Car Payment Calculator

Two numbers, and only one of them is honest

Any loan produces two figures: what you pay each month, and what you pay in total. Only the second is fixed by reality. The first can be moved almost anywhere by changing the term, which is precisely why so many conversations at the finance desk revolve around it. A payment that drops by forty dollars usually means a loan that costs a great deal more.

Try it here. Hold the price and rate constant and step the term from 48 to 72 to 84 months. The monthly figure falls each time and the total climbs each time — often past the point where the extra interest would have bought a meaningfully better car.

Getting the inputs right

Enter the out-the-door price including sales tax and registration and documentation fees, since those are almost always rolled into the financed amount. Subtract your deposit and any trade-in allowance. For the rate, use an actual pre-approval if you hold one; headline finance offers are generally restricted to the strongest credit tiers.

Then price the risk you can't see from the driveway. A vehicle history report costs $5.99 — trivial next to the loan, and decisive if the car turns out to carry an accident record or a branded title that will follow it to resale.