Calculate your monthly car loan payments, total interest, and see how different factors affect your auto loan.
An auto loan calculator helps you understand the true cost of financing a vehicle. It takes into account the vehicle price, down payment, loan term, interest rate, and sales tax to calculate your monthly payments and total loan cost.
For a $30,000 car with a $5,000 down payment, 5.5% interest rate, and 60-month term:
Your monthly payment would be $492.51
You would pay $4,550.60 in interest over the life of the loan
The total cost of the vehicle would be $34,550.60 including taxes and interest
Several factors affect your auto loan payments:
• Make a larger down payment to reduce the loan amount
• Choose a shorter loan term to pay less interest
• Shop around for the best interest rates
• Consider the total cost, not just the monthly payment
• Improve your credit score before applying for a loan
Understanding these factors can help you make informed decisions about your car purchase and potentially save thousands of dollars over the life of the loan.
The monthly auto loan payment is calculated using:
Where:
M = Monthly payment
P = Principal loan amount (vehicle price - down payment - trade-in + tax)
r = Monthly interest rate (annual rate ÷ 12)
n = Total number of payments (loan term in months)
Shorter loan terms typically have:
• Higher monthly payments
• Lower total interest paid
• Faster equity building
Longer loan terms typically have:
• Lower monthly payments
• Higher total interest paid
• Slower equity building
• Excellent credit (720+): 4.5% - 5.5%
• Good credit (680-719): 5.5% - 6.5%
• Fair credit (620-679): 7.0% - 9.0%
• Poor credit (below 620): 10.0%+