars are currently priced approximately 10,000 higher than they would be without any pandemic related influence, supply side or demand side. Banks and financial institutions loaned money into the climbing market price. However, the artificially inflated car prices now create a bubble where the liability on the books is significantly higher than the repossessed asset is worth.-- More...

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