Buying a new or used car is one of the biggest purchases many people will make. With the average price of a new vehicle over $47,000 in 2022, most car buyers need to take out an auto loan to finance their purchase. This makes using an auto loan calculator an essential tool when shopping for a car and figuring out financing.
An auto loan calculator allows you to estimate your monthly car payment, see how different loan terms and interest rates affect your payment, and determine how much you can realistically afford. With key information like the vehicle price, down payment, loan term, interest rate, and taxes and fees, an auto loan calculator can break down the monthly and total costs of your auto loan.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explain everything you need to know about using an auto loan calculator to make an informed decision when financing a car.
Benefits of Using an Auto Loan Calculator
Here are some of the key benefits of using an online or mobile auto loan calculator:
- Estimate your monthly payment– The main function of an auto loan calculator is to estimate what your monthly car payment will be based on the loan details. This helps you budget and determine affordability.
- Compare loan terms– See how different loan terms (such as 48 months vs. 60 months) impact your payment and total interest costs. This allows you to find the ideal loan term for your budget.
- Compare interest rates– Calculate how interest rates from different lenders affect your overall financing costs. This can help you secure the best possible rate based on your credit.
- Factor in fees/taxes– Account for taxes and dealer fees in your total loan amount to get a more accurate payment estimate.
- Experiment with down payments– See how different down payment amounts lower your monthly payment and total interest paid. This allows you to put down as much as you can afford.
- Determine affordability– Use the estimates to gauge if the car payment truly fits within your budget and won’t strain your finances.
- Forecast total costs– Understand your total loan costs including interest over the full term so there are no surprises later.
Using an auto loan calculator upfront takes the guesswork out of financing a vehicle purchase. With the calculator estimates, you can confidently assess loan offers from lenders and make sure you get the best deal on your new car, truck, or SUV.
How an Auto Loan Calculator Works
Auto loan calculators use your desired vehicle loan details to provide tailored estimates of monthly payments, total interest costs, and other key financing figures. Here’s an overview of how the calculation process works:
- You input the vehicle purchase price, which is the total amount you’re financing including any taxes and fees. Used car calculators may also ask for the vehicle’s estimated trade-in value.
- Enter the down payment amount you plan to pay upfront, if any. The higher the down payment, the lower your financed amount will be.
- Select the loan term in months, such as 60 months or 72 months. Longer terms have lower payments but higher interest.
- Enter the annual percentage rate (APR) on the loan, accounting for your credit. Many calculators let you compare rates side-by-side.
- Select your local tax rate if required, which is added to your overall loan amount.
- Input any applicable car loan fees like origination fees. This further adds to your total costs.
- The calculator then breaks down your estimated monthly payment, total repayment amount, and total interest paid based on the details provided.
- You can tweak inputs like the down payment and loan term to see how the numbers change.
The calculator does the complicated financial math, giving you easy-to-understand estimates to help guide your auto financing decision.
Estimate Your Monthly Payment
The most important output of an auto loan calculator is determining your estimated monthly car payment. This makes it easy to assess if the payment works with your current budget.
Here are some key factors that affect your monthly payment estimate:
Vehicle Price – The total price of the car before any down payment, taxes, or fees are applied. MSRP for new or market value for use. A higher price means higher monthly payments.
Down Payment – The amount paid upfront to reduce the financed amount. Larger down payments lead to lower monthly payments.
Loan Term – The length of the loan, typically 36 to 72 months. Longer terms spread payments out over time but increase the total interest paid.
Interest Rate – Also called the annual percentage rate or APR. It’s a charge for borrowing money each year. A higher interest rate means a greater portion of your payment goes to interest.
Taxes – Local tax rates add to the sale price and the amount you finance. Tax can add a few extra dollars to each monthly payment.
Fees – Dealer fees for processing paperwork or originator fees from the lender. Fees add to the loan balance.
To get an accurate monthly payment estimate, be sure to account for all these factors based on your actual loan offer, budget, and comfort level with monthly payments.
