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Research finds one-in-five auto title loan borrowers have their vehicle seized

Auto title loans, also known as vehicle title loans, are high-cost, small-dollar loans in which borrowers let a lender hold the title to their car, truck, or motorcycle in exchange for a loan amount. We examined nearly 3.5 million anonymized single-payment auto title loan records from nonbank lenders from 2010 through 2013.

We found that these auto title loans often have issues similar to payday loans, including high rates of consumer reborrowing, which can create long-term debt traps. A borrower who cannot repay the initial loan, which typically lasts 30 days, must reborrow or risk losing their vehicle. If the loan is repaid, the title is returned to the borrower.

Here’s more on what we found:

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