According to Experian, interest rates on new and used vehicleloans have reached their lowest levels since 2008.

Average interest rates for new vehicle loans fell to 4.52% inthe fourth quarter of 2011, down from 4.84% during the same periodin 2010, according to Experian's quarterly automotive credit analysis.

Average rates for used vehicle loans fell to 8.68% in the fourthquarter, which was slightly lower than 8.71% for the same quarterin 2010.

While average credit scores for new and used vehicle loansdropped, the percentage of loans to customers with nonprime,subprime or deep subprime credit scores increased during the lastfour months of 2011.

Experianfound that consumers are also continuing to do a better job ofrepaying their loans. The 30-day delinquency rate fell from 2.98%in the fourth quarter of 2010 to 2.79% in the fourth quarter of2011. The 60-day delinquency rate fell 0.79% to 0.72% for the sameperiod.

Credit unions and other lenders have increased their willingnessto make loans between six and seven years long, according toExperian. Another positive sign for the lending market is that theoverall dollar volume of loans at risk dropped to $18.5 billion, a$1.862 billion drop from Q4 2010. Meanwhile, the total volume ofopen loans rose by $23.9 billion in Q4 2011 to $658 billion.

“Lenders are clearly on much more solid ground than they weretwo or three years ago,” said Melinda Zabritski, director of automotive lending at ExperianAutomotive. “With delinquencies and total dollar volume at riskdown, lenders have been able to adopt more aggressive strategies.This tends to benefit everyone, from lenders to automotiveretailers to the end consumer.”