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Loans & Mortgage

Car Loan Calculator

Work out the real monthly payment on a car: price, down payment, trade-in, sales tax, and interest all in one place.

USD
USD

Cash you pay up front

USD

What the dealer allows for your old car

%

Use 0 if tax is already in the price

%
years

60 monthly payments

Monthly payment
$543.03
Total interest
$5,481.70
Total cost of the car
$37,581.70

You're financing $27,100.00 โ€” the $30,000.00 price plus $2,100.00 tax, less $5,000.00 down payment and $0.00 trade-in.

What a car really costs each month

A car payment is rarely just "price divided by months". The amount you actually borrow is the sticker price, plus any sales tax or VAT charged on the sale, minus your down payment and the value of your trade-in. This calculator builds that figure for you, then amortizes it at your interest rate so you can see the payment, the total interest, and the true all-in cost of the car side by side.

How the numbers are worked out

Amount financed = (price + tax) โˆ’ down payment โˆ’ trade-in. That balance is then run through the standard amortization formula,P ร— r รท (1 โˆ’ (1 + r)^โˆ’n), where r is the annual rate divided by 12 and n is the number of monthly payments. Early payments are mostly interest and late payments are mostly principal โ€” open the payment schedule to see exactly where each installment goes, and download it as a CSV if you want to compare offers in a spreadsheet.

Negotiate the price, not the payment

Dealers often ask what monthly payment you want, because almost any payment can be reached by extending the term. Agree the vehicle price and the interest rate first, then let the payment fall out of them. It is also worth arranging finance with your own bank or credit union before you visit the showroom: you arrive with a rate to beat, and dealer finance either matches it or you keep your own. Finally, remember the payment is not the running cost โ€” insurance, fuel or charging, tires, servicing, and registration all sit on top, and together they often rival the loan itself.

Frequently asked questions

+Should I finance the sales tax?

You can, and most buyers do โ€” but tax rolled into the loan is borrowed money that earns you nothing, so you pay interest on it for the whole term. Paying the tax in cash at signing shrinks the loan and the interest bill. Set the tax rate to 0 in the calculator to see the difference.

+Is a longer car loan a bad idea?

Stretching from four years to seven cuts the monthly payment noticeably, but you pay far more interest and stay in negative equity โ€” owing more than the car is worth โ€” for much longer. Cars lose value fastest in their first three years, so a term longer than five years means a large stretch where selling the car wouldn't clear the loan.

+How much should I put down?

A deposit of roughly 20% of the price (down payment plus trade-in equity) keeps you close to the car's value from day one, which protects you if the car is written off or you need to sell early. It also lowers the monthly payment and often unlocks a better rate.

+What if I still owe money on my trade-in?

Then your trade-in equity is the dealer's offer minus the outstanding loan. If that number is negative, the shortfall is usually added to the new loan โ€” enter 0 for the trade-in and add the shortfall to the vehicle price to model it accurately.

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