DALLAS — The purchase and financing of an average-priced new vehicle took 23.8 weeks of median family income in the third quarter of the year, reported Comerica Bank this week.

The average cost of buying and financing a new car declined by $300 to $27,600, a 1.4-percent decrease from the second quarter, according to the bank's auto affordability index.

Median family income is estimated to have increased 0.2 percent in the third quarter, the bank revealed.

The second quarter reading was also revised up 0.5 weeks, to 24.1 weeks of median family income.

"With the recovery slowing and confidence shaky, consumers bought somewhat less expensive cars on average in the third quarter, thereby contributing to the improvement in affordability," explained Dana Johnson, chief economist at Comerica Bank.

"However, the cost of financing new cars rose somewhat, as buyers extended the length of their car loans by a month and increased the average size of their loans by $200," Johnson said.