Car Loan Calculator
Estimate your monthly car payment, total interest, and the true cost of financing a vehicle. Enter the sticker price, your down payment, trade-in, sales tax, term, and APR.
Monthly payment
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Amount financed
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Total paid
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Total interest
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Payoff time
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Year-by-year breakdown
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How the car loan calculator works
Your monthly car payment depends on four things: how much you borrow, how long you borrow it for, the interest rate, and whether sales tax is rolled into the loan. This calculator uses the standard amortizing-loan formula that banks, credit unions, and dealer financing all use.
- Vehicle price — the negotiated sale price of the car before tax and fees.
- Down payment — cash you pay upfront. A 10-20% down payment is typical and lowers both the loan amount and the total interest you’ll pay.
- Trade-in value — what the dealer credits you for your current vehicle. In most states, the trade-in value also reduces the amount subject to sales tax.
- Sales tax rate — your state and local sales tax combined. Tax is applied to (price minus trade-in) and rolled into the financed amount. Set to 0 if you’re paying tax separately at the DMV.
- Loan term — number of months to repay. Longer terms lower the monthly payment but dramatically increase total interest. 60 months (5 years) is the most common new-car term.
- APR — the annual interest rate. Your rate depends on credit score, term, and whether the car is new or used. Excellent credit currently gets ~6-7% on new cars; subprime borrowers can pay 15%+.
Tip: Stretching from a 60-month to an 84-month loan might drop your monthly payment by $80-100, but you’ll often pay 50-70% more in total interest. Shorter terms are almost always cheaper if you can afford the payment.
This calculator estimates principal and interest only. Real-world car loans may also include title fees, registration, dealer doc fees, gap insurance, and extended warranties. Your actual APR depends on your credit profile. This is not financial advice.
Before you set foot in a dealership, you should already know what a given vehicle will actually cost you to finance — not just the sticker price, but the monthly payment, the total interest over the life of the loan, and the full amount you’ll hand over by the time the title is clear. This calculator runs those numbers instantly using the same amortization formula that banks, credit unions, and dealer finance departments use, and it accounts for details most car payment calculators ignore: your trade-in value, sales tax, and exactly how the loan term affects your total cost.
Vehicle price — the negotiated sale price of the car before tax and fees. This is the number you haggle on, and it’s the most important lever in the whole calculation.
Down payment — cash you pay upfront at signing. Putting 10–20% down is a common benchmark: it lowers the amount financed, reduces total interest, and helps you avoid going underwater on the loan if the car depreciates faster than you’re paying it off.
Trade-in value — the credit your dealer applies for your current vehicle. The calculator uses it to reduce both the loan amount and the taxable purchase price, which is how most states handle trade-ins at the point of sale. Enter 0 if you’re selling your current car privately or have no vehicle to trade.
Sales tax rate — your combined state and local sales tax. The calculator applies it to the vehicle price minus the trade-in and rolls the result into the financed amount, matching how most dealer transactions work. If you’re paying tax separately at your DMV rather than financing it, enter 0 here.
Loan term — the number of months to repay, with options from 24 to 84 months. This is the input that trips up the most buyers. A 72- or 84-month term can make a $40,000 truck feel affordable at $500 a month, but the year-by-year breakdown table makes the interest cost of that decision hard to ignore.
APR — the annual interest rate on the loan. Your actual rate depends on your credit score, whether the car is new or used, and the lender. New-car buyers with excellent credit currently qualify for rates around 6–7%; used-car loans and subprime borrowers pay significantly more.
One comparison worth running before you decide on a term: enter your numbers with 60 months selected, note the total interest, then switch to 72 or 84 months and compare. The monthly payment drops, but the total interest cost often increases by more than most buyers expect.
For any fixed-rate loan without the trade-in and tax fields, the Loan Payment Calculator is the simpler tool.
Adding a car loan to existing debt? The Debt Payoff Calculator shows how long each balance will take and what order to pay them down.
Your vehicle’s resale value is an asset — track it alongside the remaining loan balance in the Net Worth Calculator.
This calculator estimates principal and interest only. Real car purchases may also include title fees, registration, dealer documentation fees, gap insurance, and extended warranties, none of which are reflected here. Your actual APR depends on your credit profile. This is not financial advice.