🚗 Auto Loan Calculator
Estimate an equal monthly car payment, amount financed, total interest, and total loan payments from the vehicle price, down payment, annual interest rate, and whole-month loan term.
🧮 Monthly Car Payment Estimate
Select a display region and enter the proposed financing terms.
🌎 Country and display currency
The selector changes the currency display and regional guidance. It does not convert currencies or automatically apply taxes, lender compounding, or local lending rules.
The down payment must be less than the entered vehicle price.
Enter the interest rate used to calculate scheduled payments—not APR when APR includes additional credit costs.
Financial disclaimer: This calculator is for informational purposes only and does not provide financial, tax, legal, loan, or investment advice. Actual results may vary depending on lender terms, tax rules, fees, deductions, and personal circumstances.
📘 How the auto loan calculation works
The calculator first subtracts the down payment from the entered vehicle price. It then applies a fixed-payment amortization formula using equal monthly payments.
Amount financed
P = vehicle price − down payment
Monthly interest rate
r = annual interest rate ÷ 100 ÷ 12
Monthly payment
M = P × r ÷ [1 − (1 + r)−n]
Total and interest
Total payments = M × n
Total interest = total payments − P
At exactly 0%, monthly payment equals the amount financed divided by the number of payments. Calculations retain full precision; displayed currency is rounded to cents.
📊 Interest rate is not always APR
The scheduled-payment formula uses the annual interest rate applied to the loan balance. APR can include certain additional credit costs, so it is valuable when comparing offers but may not be the rate used to calculate monthly interest.
Use the annual interest rate stated in the loan terms for this calculator. Separately compare APR, amount financed, loan length, finance charges, fees, monthly payment, and total of payments on the disclosure provided by the lender.
🧮 Worked example: $35,000 vehicle at 6% for 60 months
This static example is generated by the same calculation function used by the interactive tool.
Inputs
- Vehicle price: $35,000.00
- Down payment: $5,000.00
- Annual interest rate: 6%
- Loan term: 60 months
Calculation and results
- Amount financed: $35,000 − $5,000 = $30,000.00
- Monthly rate: 6% ÷ 12 = 0.5%
- Estimated monthly payment: $579.98
- Estimated total loan payments: $34,799.04
- Estimated total interest: $4,799.04
The total is calculated from the unrounded monthly result, not by multiplying the displayed two-decimal payment. Actual contracts may adjust the final payment for rounding.
🚘 From vehicle price to amount financed
This calculator starts with the vehicle price you enter and subtracts one cash down-payment amount. The remainder is the loan principal used by the payment formula.
Vehicle price
The starting transaction amount entered in the form. It is not automatically a market value, negotiated price, or out-the-door price.
Amount financed
The principal remaining after the entered cash down payment. Monthly payment and total interest are based on this amount—not on the vehicle price alone.
Sales tax, registration, title charges, dealer or lender fees, rebates, add-ons, and trade-in balances are not separate inputs. If you already know an out-the-door amount that includes financed additions, use that confirmed amount as the starting vehicle-price input.
💵 Down payment changes more than the monthly payment
The form accepts a cash amount, not a percentage. A larger down payment reduces the amount financed. With the same rate and term, that also reduces the monthly payment, total loan payments, and total interest.
This relationship is arithmetic, not a recommendation for how much cash you should put down.
🔄 Trade-in value is not always cash equity
There is no separate trade-in field. A dealer allowance is not the same as usable equity when money is still owed on the old vehicle. This calculator does not subtract a payoff, roll negative equity into the new loan, or adjust the tax base for local trade-in rules.
Confirm the trade-in allowance, payoff, net equity, and amount financed on the transaction documents before using a trade-in amount as part of the down payment.
🧾 Taxes and fees can increase the financed principal
This version has no tax-rate or fee fields and does not determine state, provincial, or territorial vehicle-tax rules. The US/CA selector changes currency display only.
| Transaction item | Handled automatically? | What to verify |
|---|---|---|
| Cash down payment | Yes | Enter the cash amount directly. |
| Sales tax and registration | No | Confirm the taxable base and financed amount. |
| Dealer or lender fees | No | Check which charges are paid upfront or financed. |
| Rebates and incentives | No | Confirm eligibility and where the credit is applied. |
| Trade-in payoff or negative equity | No | Use the actual net equity or rolled-in balance. |
📊 Compare one financing decision at a time
These comparisons call the same production calculation as the interactive tool. Each pair changes one input while holding the other financing assumptions constant.
Down payment comparison
$35,000 vehicle · 6% · 60 months
$0.00 down: $35,000.00 financed, $676.65/month, $5,598.88 interest
$7,000.00 down: $28,000.00 financed, $541.32/month, $4,479.11 interest
Loan-term comparison
$30,000 financed · 6%
36 months: $912.66/month, $2,855.69 interest, $32,855.69 total payments
72 months: $497.19/month, $5,797.44 interest, $35,797.44 total payments
Interest-rate comparison
$30,000 financed · 60 months
4% rate: $552.50/month, $3,149.74 interest, $33,149.74 total payments
8% rate: $608.29/month, $6,497.51 interest, $36,497.51 total payments
A longer term lowers the scheduled payment in this model but raises total interest. A higher rate raises both the payment and total financing cost when principal and term stay unchanged.
