Affordability watch: More Long Islanders missing car payments

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Updated November 13, 2025 5:56 pm

Daily Point

On Long Island, high cost of living metric includes missed car payments

The share of Americans nationwide who missed their car payments for at least 60 consecutive days was at a record high in October, according to Fitch Ratings. The delinquency rate for subprime auto loans, those made to borrowers who are at a greater risk of default, was 6.65%, the highest it's been since the credit agency began collecting data in 1994.

Although Long Island's delinquency rates are among the lowest in New York, year-over-year data suggests a worsening trend, according to a Point analysis of data from the Urban Institute's affordability tracker. These numbers for Long Island include all car payments, not just subprime loans, and are categorized by congressional district.

The average delinquency rate for car loans in New York State is 4.55% in 2025. Among Long Island’s congressional districts, CD2 had the highest share of defaulters with a rate of 4.26%, indicating roughly 4 out of every 100 borrowers failed to repay their car loans. This was a jump from its 2017 rate of 2.85%. CD4's car delinquency rate for 2025 was 3.56%, according to the data, up from 2.27% in 2017.

In comparison, CD3 had the lowest rate in the state at 2.37% and was also trending upwards. This, too, was higher than its 2017 rate of 1.42%. CD1 was next-lowest with a rate of 2.47%, up from 1.46% in 2017. The two congressional districts are among the wealthiest in the state. It must be noted that the boundaries of the Island's four districts have changed twice since the latest census.

New York has among the highest auto insurance rates in the country, with premiums expected to continue rising into 2026, according to a report by insurance reporting platform Insurify. This cost is expected to further burden borrowers in the short term.

With the cost of food, health care and housing soaring, defaulting on car payments indicates families are making choices between basic necessities. In a recent Newsday/Siena survey of quality of life on Long Island, 77% of participants said that overall affordability here has grown worse.

Missed car payments are yet another symptom of a larger affordability crisis on Long Island.

— Karthika Namboothiri karthika.namboothiri@newsday.com