Playing debt game: Russians mortgaged almost 1 million cars in six months
Almost a million Russian vehicles were pledged in the first half of 2025, the Federal Notary Chamber told Izvestia. Most of them are cars and motorcycles, experts noted. They are the ones who are burdened when buying on credit. And since the issuance of loans in 2025 has significantly decreased, the number of collateral decreased by 8% compared to last year. However, even a pledged car can be sold, and for the buyer, such an acquisition threatens lengthy litigation.
How vehicles are laid
In the first half of 2025, more than 999.5 thousand records of various vehicles were entered into the register of notices of pledge of movable property, which is maintained by the Federal Notary Chamber (FNP). At the same time, the number of vehicles laid down decreased by 8% compared to the same period last year, the FNP emphasized.
A vehicle is a very broad concept, it includes cars, motorcycles, scooters, buses, airplanes, helicopters, yachts, speedboats, snowmobiles, motorized sleds, motorboats, jet skis, etc. But still, the vast majority of vehicles that are pledged are cars and motorcycles, experts believe. Most often, they come under encumbrance when a person takes out a car loan.
According to lenders who provide information to the National Bureau of Credit Histories (NBKI), the number of car loans issued in the second quarter of 2025 decreased by 43.2% compared to the same period last year. This largely explains the fact that there are fewer vehicles for which the deposit has been issued.
The press service of the National Association of Professional Collection Agencies (NAPCA) noted that collateral lending is a segment with a lower level of risk for the lender, since in case of an unforeseen situation, he has a collateral item that can cover the loan amount.
"Moreover, the client himself is interested in fulfilling his obligations, because there is a risk of losing the collateral in case of non—fulfillment of obligations," they said. "If we talk about the share of overdue debt, it is several times lower for secured loans than for unsecured ones."
In the portfolios of professional collection agencies purchased under the assignment agreement, the share of debts secured by car collateral does not exceed 3%. As a rule, they sell the collateral in order to close the debt obligations of its owner, that is, there is no question of selling the vehicle with encumbrances.
What are the risks of a secured car
The outstanding debt and encumbrance on the vehicle do not prevent it from being sold, the FNP warned.
"This will not be an obstacle to registering a car with the traffic police. At the same time, the financial obligations of the former owner are transferred to the new owner. And if he stops paying off the loan, the bank will switch to the newly minted owner. You will have to return either the money that the other person owes, or the car," they reminded.
In most cases, the purchase of a secured car will lead the buyer to court with the bank, said Sergey Lisin, managing partner of the ALX Partners Bar Association. The outcome of such a process will determine whether the car will remain in the buyer's possession or will be sold, and the proceeds will be sent to the seller's creditor.
— The buyer will keep the car if he proves his good faith in court, namely, that at the conclusion of the transaction he did not know and should not have known that the seller had once taken out a loan and issued a corresponding pledge of transport, — he explained. — However, it is very, very difficult to prove this, since judicial practice has developed a number of presumptions and criteria when the cliche "unscrupulous" is put on the buyer and the car is withdrawn from him.
He recalled that a public registry of mortgages has been operating in Russia for about ten years. If information about the car was included in it at the time of the transaction, then it will be almost impossible to prove in court the good faith of the purchase.
"Considering that the main loans secured by cars are issued either by institutional players or professional "pawnbroker speculators," the procedure for entering appropriate notices into the public registry of mortgages has been perfected and is almost always performed," he said. — And this means the futility of subsequent disputes about the fate of collateral cars.
The courts are also wary of buying cars at an undervalued price, the expert said. That is, if an inadequate price is indicated in the contract, then this is a direct indicator of the buyer's dishonesty, since it is assumed that he bought a "car with problems."
— The courts look at transactions between relatives, close friends, or car donation transactions in the same way — all these are indicators for setting up the appropriate cliche and seizing the car and then selling it, — Sergey Lisin added. — You can also get problems when paying for a car in cash using a receipt.
The best deal with a car on the secondary market is with an independent seller and specifying the full market value in the contract. It is better if it is paid in a non-cash form.
Why is the number of mortgaged vehicles decreasing?
The lending market has become more restrained, says Alexey Lossan, an analyst at the financial marketplace "Compare".
"Besides, car owners themselves have become more cautious," he noted. — Over the past couple of years, the number of cases has increased when mortgaged cars "pop up" on the secondary market with a "surprise" — debts and legal risks. The market is self-regulating. The borrower has become more picky, and the lender has become more demanding. Less collateral means less risk in the economy as a whole.
Vadim Kovrigin, Associate Professor at the Institute of Economics, Management and Law, confirmed the trend towards a decrease in the number of loans secured by movable property. This trend has affected motorcycles and passenger cars.
"In 2025, lending as a whole is lagging behind the pace of 2024," the expert noted. "The main reason is the expectation of easing monetary policy and lowering loan rates. Borrowers postpone the decision to apply for a loan until a later date, expecting more favorable conditions. This applies to both secured and unsecured loans.
The decrease in secured loans is also caused by a slight softening of bank scoring (credit rating system) in relation to potential borrowers.
"Banks have become a little more willing to issue loans without collateral, as the volume of overdue loans has decreased over the past year," Vadim Kovrigin added. — For the bank, motorcycles and cars are not such a reliable type of collateral as, for example, real estate. Therefore, in an effort to earn interest on loans, financial institutions began to issue unsecured loans more often.
The decrease in the number of auto loans by 8% in the first half of 2025 largely reflects positive changes in the financial behavior of citizens and the stabilization of the economic situation in the country, said Alexey Ivanov, owner of the Alliance Trucks commercial vehicle dealership network.
"Russians have more opportunities to plan large purchases and resolve financial issues without resorting to collateral loans," he believes. — Increased domestic demand, including for domestic and Chinese-made cars, also makes buying a new or used car more affordable.
In addition, many banks, according to him, offer preferential credit conditions for the purchase of domestically produced machinery, which also reduces the need to mortgage existing vehicles.
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