CARY, N.C. -

The “new normal” finance company executives discussed at industry events earlier this year isn’t diminishing. Loan terms are lengthening, and transaction prices are climbing — especially for new vehicles.

SubPrime Auto Finance News put the question to a trio of analysts asking them if the practice of financing vehicles with contracts stretching at least 60 months, if not longer, is going to create a situation where dealers and finance companies are not going to see today’s buyers for another five years or more.

“I would say that is a concern, especially on the customer satisfaction side,” said Michelle Krebs, senior analyst for AutoTrader.com. “You’re in a car for an awfully long time. Clearly over that period of time, things start going wrong and then you’re stuck because you’re upside down. We saw this in the housing market, and we saw this in the automotive market.

“On the automaker and dealer side, there’s a customer that’s out there that’s not coming back for quite a long time. I think that is clearly something that we have to watch in the future,” Krebs continued.

Edmunds.com senior analyst Jessica Caldwell added, “I don’t think we’re there quite yet.”

Krebs, Caldwell, as well as Kelley Blue Book senior analyst Alec Gutierrez, all touched on the dual tracks of financing that’s going on nowadays. There’s that traditional installment contract route that’s pushing terms longer so consumers can keep monthly payments manageable. But there’s also the growing new-vehicle leasing penetration level that’s approaching 30 percent of all new metal moving off of franchised dealerships.

Gutierrez called leasing the potential a “bright side” that might keep a larger cluster of consumers on a two- to three-year cycle of returning to the dealership for another vehicle and some kind of financing.

“As we see the momentum shift and more consumers opt for these longer-term loans, that means they’re going to be out of the marketplace for longer and longer,” Gutierrez said. “I don’t know if this totally offsets it, but there is a bright side when we talk about the risk the marketplace is presented with related to increased leasing.

“I don’t know how that’s all going to balance out in the long term, but that’s definitely something we’ll have to be mindful of as we look ahead to the future,” he continued.

For the record, KBB pinpointed the average installment contract length on a new vehicle at 66 months for sales in July. Edmunds.com pegged that average slightly higher at 67 months.

Kelley Blue Book also noted that average transaction price for new vehicles came in at $32,556 in July, 2.1 percent or $662 higher than a year earlier.

“Overall, the industry continues to see average transaction prices rise at a solid pace,” Gutierrez said. “With consumer confidence on the rise in July, shoppers are clearly willing to spend a little extra on the vehicle they want.”

Caldwell echoed a similar sentiment.

“The interesting thing is people are buying a more expensive car. They’re opting for longer loan terms. They’re getting a lower APR because of the credit that’s available right now. And their monthly payments end up being somewhere close to where they were five years ago because the lending environment is different than it once was say pre-recession,” Caldwell said.

“You wonder how everyone is paying those. It really is because of the longer loan terms and lower APR. Monthly payments haven’t changed much,” she added.

Perhaps when industry executives gather again — like they will for the SubPrime Forum during Used Car Week on Nov. 11 and 12 at the Red Rock Casino, Resort and Spa in Las Vegas — another “new normal” will be among the discussions. Like Gutierrez, Caldwell explained how there are clear signs of the two types of customers and when they’re coming back: in two to three years if they signed a lease or approaching six years if they chose a long-term installment contract.

“It could be worrisome, but I think the used-car inventory is still as such that we’re not worrying about it quite yet. But I think we could be approaching a point where we’re worrying about these cycles,” Caldwell said.