Record-low interest rates have propped up a slow-to-recover housing industry. Even lower rates are helping the auto finance industry surge, as many firms see exponential growth and consumers get great deals.
Many drivers who have been riding out the recession in older vehicles are now racing out to get cheap loans.
"People have held on to their cars for a long time, and there's pent-up demand," said Marc Sheinbaum, CEO of Chase Auto Finance, part of JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chase has been offering auto loans for as little as 2.53 percent in some areas.
Consumers who aren't ready to buy have been refinancing their cars, trucks or SUVs, saving hundreds of dollars a month.
Jeff Burto of Oakland Park, Fla., said refinancing his Toyota Highlander put an extra $325 a month in his pocket. It cut his interest rate by more than half, to 3.25 percent.
Still, he was surprised when he got a new interest rate barely above 3 percent at Tropical Financial Credit Union, in Miramar, Fla. That's cheaper than the current all-time record low of 3.31 percent for a fixed 30-year home loan, according to lender Freddie Mac, which monitors mortgage rates.
The low rates on auto loans have been a boon to the credit union, according to Helen McGiffin, chief operating officer for the credit union. Tropical Financial was offering loans as low as 1.49 percent this week for a new or used vehicle, and refinancing rates were as low as 2.5 percent. "We're up over 46 percent in consumer loans in a year, thanks to the auto loans," she said.
Lenders are finding they have to offer the cheap loans to stay competitive with the automakers that are subsidizing low-interest loans at dealerships -- some of them charging no interest, McGiffin said.
