The car market just lost half a million sales in one month. Tricolor, a lender with 65 dealerships filed for bankruptcy. Bosch is cutting 13,000 jobs. Delinquencies hit a 15-year high.
But here’s the thing: the real crisis isn’t the sales numbers.
Because what’s actually happening is millions of Americans are trapped. The average car costs $46,000 with $750 monthly payments at 9% interest. People owe $60,000 on cars worth $30,000. They can’t sell. They can’t refinance. And one dealership even told a 20-year-old to commit insurance fraud on camera just to move inventory.
Let me show you the real stories about this car market collapse.
The auto industry is flashing major warning signs. Sales are down, delinquencies are at decade highs. Ford is offering lower rates to subprime borrowers just to move F-150s. Honda scrapped an electric Acura after one year. The desperation is palpable. The parallel with housing is stunning: both markets are frozen, both have affordability crises, both have people trapped in negative equity. If you’re thinking about buying a car right now, buy a used Toyota or Honda with cash. The people sitting on the sidelines with cash will win when this car market collapses.