Free Republic

Robert Loehr’s dealership is hanging in just fine, much like Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV’s sales did last quarter. But just as investors doubt the U.S. car market can sustain near-record results for much longer, the Georgia retailer is apprehensive about a key issue: sticker shock. “Prices are crazy on cars nowadays -- all of them,” said Loehr, who sells Jeeps, Rams and other Fiat Chrysler models from a showroom northwest of Atlanta and has been in the business for 35 years. “They’re crazy to me, and I do it every single day, all day long.” New Jeep Gladiators -- the...

Walk into an auto dealership these days and you might walk out with a seven-year car loan. That means monthly payments that last well past when the brake pads give out and potentially beyond when the car gets traded in for a new one. About a third of auto loans for new vehicles taken in the first half of 2019 had terms of longer than six years, according to credit-reporting firm Experian PLC. A decade ago, that number was less than 10%.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The U.S. used-car market is facing big supply shortages and unusually high prices these days, so consumers might as well buy certain models new instead of used, since there's little difference in price. "We're in a bit of a strange situation right now in that there simply isn't a lot of used-car inventory out there," says Eric Lyman of market tracker TrueCar.com. Dealers have few used cars to sell because not many people bought or leased new vehicles during the 2008-10 economic meltdown, so there's a dearth of 3- to 5-year-old automobiles entering the resale market...