More than half of all car loans in the United States are five years or longer, according to recent data. Just a few years ago, only a tiny percentage of people took out loans that long. And loans can be as long as 7 or 8 years! When you take out a long-term car loan, you always owe more on the loan than what the car is worth. It’s just how it works. Then, if you buy another car, you’ve got that loan on top of it. It’s never a good idea to take out a loan longer than five years. The longest you should have a loan is 42 months. If you can’t make the payments on a 42-month loan, you need to buy a cheaper car. That is Clark’s rule. Please put it into practice or you will be sorry.