Car Loan Calculator

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Calculate Your Monthly Car Payment

This calculator is for illustrative purposes only. We do not guarantee that calculations are accurate. Always consult your accountant or a professional advisor before making personal financial decisions.



Automobile Loan Payment Calculator*
1. Enter The Price Of The Vehicle You Want To Purchase
If the vehicle costs $19,500... enter 19,500 		$
2. Enter Your Down Payment
 Cash or approximate trade-in value of your present vehicle 		$
3. Select The Term (Months) Needed To Repay Your Loan
A longer term will lower your monthly payment.
4. Enter The Interest Rate You Expect
For example, 9.5% should be entered as 9.5 		%
5. Click Calculate

 

* Calculations do not include state and local taxes, title fee, dealer preparation, and destination costs. You may want to factor an approximate amount for these charges into the price of your vehicle.

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Car Loan Calculator – How to Determine Monthly Car Payments

A car loan calculator is an indispensible tool for potential car buyers. Before you commit to a price range for your new or used car, you need to have an idea of what you can realistically afford. Doing the math yourself can get tricky. Fortunately, the internet offers a wide range of automatic calculators that will give you a good estimate of your monthly payments when you provide it with your basic information. Though you probably won’t know ahead of time exactly what kind of loan or you’ll get, or how much your car will cost, you can get good results with some rough estimates.

The first piece of information you will need to provide in a car loan calculator is the price of the car you will be purchasing. If you haven’t been car shopping yet, look online at dealerships or used car listings to get a good estimate of what the car you want will cost. The calculator will help you determine whether this car will fit in your budget. If the monthly payments turn out to be too high, you can go back and use the calculator again with a lower number. This will let you know exactly how much you can really afford, before you start the negotiations. 

Another important factor in car loans is your down payment. You should be able to provide this number very accurately. Make your down payment as large as possible. Though it may be tempting to hold on to your cash up front, a larger down payment will reduce the size of your loan and thus the interest that you will have to pay. Interest adds up quick and will soon outweigh the benefits of holding on to extra cash. If your car loan calculator isn’t coming up with a monthly payment you can afford, one solution is to save up until you have a larger down payment to offer.

The last factors that you provide a car loan calculator with are more difficult to determine. The calculator will need an expected interest rate to calculate your loan accurately. If you have a poor credit score, expect that you will have a high interest rate. If you have a good credit score, you should be able to lower your interest rate significantly. The term of your loan is a bit more flexible. Start with a short loan term and see if you’ll be able to afford the payment. Gradually increase the length until you reach a payment that fits your budget.