In a Subprime Bubble for Used Cars, Borrowers Pay Sky-High Rates

JESSICA SILVER-GREENBERG and MICHAEL CORKERY, July 19, 2014, dealbook.nytimes.com

Auto loans to people with tarnished credit have risen more than 130 percent in the five years since the immediate aftermath of the financial crisis, …

… subprime auto loans can come with interest rates that can exceed 23 percent. The loans were typically at least twice the size of the value of the used cars purchased, …

Many subprime auto lenders are loosening credit standards and focusing on the riskiest borrowers, …

… the volume of total subprime auto loans increased roughly 15 percent, to $145.6 billion, in the first three months of this year from a year earlier, …