More car buyers are stretching out their auto loans—but longer terms come with trade-offs

With the average price of a new car now topping $50,000, more buyers are stretching out their loan terms to lower the monthly payment.

The average loan length is now 69 months, with the share of 84-month loans at 22% — a record high, according to data from automotive research firm Edmunds. A 60-month term is Edmunds’ recommended cap, but that’s become less realistic for many buyers dealing with higher prices that have made shorter terms harder to afford.

While longer loan terms can keep monthly costs down, they can also end up costing more overall and come with other downsides worth considering. Here’s a look at some of the trade-offs.

Stretching out a car loan term can lower the monthly payment, but it also raises the total amount of interest you’ll pay. For a $50,000 new car with a 10% down payment and the current average percentage rate of 7%, the added cost looks like this:

An 84-month loan term ends up costing $5,326 more in interest than a 48-month option.