- Lenders approved more loans last month, at better rates for borrowers
- But they asked for slightly larger downpayments, and were less likely to extend very long loans
In the market for a new car? The credit market for buyers improved dramatically in November.
The Dealertrack Credit Availability Index measures the difficulty of qualifying for all types of car loans. It reached its highest point in 2025 last month, indicating that the loan market shifted in favor of borrowers.
Kelley Blue Book parent company Cox Automotive publishes the index.
Related: Is Now the Time to Buy, Sell, or Trade-In a Car?
More Approvals, Lower Rates
Lenders approved 73.6% of applications in November, 1.6% better than October and 1% higher than a year ago.
The average interest rate fell to 10.5%, down from 11% the previous month.
There was one off-note for borrowers in the data – lenders asked for larger down payments in November, requiring an average of 13.4% of the loan’s value, as opposed to 13.3% in October.
The share of loans going to subprime borrowers (those with credit scores under 620) decreased from 15.1% to 14.3%. But that trend comes largely thanks to a pair of bankruptcies that took two large subprime lenders out of the market.
The month also saw a slight retreat from two trends that have held for much of 2025. Lenders were less likely to accept negative equity and extended fewer loans with terms greater than 72 months.
Negative equity is often a bad health sign for the economy, as it means buyers are remaining in debt for longer than the service life of their car. Longer loan terms can drive down monthly payments but keep borrowers in debt longer, potentially feeding the cycle of negative equity.
Ongoing improvement in credit access is good news for car shoppers. However, borrowers should carefully evaluate loan offers – the slight rise in down payments and reluctance to extend long loans could compromise affordability for some.
