Auto Loan Calculator
Vehicle price, trade-in, taxes, and rate — the payment the finance office will quote you, computed before you walk in.
Calculate your car payment
How the car payment is calculated
The finance office runs three steps. First, sales tax — in most states it's charged on the price minus your trade-in, which is a genuine tax benefit of trading in versus selling privately. Second, the amount financed: price plus tax, minus your down payment and trade-in. Third, the standard amortization formula turns that amount, your APR, and your term into the monthly payment.
A worked example
A $35,000 vehicle with $4,000 down, no trade, 8.4% sales tax, 7.5% APR for 60 months: tax adds $2,940, so you finance $33,940. The payment comes to about $680/month, with roughly $6,860 of total interest — the car really costs about $44,800. Stretch to 84 months and the payment drops near $521, but interest balloons past $9,800 and you'll be underwater on the loan for years. The term is where dealers hide expensive cars.
Three rules from the math
Get pre-approved by your bank or credit union before visiting the dealer, so the dealer's rate has a number to beat. Negotiate the price of the car, never the monthly payment — a payment can be made to look small with a long term while the price quietly rises. And keep terms at 60 months or less when you can; beyond that, depreciation outruns your equity.
Frequently asked questions
Should I tell the dealer about my trade-in upfront?
Negotiate the new car's price first, then introduce the trade-in as a separate transaction. Combining them lets the numbers blur. The tax credit on a trade-in applies either way in most states.
Is 0% financing better than a cash rebate?
Run both in the calculator: finance with the rebate subtracted at your bank's rate, versus full price at 0%. With large rebates, taking the rebate plus outside financing often wins.
What's a good APR for a car loan right now?
Rates move with the market and your credit score. The honest benchmark is the best of three quotes — your bank, a credit union, and the dealer — collected within the same week.
Why is my quoted payment higher than this calculator?
Dealers often fold in extras: extended warranties, GAP insurance, doc fees, and add-ons. Ask for the out-the-door price and the amount financed in writing, then compare to the math here.