Car Affordability Calculator
The most you can spend on a car for a monthly payment you can manage, with your down payment and trade-in, and the true monthly cost once running costs are added.
Result
Most you can spend on the car: $22,457.39
Before sales tax and fees, which add to the price. No affordability rule is applied; the payment is yours to judge.
- Most you can borrow
- $22,457.39
- Interest over the loan
- $4,542.61
https://calcgallery.com/vehicle-ownership/car-affordability-calculator/
Results are arithmetic on the figures you enter. The site stores no vehicle data, fuel prices, mileage rates, depreciation rates or residual values, because they vary by model and place and change over time. Real fuel economy varies with driving, weather and load. Nothing here is a fitment, safety or financial recommendation. Read the full disclaimer
How to use the Car Affordability Calculator
- Enter the monthly payment you can manage, the loan's interest rate and its term in months.
- Add your down payment and, if you are trading a car in, its value and anything still owed on it.
- Optionally add insurance, fuel, maintenance and depreciation to see the true monthly cost.
The formulas
most you can borrow = payment × (1 − (1 + i)^−n) ÷ imost you can spend = most you can borrow + down payment + trade-in value − amount still owedtrue monthly cost = payment + insurance + fuel + maintenance + depreciationwhere i is the monthly interest rate, the annual rate ÷ 12, and n is the number of monthly payments. At 0% the loan is simply the payment times the number of months.
Tax and fees
Sales tax, registration and dealer fees are not included, and in most places they add to the price or the loan. The auto loan calculator works out the payment on a price with them included.
With your numbers
- Most you can borrow = $450.00 × (1 − (1 + i)^−60) ÷ i = $22,457.39
- Price = $22,457.39 + $4,000.00 down + -$2,500.00 trade-in equity = $23,957.39
Quick reference
Before sales tax and fees, which add to the price. No affordability rule is applied; the payment is yours to judge.
| Example | Most you can spend on the car |
|---|---|
| 450 a month, 7.5%, 60 months | $26,457.39 |
| With a trade-in 2,500 under water | $23,957.39 |
| Over 72 months | $30,026.44 |
| At 0% | $31,000.00 |
| With running costs | $26,457.39 |
| 300 a month over 48 months | $14,774.10 |
Common questions about the Car Affordability Calculator
- How much car can I afford?
- This page answers the arithmetic half: the largest price a payment buys. 450 a month at 7.5% over 60 months borrows 22,457.39; with 4,000 down that is a 26,457.39 car. Whether 450 a month is right for you depends on your income, other costs and savings, and no rule of thumb is applied here.
- Why does a longer loan cost more?
- Stretching the same payment over 72 months instead of 60 borrows 26,026.44 instead of 22,457.39, but the interest rises from 4,542.61 to 6,373.56, and you owe money on the car for longer while it loses value.
- What is negative equity?
- Owing more on your current car than it is worth. Trade in a car worth 9,000 with 11,500 still owed and the 2,500 difference has to be paid, usually by adding it to the new loan, so it comes straight off what you can spend.
- Why is the true monthly cost so much higher?
- Because a car costs far more than its loan payment. A 450 payment on a car that also costs 140 in insurance, 110 in fuel, 60 in maintenance and loses 400 a month in value is a 1,160 a month car. The car depreciation and fuel cost calculators estimate the last two.