A TikToker’s joke video about car payments has sparked discussion about just how much some people are paying monthly for their vehicles.
In a video with over 469,000 views as of Friday, TikTok user Ebony (@ebony.chanell) writes, “POV:sitting in my 2013 Hyundai that I’m paying $800 monthy on. Bc l decided to go to the dealership by myself.” The audio states, “Don’t forget, I’m also just a girl.”
Naturally, there were some people who took the claims in the video at face value.
“Salesmen had a field day w you,” a user wrote.
“Your loan term better be like 12 months,” added another.
“Nah call and talk to their manager or something that’s so much,” wrote a third.
However, Ebony later wrote in comments that “the whole point of this video was to get views” and that she was “lying” about the payment.
Still, the spread of this video may indicate how common of a problem high car payments are in America today.
One user claimed that they were paying $900 per month for their new car. Another said she was paying $650 monthly for a 2018 vehicle that did not have Apple CarPlay. A further user went viral after discussing how low car payments seem to be a thing of the past.
There’s some data to back this up. According to NerdWallet, as of the end of 2023, “The average monthly car loan payment in the U.S. is $738 for new vehicles and $532 for used ones.”
As noted by LendingTree, the cost of car payments has increased substantially faster than the price of the cars themselves, which increased by 0.7% over the past year (compared to the 2.5% year-over-year hike in the average new car payment).
@ebony.chanell Idk wtf
♬ original sound – 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞 𝐀𝐛𝐝𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐡
Other commenters simply revealed how much they were shelling out for their cars.
“They got me to girl my 2nd car .. I was paying $580 a month for a 2003 Toyota Corolla,” stated a commenter. “All good now .. but d*mn you Santander.”
“I got 29 percent interest on my first car when I turned 18,” admitted a second.
“D*mnn & i felt bad for my 2015 Nissan Sentra with $308/monthly payment,” shared a further TikToker. “But I only owe $700 on the principal & counting the days cuzz Never again! Buying cash next.. worst decision.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Ebony via TikTok comment.
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