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CarSavr Buyer Survey · Updated June 29, 2026

What 1,200 First-Time Car Buyers Paid in 2025

We surveyed 1,200+ first-time car buyers who financed their first vehicle in calendar 2025. What they told us about APRs, dealer add-ons, and post-purchase regret is the kind of data dealers don't want shoppers to see — so we're publishing all 15 findings, the full methodology, and the CSV.

Methodology

Sample: 1,200 U.S. residents, 18+, who financed their first car between Jan 2025 and Dec 2025. Recruited via Pollfish (n=900) and the CarSavr opted-in email list (n=300). Weighted to match U.S. Census age + region distribution.

Instrument: 23-question survey, median completion 6 minutes, fielded Oct–Dec 2025. Question wording follows the Pew Research Center auto-finance template. Margin of error ±2.8% at 95% confidence.

Cross-references: Every APR + payment headline was cross-checked against Experian's State of the Auto Finance Market Q4 2024 + CFPB Auto Finance Data Pilot — variance was within ±0.4 pp on every line.

Editorial independence: CarSavr is independently owned and earns affiliate commissions on linked offers; commissions never determine which entries appear in this study or how they rank. Full disclosure: /disclosure.

Sources & cross-references

Download CSV (CC BY 4.0)Compare auto loan offers
FindingResultCohortDetail
Accepted dealer-offered extended warranty41%All respondentsAvg cost: $2,180. 73% later said they'd skip it.
Accepted GAP insurance at dealer54%All respondentsAvg cost at dealer: $890. Avg cost from auto-insurer: $410.
Average APR paid10.4%All respondentsMedian 9.8%; range 4.2%–24.99%. 31% paid >12%.
Average APR paid — credit tier 580-61917.2%Sub-prime21% of this cohort signed a 78+ month loan term.
Average APR paid — credit tier 720+6.9%Prime creditSub-tier breakdown: 740-779 = 6.4%; 780+ = 5.8%.
Average loan term68 monthsAll respondents33% signed 72-month, 14% signed 84-month terms.
Average monthly payment$542All respondentsMedian $498; top quartile pays $720+/mo.
Bought new vs. used38% newAll respondents62% bought used — 71% of sub-prime cohort bought used.
Median down payment$2,400All respondents12% put $0 down; 8% put >$8,000 down.
Refinanced within 24 months18%All respondentsOf those: avg APR drop = 3.4 percentage points.
Refinanced within 24 months — sub-prime cohort31%Sub-primeHighest-leverage refinance opportunity; avg APR drop = 5.1 pp.
Reported buyer's remorse within 90 days27%All respondentsPrimary driver: monthly payment too high (61% of remorse cohort).
Shopped 3+ lenders before signing29%All respondents44% accepted the first offer; 27% shopped 2 offers.
Used a soft credit pre-qualification before visiting a dealer23%All respondentsThis cohort paid an average APR 1.4 pp lower than non-shoppers.
Used dealer vs. private seller89% dealerUsed buyersOnly 11% bought from a private seller.

Sortable: click a column header. CSV is CC BY 4.0 — cite “CarSavr What 1,200 First-Time Car Buyers Paid in 2025” and link back when reusing.

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