0️⃣ What happens at 0% interest?
At exactly 0%, the calculator divides the amount financed evenly across the selected whole-month term. Total interest is zero.
$24,000.00 financed over 48 months at 0% = $500.00 per month and $0.00 interest.
Taxes or fees already included in the starting amount are still principal even when the interest rate is zero.
📊 Interest rate and APR are not interchangeable
The input is the annual interest rate used by the payment formula. This calculator does not calculate APR. APR may reflect eligible lender fees or other finance charges, depending on the applicable disclosure rules.
Compare the disclosed APR and finance charge separately; do not enter an APR in place of the contract interest rate unless that is also the rate used for scheduled payments.
🏦 Why a dealer or lender quote may differ
A contract can start from a different amount financed or use details that are outside this four-input model. A difference does not by itself mean the quote is wrong.
🎯 When this car loan calculator is useful
Use the estimate to compare equal-monthly-payment scenarios after you have a plausible starting transaction amount.
- • Estimate a monthly car-loan payment
- • Compare cash down-payment amounts
- • Compare whole-month loan terms
- • Compare annual interest rates
- • Check the amount financed
- • Compare total interest and total loan payments
It does not approve financing, determine affordability, negotiate a vehicle price, calculate a lease, model depreciation or ownership costs, or provide dedicated refinance, balloon-payment, variable-rate, or extra-payment calculations.
🌎 United States and Canada assumptions
🇺🇸 United States estimates
Select US to display USD. The estimate does not automatically include state or local sales tax, title and registration, documentation charges, optional protection products, negative equity, or other financed fees.
🇨🇦 Canadian estimates
Select CA to display CAD. The model assumes equal monthly payments and divides the entered annual interest rate by 12. Weekly, biweekly, accelerated, daily-interest, and lender-specific schedules may produce different results.
GST, HST, PST, QST, registration, dealer fees, optional products, and rolled-in balances are not added automatically.
🧾 Method, limitations, and privacy
Method: Fixed-payment amortization with equal monthly payments and a monthly rate equal to the entered annual interest rate divided by 12.
Model boundary: The result excludes taxes, fees, trade-in debt, rebates, add-ons, insurance, payment dates, and lender-specific calculation or rounding rules.
Privacy: Calculations are performed locally in your browser. This calculator does not require you to submit the entered financing values to FigureNorth.
Review status: Educational content based on published consumer-finance guidance; not individually reviewed by a lender or financial adviser.
📚 Consumer-finance sources
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — Interest rate and APR
- Federal Trade Commission — Financing or leasing a car
- Financial Consumer Agency of Canada — Financing a car
Calculation version: Auto Loan Calculator V2
Last reviewed: August 15, 2026
Maintained by: FigureNorth Editorial Team
❓ Auto Loan Calculator FAQ
🧮 How is the amount financed calculated?
Amount financed equals the entered vehicle price minus the cash down payment. This version does not automatically add sales tax, registration, dealer fees, add-ons, or an existing trade-in loan balance.
💵 How does a down payment affect the car loan?
A larger cash down payment reduces the amount financed. With the same interest rate and term, that lowers the estimated monthly payment, total loan payments, and total interest. The calculator accepts a dollar amount, not a percentage.
🔄 How does a trade-in affect this estimate?
There is no separate trade-in field. Do not treat the trade-in allowance as equity until you subtract any payoff on the old loan. This calculator does not model that payoff, negative equity, or location-specific trade-in tax treatment.
🧾 Are taxes and fees included in the amount financed?
Not automatically. There are no tax-rate or fee inputs. If you already know an out-the-door amount that includes financed taxes and fees, you can use that amount as the vehicle-price input, then subtract only the cash down payment entered here.
📅 How does the loan term affect payment and interest?
With the same amount financed and interest rate, a longer term usually lowers the monthly payment but increases total interest. A shorter term usually raises the monthly payment and reduces total interest.
📊 Does this calculator calculate APR?
No. It uses the annual interest rate entered to calculate equal monthly payments. APR may include eligible lender fees or other finance charges and should be compared separately on the lender disclosure.
⚠️ Does it handle negative equity or an existing trade-in loan?
No. It has no fields for a trade-in payoff or rolled-in negative equity. Ask for the transaction worksheet and loan disclosure so you can identify the actual amount financed before comparing payment estimates.
🏦 Why might a dealer or lender quote differ?
A quote may include taxes, title and registration, dealer or lender fees, add-ons, warranties, insurance products, rebates, trade-in treatment, payment timing, APR-related finance charges, or lender-specific rounding that this calculator does not model.