Car Loan Calculator
The payment on the whole deal — trade-in, whatever is still owed on it, sales tax, dealer fees and any rebate — rather than the sticker price minus a down payment.
The address carries whatever you changed, so anyone opening it sees these numbers. Nothing is saved on our side.
Estimated monthly payment
$711/mo
You owe $1,500 more on the trade-in than it is worth, and that rolls into this loan — so you are financing $35,990 on a $35,000 car.
- $35,990
- $1,890
- On $27,000
- -$1,500
- Rolled into the loan
- $6,667
- $45,657
- Down payment, loan and interest
- 60 months
What you are actually borrowing
The sticker price is rarely the loan. Tax, fees and any negative equity are added; the down payment and real trade-in equity are taken off.
- Vehicle price89%$33,500
- Sales tax5%$1,890
- Fees2%$600
- Negative equity rolled in4%$1,500
- Amount financed$35,990
What the term costs you
A longer loan lowers the payment and raises the total. It also keeps you owing more than the car is worth for longer, which matters if you need to sell it.
| Term | Monthly | Total interest | vs yours |
|---|---|---|---|
| 36 months | $1,110 | −$2,710 less in total | |
| 48 months | $860 | −$1,369 less in total | |
| 60 monthsyours | $711 | — | |
| 72 monthsLong terms leave you underwater for longer | $612 | +$1,398 more in total | |
| 84 monthsLong terms leave you underwater for longer | $541 | +$2,823 more in total |
How this calculator works
The payment is the standard amortizing-loan formula. Getting the amount financed right is the part everyone gets wrong.
financed = price − rebate + tax + fees
− down payment − trade-in equity
Trade-in equity is what the dealer allows less what you still owe. When that is negative, subtracting it adds to the loan — which is exactly what happens in the showroom.
Only the dealer’s allowance reduces the taxable amount, never the equity. What you still owe is between you and your old lender; it cannot change what the state taxes.
What is assumed
- Tax and fees are financed rather than paid in cash. Paying them up front instead is the same as adding them to the down payment.
- A fixed rate for the whole term, with equal payments.
- No insurance, fuel, maintenance or registration renewals — this is the loan, not the cost of running the car.
A worked example
A $35,000 car, $3,000 down, trading in a car worth $8,000 with $9,500 still owed on it. 7% sales tax deducted after the trade-in, $600 of fees, 6.9% over 60 months.
| Vehicle price | Before anything else |
|---|---|
| Taxable amount | 35,000 − 8,000 trade-in allowance |
| Sales tax at 7% | 27,000 × 0.07 |
| Fees | Documentation, registration, title |
| Down payment | Deducted |
| Trade-in equity | 8,000 − 9,500, so it is added |
| Amount financed | $710.95 a month for 60 months |
The loan is larger than the car. $990 more, on a vehicle bought with $3,000 down — because the old loan came along for the ride. Over the term the interest adds $6,666.86, for a total cost of $45,656.86 on a $35,000 car.
Move the tax setting to the full price and the payment rises from $710.95 to $722.01 — $560 more tax, for no change to the car, the deal or the buyer. That is purely which state the dealership stands in.
Questions people ask
It is owing more on your current car than a dealer will give you for it. The shortfall does not disappear — it is added to the new loan, so you finance the new car plus the remains of the old one. You start the new loan already underwater, which makes it likely you will be underwater again when you next trade in. It is the main way people end up in a cycle of ever-larger car loans.
Many do and several do not, and a few charge tax on the full price regardless. It is worth checking, because the difference is real money: on a $35,000 car with an $8,000 trade-in at 7%, deducting the trade-in saves $560. The setting is a choice in this calculator rather than a lookup, because rates and rules differ by state and county and they change.
Work out both. A rebate reduces the amount financed immediately and, in most states, the sales tax with it. Promotional financing reduces the interest. Which wins depends on the size of each, the loan term, and what rate you would otherwise get — run the calculator once with the rebate and your normal rate, once with no rebate and the promotional rate, and compare the total cost rather than the payment.
Some are. Registration and title fees are set by the state and fixed. Documentation fees are set by the dealer, capped in some states and not others, and everything described as an add-on — paint protection, fabric treatment, VIN etching — is a product being sold to you, not a fee. Whatever you agree to gets financed, so it also accrues interest for the life of the loan.
Longer than you will want the car, and longer than it holds its value. A 72- or 84-month loan lowers the payment and leaves you owing more than the car is worth for most of its life, so selling or trading before the end means covering the gap in cash. If the payment only works at 84 months, the honest answer is usually that the car is too expensive.
Related calculators
An estimate for planning. Sales tax rates and trade-in rules vary by state and county, dealer fees vary by dealer, and your rate depends on your credit.