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Calculate your monthly car payment, total interest, and true cost of financing any vehicle.
Car dealerships are very good at one thing: making a car feel affordable by quoting you a monthly payment. "That's only $489 a month!" Yes — for 84 months. On a vehicle that depreciates roughly 20% the moment you drive it off the lot. The monthly payment number is real. The picture it paints of the deal you're getting is almost always incomplete.
Enter vehicle price, down payment, optional trade-in and rebate, interest rate, loan term, and optionally sales tax and fees. The calculator computes your monthly payment, total interest, and true all-in vehicle cost with a pie chart showing the breakdown.
Enter your monthly budget, down payment, rate, and term to find the maximum vehicle price you can afford. Accounts for sales tax if entered.
Enter a loan amount and rate to see a side-by-side comparison of all major auto loan terms (24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 84 months) — monthly payment, total interest, and interest savings versus the longest term.
Enter the full deal details including trade-in value, amount owed on the trade-in, cash down, and manufacturer rebates. The calculator shows your net loan amount after all credits and deductions, then calculates the monthly payment and total interest on that net amount.
Estimated monthly payment by loan amount and interest rate for a 60-month auto loan.
| Loan Amount | 4% | 6% | 7% | 8% | 10% | 12% |
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Monthly payment = Loan Amount × [r(1+r)^n] ÷ [(1+r)^n − 1], where r is the monthly interest rate (annual rate ÷ 12) and n is the number of months. For a $25,000 loan at 7% for 60 months: monthly payment = $495.03. Use Tab 1 above to calculate any scenario instantly.
For borrowers with excellent credit (750+), new car loan rates are typically in the 5-7% range as of 2024. Good credit (700-749) usually yields 7-9%. Rates below 10% are generally competitive. Rates above 15% signal either poor credit or dealer markup — worth shopping with banks and credit unions directly.
20% is the traditional guideline for new cars, but any down payment helps. A larger down payment reduces your loan amount, lowers monthly payments, reduces total interest, and decreases the risk of negative equity (owing more than the car is worth). At minimum, aim to cover the sales tax and fees with cash so you don't finance them.
Longer terms mean lower monthly payments but significantly more total interest and extended negative equity risk. A $30,000 car at 7% over 84 months costs $1,650 more in interest than over 60 months. More critically, a car is typically worth less than the outstanding loan balance for most of a 72-84 month loan. If you need 84 months to afford a car, that car is probably too expensive for your budget.
Paying off an auto loan early reduces total interest paid since interest accrues daily on the outstanding balance. Most auto loans have no prepayment penalty — confirm this in your loan documents before making extra payments. When making extra payments, specify they should be applied to principal reduction to maximize interest savings.
Always get pre-approved by your bank or credit union before visiting the dealer. This gives you a baseline rate to compare against dealer financing. Dealers can sometimes beat bank rates — especially with manufacturer-subsidized financing — but dealers also earn a profit on financing (called "dealer reserve"). Having your own pre-approval prevents you from being steered into worse financing under time pressure.
The interest rate is the base cost of borrowing. The APR (Annual Percentage Rate) includes the interest rate plus certain fees — origination fees, dealer reserve, GAP insurance rolled into the loan. Federal law requires lenders to disclose APR, making it a better comparison tool than the stated interest rate. Always compare APRs when evaluating multiple financing offers.
GAP (Guaranteed Asset Protection) insurance covers the difference between what you owe on your car loan and what the car is worth if it's totaled or stolen. It's most useful when you have a small down payment, a long loan term, or a vehicle that depreciates quickly — situations where you're likely to be underwater. GAP through a bank or credit union is typically much cheaper than through a dealer. If you put 20%+ down on a short loan, you likely don't need it.