Compare Auto Loan Terms
One very useful feature of an auto loan calculator is comparing how different loan terms impact your financing. When it comes to loan terms, longer is not necessarily better. Here’s an overview of common car loan term options:
36 months – The shortest term, with higher monthly payments but the lowest total interest paid. Great if you can afford the higher payments.
48 months – A medium-length term that nicely balances payment size and total interest costs. A popular option.
60 months – A longer term that lowers the monthly payments by spreading costs over 5 years. This comes with higher interest paid.
72 months – The longest option at 6 years. Drastically reduces monthly payments for more expensive vehicles but leads to the most interest paid over the full loan.
84 months – A very long 7-year term with the lowest payments possible, but not always recommended due to the increased total interest you pay.
Use the loan calculator to see monthly payment estimates for 36, 48, 60, and 72-month loans side-by-side. This makes it easy to choose a term that provides an affordable payment while minimizing total interest fees. Longer terms may seem enticing to get lower payments, but it’s important to avoid massive interest costs over the life of the car loan.
Compare Auto Loan Interest Rates
Today’s auto loan interest rates can range anywhere from 3% to 25% APR based on your credit score and lender. Even small interest rate differences of a few percent can add up to thousands in extra interest paid, so it pays to shop around for the best rate.
With an auto loan calculator, you can easily compare how borrowing at different interest rates impacts your monthly payment and overall costs. For example, you may compare a 5% vs. 8% vs. 12% interest rate with all other factors being equal.
The higher interest rate loan always results in a larger monthly payment and greater total interest fees. But seeing the actual difference in the dollar amounts each month and over the full loan term makes it crystal clear how much extra you would pay.
Every borrower’s credit profile and loan details are different, so interest rate comparisons using the calculator with real loan quotes you’ve received allows you to make the smartest financial decision. You may find you can comfortably afford the higher monthly payments of a lower-rate loan when you see the long-term savings.
Factor in Taxes and Fees
To get the most accurate estimate of your monthly payment, you’ll want to account for all taxes and any fees in your total loan amount entered into the auto loan calculator.
Sales Taxes – Your local vehicle sales tax rate is applied to the negotiated vehicle purchase price. The sales tax amount gets added directly to your loan balance rather than paid upfront in most cases. Include this tax total in your loan amount for a more realistic payment quote.
Registration/Title Fees – When you register and title the vehicle in your name, there are typically small associated fees. Again, these often get rolled into the total financed amount rather than paid separately.
Dealer Fees – Many dealers charge documentation or processing fees when you purchase from them, which can add a few hundred dollars to your loan balance.
Loan Origination Fees – The lender may charge an upfront fee when opening the auto loan. This single fee or series of fees contributes to costs.
Down Payment – Remember your down payment reduces the amount you finance, so be sure to factor that in as well.
Looking at the all-in loan amount with fees and taxes accounted for will give you the full picture of what your monthly payment entails. Avoid any surprises down the line by using the most complete loan details in the calculator.
See the Impact of Your Down Payment
The more money you can pay as a down payment upfront, the less you have to finance. In turn, this lowers your monthly payment amount and total interest paid over the loan term. But how much does boosting your down payment impact your costs?
A down payment savings calculator shows you the hard numbers on how different down payment amounts on the same vehicle change your loan details. For example:
- With a $5,000 down payment, your loan balance may be $25,000. This results in a $475 monthly payment at a 5% interest rate.
- Increase the down payment to $10,000, and the loan is reduced to a $20,000 balance. Now the monthly payment drops to $380.
Being able to see the differences side-by-side helps you determine if you can swing a larger down payment to reduce payments and interest. Even adding a few hundred dollars more to your down payment can make your monthly budget more comfortable.
Use the calculator to play with different down payment figures like 5%, 10%, or 20% of the purchase price and assess the impact on your financing. Know that any money paid upfront is money you save in interest and monthly payments over time.
Gauge Affordability With Estimates
One of the biggest benefits of an auto loan calculator is it quickly tells you what a potential monthly car payment could be based on your situation. You can then gauge if that estimated payment fits reasonably within your monthly budget.
