Car repossession rate falls to lowest level since tracking started

Automobile repossessions are at their lowest level since a major credit reporting firm started tracking the data seven years ago.

Experian Automotive said vehicle repossessions dropped by 14.8% in the second quarter, to just 0.36% of all auto loans. That’s down from 0.43% in the same period a year earlier.

It also beats the all time low of 0.41% in the second quarter of 2006.

Other metrics are moving in the same direction. For example, 30-day delinquencies decreased by 5.6% year over year to the lowest level for the second quarter since 2006. Sixty-day delinquencies remain relatively flat year over year but still are extremely low at 0.58%, Experian said.

“Repossession and delinquency rates seen this quarter were lower than expected,” said Melinda Zabritski, Experian’s senior director of Automotive Credit. “The seasonality of the market usually has the first quarter showing the lowest 30-day delinquency rates, but even with the total automotive loan portfolio growing, consumers in the second quarter have done an exceptional job of meeting their financial obligations to keep the market strong.”

The report also showed that the total balance of outstanding automotive loans grew from more than $682 billion in second quarter of 2012 to nearly $751 billion in the latest period.

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