Car Loan Calculator (Auto Loan Payment with Down Payment and Trade-In)
Monthly car payment from price, down payment, trade-in, rate and term, with total interest, the full cost of the car and a year-by-year schedule.
Inputs
- Principal$30,000(84%)
- Interest$5,642(16%)
| Year | Principal paid | Interest paid | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $5,193 | $1,935 | $24,807 |
| 2 | $5,568 | $1,560 | $19,239 |
| 3 | $5,971 | $1,158 | $13,268 |
| 4 | $6,403 | $726 | $6,865 |
| 5 | $6,865 | $263 | $0.00 |
- Total interest payable
- $5,642
- Total payment
- $35,642
- Loan amount
- $30,000
- Term
- 5 years (60 payments)
- Monthly rate (r)
- 7% ÷ 12 = 0.58333%
- Working
- (1 + r)^60 = 1.4176; payment = loan × r × 1.4176 ÷ 0.4176 = loan × 0.019801
- Interest as a share of all payments
- 16%
Use this calculator on your own site
Free embed
- Two lines of HTML, unlimited views
- Shows a small CalculateEveryday bar, with a credit link under the calculator
What each Car Loan input means
- Car price (or amount to finance)
- The out-the-door price — vehicle price plus taxes, registration and dealer fees if you are financing them. Or, with no down payment or trade-in entered, just the loan amount.
- Down payment (optional)
- Cash you pay up front. It comes straight off the amount financed.
- Trade-in value (optional)
- What the dealer gives you for your old car, after paying off any loan still on it. If you owe more than it is worth, the shortfall is often rolled into the new loan — add it to the price instead.
- Interest rate (annual)
- The annual rate on the loan offer. Compare offers by APR, which includes fees; the payment itself comes from the rate.
- Tenure
- Loan length in months: 36, 48, 60, 72 or 84 are typical.
Car Loan formula
Amount financed = price − down payment − trade-in · Payment = A × r × (1 + r)^n / ((1 + r)^n − 1)
A car loan is an ordinary level-payment loan on the amount financed: the price of the car, less any cash down payment and the value of a trade-in. OpenStax's Contemporary Mathematics works through exactly this in its section on buying a car. The monthly payment then comes from the standard formula, with r the annual rate divided by 12 and n the number of months — auto loans usually run 36 to 72 months, sometimes 84. Because cars lose value quickly, the term matters more than it does on a house: a long loan keeps the payment low but costs more interest and can leave you owing more than the car is worth for the first few years. The page shows the payment, the total interest, the share of every payment that is interest, the working behind the formula and a year-by-year schedule. If you enter a down payment or trade-in, it also shows the full cost of the car: every payment plus the cash and trade-in you put in.
Car Loan worked example
Financing $30,000 at 7% over 5 years (60 months): r = 7 ÷ 12 = 0.5833% a month and (1 + r)^60 = 1.4176, so the payment is about $594 a month. Over five years that is roughly $35,642 repaid, $5,642 of it interest — 16% of everything you pay.
More Car Loan examples
A $38,000 car with $5,000 down and a $7,000 trade-in leaves $26,000 to finance. At 6.5% over 72 months the payment is $437 a month and the interest about $5,468; with the down payment and trade-in counted, the car costs $43,468 in all.
Where the Car Loan calculator can give the wrong answer
- Out-the-door price includes sales tax, registration and dealer fees. Lenders may finance only part of that, so check whether the figure you enter is the amount actually financed.
- Many states tax only the price minus the trade-in, which lowers the tax; others tax the full price. Work out the tax first and add it to the price.
- Balloon payments, step-up schedules and leases aren't modelled; this assumes equal monthly payments for the full term.
- A 0% dealer offer may still carry a documentation or acquisition fee, and often replaces a cash rebate — compare the 0% loan against the rebate plus an outside loan.
- Long terms on a fast-depreciating car can leave you 'upside down', owing more than it is worth; the schedule shows how slowly the balance falls in the first two years.
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Car Loan reference table
| Rate | 36 months | 48 months | 60 months | 72 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4% | 295 | 226 | 184 | 156 |
| 6% | 304 | 235 | 193 | 166 |
| 8% | 313 | 244 | 203 | 175 |
| 10% | 323 | 254 | 212 | 185 |
Car Loan FAQ
- Subtract the down payment and trade-in from the price, then apply the loan formula: payment = A × r × (1 + r)^n ÷ ((1 + r)^n − 1). For $25,000 at 6% over 60 months: r = 0.005, (1.005)^60 = 1.3489, payment = 25,000 × 0.005 × 1.3489 ÷ 0.3489 = $483.32.
- A longer term lowers the payment but raises total interest, and on a depreciating car it keeps you owing more than the car is worth for longer. Per 10,000 at 8%, 72 months costs 175 a month against 244 over 48 months, but about 2,600 in interest instead of 1,700.
- Enough to keep the loan below the car's value from the start; 10–20% is a common guide. A larger down payment lowers both the payment and the interest, and reduces the chance of owing more than the car is worth if it is written off.
- Only if you add them to the price. GAP insurance, service contracts and extended warranties sold with the car increase the amount financed and therefore the payment, even when presented as add-ons.
- Work out both. Take the rebate off the price, finance the rest at an outside rate here, and compare the total cost with the 0% loan on the full price. Often the rebate wins on shorter terms.