The longest auto loan term you can get is 96 months (eight years) for a standard car or truck, and up to 240 months (20 years) for an RV or motorhome. Most lenders cap standard vehicle loans at 84 months, with 96-month options available from a smaller set of lenders under stricter conditions. No federal law sets a maximum, so the ceiling depends on the lender, the vehicle, and your credit.
What Terms Lenders Actually Offer
Auto loans are usually written in 12-month increments: 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, and 84 months. Sixty and 72 months are the most common choices. The average new-car loan runs about 69 months, and used-car loans average roughly 67 months. Loans in the 73- to 84-month range have grown more common as vehicle prices have risen, since a longer term is how buyers keep monthly payments manageable on higher-priced cars.
Ninety-six-month loans exist but are less widely available and come with tighter requirements. For a standard passenger car or truck, 96 months is effectively the ceiling.
RVs and Other Specialty Vehicles
The longest auto-related financing goes to recreational vehicles, motorhomes, and similar high-cost specialty purchases. RV loans can extend to 240 months depending on the lender and your credit profile. These terms reflect the fact that motorhomes and large travel trailers can rival the cost of a modest home. Specialty lenders serving the RV, marine, and collector-car markets are the primary sources for anything beyond 96 months.
What It Takes To Qualify for an 84- or 96-Month Loan
Reaching the top of the term range means meeting stricter requirements on both the vehicle and your finances. Each lender sets its own rules, but the patterns are consistent.
Vehicle Restrictions
Lenders limit long terms to vehicles that will hold enough value to serve as meaningful collateral for the full loan. New cars qualify most easily. Used cars face age and mileage caps: one major online lender, for example, requires the vehicle to be less than 10 years old with fewer than 150,000 miles for loans up to 96 months. Older or higher-mileage vehicles are typically capped at 36 to 60 months. Certified pre-owned cars sometimes qualify for longer terms than a comparable non-certified used car.
Credit and Income
Lenders look at your credit score, income, and existing debt load. Minimum score requirements vary. Some lenders offering 96-month terms accept scores as low as 580, while others set the bar higher for their longest terms. You’ll need to document stable income with recent pay stubs, tax returns, or bank statements, and your debt-to-income ratio has to leave room for the new payment.
Insurance
Lenders holding a lien on your car generally require comprehensive and collision coverage for the entire loan term, and they may set a maximum deductible so any claim payout is large enough to protect their interest in the vehicle.
What a Longer Term Actually Costs You
A longer term lowers the monthly payment and raises the total you pay, sometimes by thousands of dollars. Two things drive the higher cost. You pay interest over more months, and lenders frequently charge a higher rate on longer terms to offset the added risk that the vehicle will lose value faster than you pay the balance down.
The Truth in Lending Act requires lenders to disclose the total finance charge before you sign, which represents the full dollar cost of the interest you’ll pay over the loan’s life.1Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What Is a Truth-in-Lending Disclosure for an Auto Loan? Comparing this figure across offers at different term lengths is the fastest way to see the real cost of stretching the loan.
Every auto loan is front-loaded with interest: a larger share of your early payments goes to interest rather than principal. On a longer term, that front-loaded phase lasts longer, so your balance stays high well into the repayment period and you build equity in the car much more slowly.
The Real Downside: Negative Equity
Negative equity, also called being “underwater” or “upside down,” means you owe more on the loan than the car is currently worth. It is the biggest financial risk of a long auto loan.
New cars lose roughly 16% of their value in the first year and retain only about 45% of their original price by the end of year five. On a short loan, your payments keep pace with or outrun that depreciation curve. On a 72- or 84-month loan, depreciation outpaces your payments for years. Industry data shows 84-month loans are heavily represented among new-vehicle purchases that involve negative equity at trade-in.
Being underwater becomes a concrete problem in three situations:
- Trading in or selling. You have to cover the gap between your payoff and the trade-in value out of pocket, or roll it into your next loan and start the cycle over with an even larger debt.
- Total loss. If the car is totaled or stolen, your insurance pays the vehicle’s actual cash value, not your loan balance. You owe the lender the difference.
- Refinancing. Lenders that refinance auto loans generally want a loan-to-value ratio below 125%. If you owe far more than the car is worth, many won’t approve the refinance.
Where GAP Insurance Fits
Guaranteed Asset Protection (GAP) insurance is built for the total-loss scenario. If your car is totaled or stolen and the insurance payout falls short of your remaining balance, GAP coverage pays the difference.2Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What Is Guaranteed Asset Protection (GAP) Insurance?
GAP coverage is optional in most situations, but some lenders require it as a condition of approving loans longer than 60 months. You can buy it at the dealership, through your auto insurer, or from a standalone provider, and prices vary widely. If you’re financing for 72 months or longer with little or no down payment, GAP coverage is worth serious consideration given how long you’ll likely be underwater.
If You Already Took a Long Term
Two options can shorten the commitment: refinancing or prepayment.
Refinancing
Refinancing replaces the existing loan with a new one, ideally at a lower rate, a shorter term, or both. Lenders generally want to see a loan-to-value ratio below 125%. If you’ve been paying for a year or two and the car hasn’t depreciated too far below your balance, refinancing can pull you out of the extra interest cost of the original term.
Prepayment
Paying extra toward principal each month, or paying the loan off entirely ahead of schedule, cuts the total interest you owe. Some auto loan contracts include prepayment penalties, though some states prohibit them on auto loans.3Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Can I Prepay My Loan at Any Time Without Penalty? Your Truth in Lending disclosure will state whether a prepayment penalty applies to your loan, so check that document before signing.1Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What Is a Truth-in-Lending Disclosure for an Auto Loan?
Choosing the Right Term
The longest term you qualify for isn’t automatically the best one. A shorter loan costs more per month but saves money overall and keeps you ahead of depreciation. A longer loan frees up monthly cash flow but exposes you to negative equity, higher total interest, and often the added cost of GAP coverage. A few things to weigh:
- Monthly budget. Pick the shortest term where the payment fits comfortably. If a 60-month payment works, the extra interest on 72 or 84 months is money you don’t need to spend.
- Down payment. A larger down payment offsets depreciation. Putting 20% or more down on a long-term loan significantly reduces your time underwater.
- How long you keep cars. If you trade in every three or four years, a 72- or 84-month loan almost guarantees negative equity at trade-in. If you plan to drive the car until it’s paid off, the underwater period matters less.
- Rate at each term. Compare the rate you’re offered at each length. If stretching from 60 to 84 months also raises your rate by a full percentage point, the true cost difference is larger than the lower payment suggests.