Auto loans
Car Payment Calculator: Work Out What You Can Afford
A car payment calculator turns a price, a down payment, a rate and a term into a monthly figure. The number it produces is only half the decision: the payment you can afford depends on insurance, fuel, maintenance and depreciation as much as on the loan itself.
Data snapshot
- Year over year
- -0.16 pts
- 12-month range
- 7.37% – 7.63%
Average rate on a 60-month new-car loan at commercial banks, from the Federal Reserve's G.19 release. Captive finance arms and credit unions price around this level, sometimes far below it during manufacturer promotions.
The four inputs that set the payment
Amount financed is the price plus tax, title and fees, minus your down payment and any trade-in equity. Rate and term then determine amortisation, and negative equity rolled over from a previous loan is added to the balance.
Change one input at a time to see its effect. A one-percentage-point rate change moves the payment modestly; two extra years of term moves it a lot while raising the total cost.
A workable affordability rule
A common discipline is to keep the payment under 10% of take-home pay and total car costs — payment, insurance, fuel, maintenance, registration — under 15-20%. Buyers who ignore the second figure routinely find the payment affordable and the car unaffordable.
Price insurance before committing. Premiums vary widely by model, trim and location, and on some vehicles the insurance exceeds the loan payment.
Costs the calculator does not show
The loan payment is the visible part of ownership cost.
- Depreciation: the largest cost of new-car ownership, and invisible until you sell.
- Insurance, which rises with vehicle value, repair cost and your location.
- Fuel or charging, maintenance, tyres and brakes on a predictable schedule.
- State registration, inspection and any local property tax on vehicles.
- Gap coverage where the loan-to-value ratio is high.
Using the result to negotiate
Negotiate the out-the-door price, the trade-in value and the finance rate as three separate numbers. Dealers who negotiate on monthly payment alone can hold the price and lengthen the term to hit any figure you name.
Arrive with a preapproved rate and a maximum total price. Then the calculator becomes a checking tool rather than the dealer's framing device.
Run your numbers
Your monthly car payment
$492
- Amount financed
- $24,000
- Total paid over the term
- $29,544
- Total interest
- $5,544
- Cost per year of ownership
- $6,709
A car loses value while the loan runs. The shorter the term and the larger the deposit, the less of that loss you finance.
This car payment calculator turns a loan amount, an interest rate and a term into the numbers that actually decide affordability: the monthly payment, the total interest and the date the balance hits zero.
Every figure updates instantly, so you can test a shorter term or a slightly better rate before you ever speak to a lender.
Frequently asked questions
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Frequently asked questions
Start here
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