The average amount car owners owe on upside-down loans—where people owe more than the value of their vehicle—hit a record high of $6,905 in the third quarter of 2025, exceeding the previous high set in the first quarter, industry expert Edmunds said in a statement published on Oct. 15.
“A growing share of owners are trading in vehicles worth less than what they owe—and the debt they are rolling forward is only growing,” the company said.
In Q3, 28.1 percent of cars traded in for new vehicles had negative equity, where the car is worth less than its loan amount. This is up from 26.6 percent from the previous quarter and is the highest share on record since the first quarter of 2021, Edmunds said….