Auto Loan Calculator

Calculates the monthly car payment and total interest from the vehicle price, down payment, trade-in, taxes and fees, interest rate and loan term. Use it to see how a longer or shorter term changes the payment and the interest on a new or used car.

How to use

1. Enter the "Vehicle price", "Down payment" and "Trade-in value".
2. Enter the "Interest rate (APR)" and "Loan term" in months; the "Monthly payment" appears at once.
3. Under "Taxes and fees", enter a percent or an amount and choose whether to "Include taxes and fees in the loan".
4. Check "Compare loan terms" for 36, 48, 60 and 72 months, and use "Save as CSV" to download the "Amortization schedule".

How it works

• Amount financed = price − down payment − trade-in, plus taxes and fees when they are financed. The payment is a fixed monthly amount at a monthly rate of APR ÷ 12.
• Assumes a fixed rate and payments starting one month after the loan. Your lender's figures may differ slightly because of rounding and day counts.
• The loan term can be from 1 to 120 months.

Questions and answers

Is a longer car loan term better?

A longer term lowers the monthly payment, but you pay interest for more months, so the total interest is higher. The "Compare loan terms" table shows both side by side.

What happens if I put more money down?

The amount financed falls by the same amount, so both the monthly payment and the total interest go down. The "Cash due at signing" goes up.

How is a car payment calculated?

Payment = loan × monthly rate ÷ (1 − (1 + monthly rate)^−months). The payment stays the same; early payments are mostly interest and later ones mostly principal.

How do I enter a trade-in?

Enter what the dealer pays for your car minus any loan you still owe on it under "Trade-in value". It lowers the amount financed by that amount.