---
title: "How High Are Car Repossession Rates in 2026?"
slug: car-repossession-rates
type: "guide"
summary: "Car repossessions are climbing fast, back near the levels the U.S. last saw coming out of the financial crisis. There is no official national repossession rate, so the clearest live gauge is the share of auto-loan balances that are seriously delinquent, and it is near record highs. Repossession is the step that comes after."
published: "2026-06-12"
last_updated: "2026-08-11"
canonical_html: https://americandefault.org/guides/car-repossession-rates/
citation_apa: "Kilburn, R. (2026). How High Are Car Repossession Rates in 2026? [Data set]. American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/guides/car-repossession-rates/"
citation_chicago: "Kilburn, Ross. 2026. \"How High Are Car Repossession Rates in 2026?\" American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/guides/car-repossession-rates/."
citation_mla: "Kilburn, Ross. \"How High Are Car Repossession Rates in 2026?\" American Default Research, 2026, americandefault.org/guides/car-repossession-rates/."
tags: "Auto Loans, Repossession, Consumer Debt, Delinquency"
---

# How High Are Car Repossession Rates in 2026?

Car repossessions are climbing fast, back near the levels the U.S. last saw coming out of the financial crisis. There is no official national repossession rate, so the clearest live gauge is the share of auto-loan balances that are seriously delinquent, and it is near record highs. Repossession is the step that comes after.

Canonical HTML: https://americandefault.org/guides/car-repossession-rates/

## Machine-Readable Endpoints

- HTML page: https://americandefault.org/guides/car-repossession-rates/
- JSON: https://americandefault.org/api/guides/car-repossession-rates.json
- CSV: https://americandefault.org/api/downloads/guides/car-repossession-rates.csv
- BibTeX: https://americandefault.org/citations/car-repossession-rates.bib
- RIS: https://americandefault.org/citations/car-repossession-rates.ris
- Markdown: https://americandefault.org/for-llms/car-repossession-rates.md

## Data Package

Machine package for the car repossession rates guide: source-backed national auto-loan serious delinquency data, state auto-loan delinquency data, citation exports, and the publish-gated guide markdown twin.

- auto_loan_serious_delinquency: Federal Reserve Bank of New York Household Debt and Credit Report (data/indicators/door1_debt/auto_loan_delinquency.json)
- state_auto_loan_delinquency: Federal Reserve Bank of New York Consumer Credit Panel and Equifax (data/state_consumer_debt.json)
- estimated_vehicle_repossessions: Cox Automotive CAMIO estimated repossessions and defaults (https://www.coxautoinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/2025-CAMIO-estimated-repos-and-defaults.xlsx)

## Methodology

This guide treats serious auto-loan delinquency as the public quarterly proxy for repossession pressure because no official national repossession-rate series exists. The state table uses New York Fed Consumer Credit Panel and Equifax state borrower delinquency data. Cox Automotive estimates are included as an externally cited annual repossession count.

- National trend: New York Fed Household Debt and Credit Report auto-loan serious delinquency series.
- State table: New York Fed Consumer Credit Panel and Equifax state borrower delinquency data.
- Repossession count: Cox Automotive CAMIO estimate, cited as an external annual source.

## Sources

- [Federal Reserve Bank of New York Household Debt and Credit Report](https://www.newyorkfed.org/microeconomics/hhdc)
- [Federal Reserve Bank of New York Consumer Credit Panel and Equifax](https://www.newyorkfed.org/microeconomics/databank.html)
- [Cox Automotive CAMIO estimated repossessions and defaults](https://www.coxautoinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/2025-CAMIO-estimated-repos-and-defaults.xlsx)

## Correction Log

Last reviewed: 2026-07-06

No corrections have been logged for this guide.

## Citation

**APA 7th**

    Kilburn, R. (2026). How High Are Car Repossession Rates in 2026? [Data set]. American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/guides/car-repossession-rates/

**Chicago (author-date)**

    Kilburn, Ross. 2026. "How High Are Car Repossession Rates in 2026?" American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/guides/car-repossession-rates/.

**MLA 9th**

    Kilburn, Ross. "How High Are Car Repossession Rates in 2026?" American Default Research, 2026, americandefault.org/guides/car-repossession-rates/.

Use **American Default Research** as the institutional name.