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Car Loan Calculator

Look beyond the monthly payment. A 0% or low-rate deal with upfront fees still costs money; enter the price, down payment, term, rate and fees to see the monthly payment, the total cost and the real APR once fees are counted.

Runs in your browser — nothing you enter is uploaded

Down payment: 10,500.00

Arrangement, service or GPS fees paid when the loan starts

Lump sum due with the last payment; 0 if none

Monthly payment

750.90

Real APR (with fees)

6.50%

Total cost

37,532.42

2,532.42 more than the price

Amount financed
24,500.00
Total interest
2,532.42
Upfront fees
0.00

Payments are equal monthly instalments; the real APR treats the fees as paid out of the loan.

How to use

  1. Enter the car price and down payment percentage, and choose a term of 12 to 84 months.
  2. Enter the interest rate (0 for a 0% deal) and any upfront fees such as arrangement or service fees.
  3. For a balloon plan, enter the balloon as a percentage of the price. Read the monthly payment, total cost and real APR.

Options explained

Monthly payment
Equal monthly instalments. With a balloon, the balloon accrues interest and is paid with the last instalment, so monthly payments are lower.
Real APR
Treats the upfront fees as deducted from the loan and converts the actual payments to an annual rate using IRR, so it can be compared with other loans.

How the monthly payment is calculated

Equal monthly instalments follow the standard loan formula, with the monthly rate r equal to the annual rate divided by 12 and n the number of months:

payment = loan × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)^−n)

For a 0% loan the payment is simply the loan divided by n. Example: financing 20,000 over 48 months at 6% gives r = 0.5% and a payment of 469.70, so you pay 22,545.63 in total, of which 2,545.63 is interest.

The real APR is higher than the quoted rate whenever there are upfront fees, because you receive less than the amount you repay. The tool finds the rate at which the payments you actually make are worth the loan minus the fees, which is why it can be compared across offers with different fees.

Frequently asked questions

What is the payment on a $35,000 car with 30% down over 60 months at 6.5%?

You finance $24,500 and pay about $479.37 a month, $4,262.24 in interest in total.

How much do fees add?

With $5,000 down, 60 months at 6.5% and a $995 fee, the payment is about $586.98 and the real APR rises to about 7.92%.

Are balloon loans a good deal?

Monthly payments are lower, but the balloon accrues interest the whole time, so total interest is higher and you need a large sum at the end. They suit people who expect to sell or trade in the car.

Privacy

This tool runs entirely in your browser. Your files and text are processed on your device and are never uploaded to our servers.

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