Nearly 1 in 3 car buyers are underwater on trade-ins — analyst calls dollar amount 'troubling'

30.5% of car buyers with a trade-in now owe more than the vehicle is worth, up 4.2 percentage points year-over-year but still below the pre-pandemic share. Rising negative equity could weigh on used-vehicle affordability, dealer trade-in supply and auto lender credit quality, potentially dampening retail auto volumes.

Analysis

30.5% of car buyers with a trade-in now owe more than the vehicle is worth, up 4.2 percentage points year-over-year but still below the pre-pandemic share. Rising negative equity could weigh on used-vehicle affordability, dealer trade-in supply and auto lender credit quality, potentially dampening retail auto volumes.