An alarming number of Gen Z and millennial vehicle buyers are 90 days late on payments. In the first quarter, loan delinquency for buyers ages 18 to 39 was the highest since the 2008 and 2009 Great Recession.
Especially disturbing is that this elevated delinquency arose while the federal government suspended many of these borrowers' student loan payments during the pandemic. It's likely that as the government restarts student loan collections this fall, even more Gen Z and millennials will slip into auto loan delinquency.
Young buyers borrowed more than they should have — a costly personal finance lesson with years of negative impact. Just one late payment affects a credit score, and a 30-day delinquency lingers for seven years.
But the blame doesn't fall on just one side of the deal desk: Automakers, dealers, lenders, salespeople and credit managers all had motivation to write what are turning out to be bad loans, much as home mortgage lenders did in …