As interest rates rise, and the value of used vehicles declines, car-loan borrowers are experiencing increasing pressure, with many now owing more on their loan than their vehicles are worth.

According to a Bloomberg report on Saturday which examined data from the automotive website Edmunds.com, in November, car-buyers with negative-equity were underwater an average of $6,054, marking the highest that figure has been since April of 2020. In 2019, the average negative equity was $5,300.

Joseph Yoon, consumer insights analyst for Edmunds, told Bloomberg, “We’re in this situation where combined with the cost of the vehicles being so high and the interest rates being so historically high, you have a lot of people who are in bad car loans.”

In a report by NerdWallet, which looked at research from credit reporting agency Experian, in the third quarter of 2023, the average interest rate for a car loan was 7.03% for new cars and 11.35% for used cars.

After skyrocketing during the Covid-19 pandemic, car values, especially the values of used cars, have dropped significantly. According to the Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index, in November the prices of all used cars fell 5.8% compared to the previous year.

Bloomberg noted that means that Americans who took out loans to purchase cars are paying for depreciating assets.

In the Bloomberg report, Sandra Rivas, who at 38 works for a bank in San Antonio, complained that she is now $5,000 underwater on a Toyota Hybrid Camry, and has grown tired of paying $648 on her car loan, which has a 14% interest rate.