To determine affordability and financial comfort level, look at these factors:
- Current income– What is your monthly take-home pay? Make sure a car payment takes up no more than 15% of your monthly income.
- Existing expenses– Tally up your current bills including housing, debt, utilities, food, etc. See where a car payment fits in.
- Loan term– The longer the term, the lower the payment. But higher total interest costs.
- Down payment– How much can you pay upfront? Higher down payments mean lower monthly payments.
- Interest rate– The APR impacts your payment size. See if you can get comfortable with the rate you qualify for.
- Overall budget– Do you have room for an additional car payment each month in your spending plan? Avoid spreading yourself too thin.
Use the estimates from the auto loan calculator to make sure a loan offer aligns with your financial situation. Getting pre-approved for financing early in the car buying process is highly recommended so you shop knowing what monthly payments you can manage.
Forecast Total Interest Costs
While the monthly payment amount is critical, you also want to look at how much total interest you’ll pay over the entire loan term with different financing options. The loan calculator breaks this down for you.
Here’s how to estimate the total interest paid:
Loan Amount – Your total principal borrowed including the sales price minus the down payment.
Term Length – Longer loan terms mean you’ll pay more interest over time.
Interest Rate – The higher the rate, the greater your interest fees over the full repayment period.
Monthly Payments – Multiply your monthly payment by the number of months in the loan term.
Total Interest – Subtract the loan amount from the total monthly payments to get the interest total.
Running the numbers on the full loan costs, not just the monthly payments, ensures you don’t get stuck paying way more interest than necessary. The calculator also shows the total amount repaid including principal + interest.
Review the total loan costs so you can minimize interest expenses and choose affordable monthly payments that fit your budget.
Auto Loan Calculator FAQs
How accurate are auto loan calculator estimates?
Online auto loan calculators provide very reliable estimates as long as the information entered matches your actual loan details and terms. Any estimated payment should be very close to real loan offers.
What information do I need to use the calculator?
You’ll want to input the vehicle price, your down payment, selected loan length term, APR interest rate, estimated taxes and fees, and local sales tax rate to get the most accurate monthly payment estimate.
Should I use multiple auto loan calculators?
Comparing estimates from a few different auto loan calculator tools can be helpful. But reputable sites should give you very similar estimates. Multiple lender calculators also let you compare different interest rates at once.
Will the dealer honor the auto loan calculator estimate?
The dealer is not obligated to honor the exact payment estimate, but it should be very close if you supply the correct loan details. Get a formal loan offer from the dealer before assuming any payment.
Can I save or share my auto loan calculator results?
Most auto loan calculators allow you to print or save your customized estimates, or share them via email. This lets you compare multiple scenarios after the fact or share numbers with a co-borrower.
Will my credit score impact the calculator estimate?
You’ll need to input the actual interest rate you qualify for based on your credit score. So be sure to use an accurate rate to account for your credit profile in the estimate.
How do I determine my interest rate for the calculator?
Get pre-approved financing from a lender before using the calculator so you know the real interest rate you qualify for. An online pre-approval form only takes a few minutes and will supply the rate.
Can the calculator help me choose between used or new cars?
Yes, you can compare monthly payments and total loan costs between different-priced used and new vehicles. This helps assess which fits your budget better. Just input the different sales prices.
What fees should I include in the loan amount?
Be sure to factor in any taxes, title and registration fees, dealer documentation fees, and loan origination fees charged by the lender to get the fully financed amount.
Wrap Up
Ahead of shopping for a new or used car, take the time to use an auto loan calculator to estimate your monthly payments, loan costs, and affordability. Adjust key inputs like vehicle price, down payment, loan terms, interest rate, taxes, and fees to make apples-to-apples comparisons between different financing scenarios and cars.
Online auto loan calculators from lenders provide quick and easy financing estimates. Get pre-approved with real rates before visiting dealers so you can shop and negotiate from a position of knowledge. Use the calculator and estimate details as tools to secure favorable loan terms that fit your budget.
He is the founder and owner of Ventures Money, a leading finance and investment website. With over 10 years of experience in the finance industry, Mustafa is passionate about helping everyday investors make smart decisions with their money.
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