Car buyers in the United States got better at keeping current with their loan payments in the second quarter, a report today by Experian Automotive said.

Fewer vehicles were repossessed for non-payment of loans in the second quarter, 0.36 percent, than in any quarter since Experian began keeping such records in 2006.

This rate is down from 0.43 percent in the first quarter. And the 0.36 percent repossession rate is also less than the previous low recorded by the financial information provider of 0.41 percent in the second quarter of 2006.

Experian also said second quarter 30-day delinquencies on loan payments fell to 2.38 percent from 2.52 percent from a year earlier.

“Repossession and delinquency rates seen this quarter were lower than expected,” Melinda Zabritski, Experian’s senior director of Automotive Credit, said in a statement.

“The seasonality of the market usually has the first quarter showing the lowest 30-day delinquency rates, but even with the total automotive loan portfolio growing, consumers in the second quarter have done an exceptional job of meeting their financial obligations to keep the market strong.”

Nonprime, subprime and deep-subprime loans accounted for 35.2 percent of open vehicle loans in the second quarter, up from 34.9 percent a year earlier, Experian added.

From the press release:

Experian Automotive today announced that quarterly vehicle repossessions dropped by 14.8 percent to achieve the lowest rate since it began tracking the data seven years ago. According to its latest State of the Automotive Finance Market report, 0.36 percent of all vehicle loans ended in a repossession, down from 0.43 percent in Q2 2012. This change also represented a 10.4 percent decrease from the previous low of 0.41 percent in Q2 2006.

Additional findings from the report showed that 30-day delinquencies decreased by 5.6 percent year over year, going from 2.52 percent in Q2 2012 to 2.38 percent in Q2 2013. While slightly up from Q1 2013 (by two basis points), this decrease brings 30-day delinquencies to its lowest level for the second quarter since 2006. Sixty-day delinquencies remain relatively flat year over year but still are extremely low at 0.58 percent. (Q2 2006 showed 60-day delinquencies slightly lower at 0.53 percent, but 2013 is the next-lowest Q2 point.)

“Repossession and delinquency rates seen this quarter were lower than expected,” said Melinda Zabritski, Experian’s senior director of Automotive Credit. “The seasonality of the market usually has the first quarter showing the lowest 30-day delinquency rates, but even with the total automotive loan portfolio growing, consumers in the second quarter have done an exceptional job of meeting their financial obligations to keep the market strong.”

The report also showed that the total balance of outstanding automotive loans grew from more than $682 billion in Q2 2012 to nearly $751 billion in Q2 2013. Banks increased their total dollar volume by $24 billion, followed by credit unions ($18 billion), finance companies ($16 billion) and captive finance companies ($11 billion).

In other findings:

The balance of loans that are 30 days delinquent rose by $761 million in Q2 2013. However, on a percentage basis, delinquencies represent just 1.96 percent of the total loan balance, down from 2.05 percent in Q2 2012.

Sixty-day delinquencies account for just 0.42 percent of the total loan portfolio dollar value. This delinquency rate is flat year over year.

Nonprime, subprime and deep-subprime loans account for 35.2 percent of all open vehicle loans in Q2 2013, up from 34.9 percent in Q2 2012.

Average charge-off amounts for defaulted loans were up by $450, from $6,768 in Q2 2012 to $7,218 in Q2 2013.

Experian Automotive’s quarterly State of the Automotive Finance Market report features market data and analysis from its AutoCount® Risk Report, as well as information from IntelliViewSM that is sourced from the Experian–Oliver Wyman Market Intelligence Reports.