Auto Loan Balances, Debt-to-Income Ratio, and Delinquencies of Subprime & Prime Auto Loans in Q1 2026. How Bad Is it?

Several subprime-specialized dealer-lender chains collapsed, and shares of America's Auto Mart imploded. Subprime lending is not for the squeamish. But it’s only a small part of auto finance.

By Wolf Richter