Skip to navigationSkip to main contentSkip to right columnADVERTISEMENTNina ZdinjakSun, July 19, 2026 at 6:54 PM GMT+2 8 min readI haven't met many people who were actually able to afford a new car.Sure, plenty buy them, but suffocating monthly loan payments mean the "affording" part isn't exactly met.For decades, we shrugged off the warning that a new car loses 10% of its value the second it leaves the lot. The counter-argument was simple: You paid for peace of mind and the guarantee you wouldn't end up stranded on the road. But today, even buying a used car is a crushing mathematical problem.According to Edmunds, the average monthly new-car payment has hit a record $777, and 20.3% of buyers pay $1,000 or more monthly. To cope, many stretch loans over six or seven years. Edmunds' Ivan Drury calls this a "mathematical trap," warning that pairing a 7.0% APR with an 84-month loan means handing over nearly $10,000 in interest alone, leaving buyers "highly vulnerable to falling underwater."Used-car buyers are squeezed just as hard, financing an average of $30,414 at 10.5% interest. For subprime buyers, Experian data show interest rates averaging a staggering 19.4% to 21.7%.That pressure isn't just hurting buyers. It is also hitting the dealerships that specialize in financing customers with weaker credit. Now, one of the largest chains in the country has dramatically reduced its footprint.America's Car-Mart closes 40% of its retail footprint A major automotive retailer that operates a chain of used-car dealerships, America's Car-Mart reported on July 14, 2026, its fourth-quarter and full-year results for the period ended April 30, 2026.The car dealer, which specializes in the "buy here, pay here" (integrated auto sales and financing) market, reported total revenue of $1.281 billion, down by 7.9% from fiscal 2025. America's Car-Mart full fiscal 2026 earnings vs. fiscal 2025: Gross profit per unit improved 1.0% to $7,442.Gross margin percentage of 35.4% versus 36.7%.Net loss amounted to $139.11 million, versus net income of $17.93 million.Net loss per share was $16.79, compared to earnings per share of $2.38.Source: America's Car-Mart official press release In the report, America's Car-Mart confirmed it has consolidated 60 dealership locations in the period of 12 months (from April 30, 2025, to April 30, 2026). The company's active dealership count decreased from 154 to 94, resulting in a 40% footprint reduction.America's Car-Mart closes 40% of its fiscal footprint. Cheng Xin / Getty ImagesWhy has America's Car-Mart been closing so many locations?America's Car-Mart began showing the first signs of trouble more than a year ago. After digging through its official reports, I found that in December 2024, the company's official Q2 FY25 Management Script said it had closed a $300 million term loan that removed the capital-related limits to optimize its store footprint and organization structure. Terms and Privacy PolicyEU DSA contactPrivacy & Cookie SettingsMore Info