Car Loan Calculator

Calculate your monthly car loan payment instantly. No sign‑up required.

The formula

Loan amount = Vehicle price − Down payment
Monthly payment = Loan × r × (1 + r)^n ÷ ((1 + r)^n − 1)
r = APR ÷ 100 ÷ 12 n = Term in years × 12
Total of payments = Monthly × n + Down payment
Total interest = Total of payments − Vehicle price
Vehicle price
The out-the-door figure you are financing against. Fees, taxes and add-ons rolled into the loan belong here, because they are money you are borrowing.
Down payment
Cash paid up front, plus any trade-in allowance. It reduces the loan but is still money you spent, which is why it is added back into the total.
APR
The annual rate on the loan. A rate of zero is handled separately — the payment becomes the loan divided by the number of months.

Worked example

A 32,000 vehicle with 4,000 down, financed over 5 years at 6.9 percent.

Monthly 553.11. Across five years the car costs 37,186.81, of which 5,186.81 is interest.

The down payment is added back, not ignored

The total-of-payments line includes the cash you put down, because the point of the figure is what the vehicle costs you overall rather than what the lender collects. That also makes the interest line correct: total outlay minus the price of the car is exactly the financing cost, with no double counting.

Longer terms are how an unaffordable payment is made to look affordable

The same 28,000 at 6.9 percent is 553.11 over five years and 421.23 over seven — a payment 131.88 lower each month, at the cost of roughly 2,200 more in interest. Worse, a longer term keeps you owing more than the car is worth for longer, since vehicles lose value fastest early on. If a payment only works at seven or eight years, the honest conclusion is usually that the vehicle is above budget rather than that the term is too short.

What the payment leaves out

This is the loan payment only. Insurance, registration, fuel, tyres, servicing and any warranty product are on top, and for many buyers they add up to a meaningful fraction of the payment itself. Build the full monthly figure before deciding what you can carry, not just the financed part.

Rate quotes and where they come from

A rate offered by a dealer’s finance arm and one from a bank or credit union are not always the same, and the difference on a five-year loan is real money — a point and a half on this example is roughly 1,100 over the term. Getting a rate approved before you negotiate also separates the price conversation from the financing conversation, which tends to make both clearer.

Common questions

How much car can I afford?

Work backwards from a payment you can carry alongside insurance, fuel and maintenance, not from a price. Set the term to something sensible, enter the rate you have actually been quoted, and adjust the price until the payment matches. Deciding the price first and stretching the term to make it fit is the sequence that produces loans people regret.

Does a bigger down payment save interest?

Yes, directly — it lowers the amount borrowed, so every subsequent interest charge is smaller. It also reduces the period during which you owe more than the vehicle is worth, which matters if the car is written off or you need to sell early.

Should I include tax and fees in the price?

Include anything you are financing. If tax, registration and dealer fees are rolled into the loan, they are part of the borrowed amount and belong in the price field. If you are paying them separately in cash, leave them out of the price and treat them as an additional up-front cost.

What if the loan is at zero percent?

The calculator handles it: the payment becomes the loan amount divided by the number of months, with no interest at all. Worth checking whether a zero-rate offer requires giving up a cash rebate — if it does, compare the total cost of taking the rebate at a normal rate against the zero-rate deal.

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