Auto Loan Calculator
Calculate your monthly car payment from vehicle price, down payment, trade-in value, interest rate, and loan term.
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About the Auto Loan Calculator
Financing a car involves more moving parts than a typical loan: the sticker price, whatever you put down, the value of a trade-in, and a term usually measured in months rather than years. This calculator combines all four with your interest rate to produce the amount actually financed, your monthly payment, and total interest over the loan.
How It Works
The calculator first nets the vehicle price against your down payment and trade-in value to find the amount financed. That financed amount is then run through the same amortization math used for any installment loan — converting the annual rate to a monthly rate and solving for the level payment that fully repays the loan across the chosen number of months.
Amount Financed = Vehicle Price − Down Payment − Trade-In; Payment = P × [r(1+r)^n] / [(1+r)^n − 1].
Worked example
Scenario: A $32,000 car with $4,000 down, no trade-in, 6.9% APR, over 60 months.
- Amount financed: $32,000 − $4,000 − $0 = $28,000.
- Monthly rate: 6.9% ÷ 12 = 0.575%; payments: 60.
- Payment = 28,000 × 0.00575 ÷ (1 − 1.00575^−60) = $553.11.
- First month: $161.00 interest, $392.11 principal. Total interest over 60 months ≈ $5,186.91.
Result: $553.11 a month and about $5,187 in interest on $28,000 financed.
Estimate the full cost of a car loan
The financed amount may differ from the vehicle price after down payment, trade-in, taxes, registration, dealer fees, and add-ons. Compare the total interest and total repayment as well as the monthly payment before evaluating loan offers.
Tips and common mistakes
- Sales tax, title and registration fees are often rolled into the loan; add them to the vehicle price if yours are.
- A longer term lowers the payment but raises total interest — compare 48, 60 and 72 months side by side.
- If you owe money on your trade-in, subtract the payoff from its value before entering it.
Assumptions & Limitations
- Trade-in value is treated as a straight reduction to the amount financed, with no separate payoff on an existing loan.
- Sales tax, title, and registration fees are not automatically added to the financed amount.
- Dealer financing often bundles fees or add-ons that change the effective rate — compare using the APR field on your paperwork, not just the advertised rate.
- Does not account for negative equity from a trade-in that is still owed money.
Sources and review
Method: Standard fixed-rate amortization (level-payment annuity) formula with monthly compounding, the method used for installment loans and mortgages.
Sources:
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) consumer guidance on loan payments, interest and amortization. including its auto-loan resources.
Last reviewed: October 2026 by Faheem Ali, founder of CalculatorAnything. The method and examples are provided for transparency; results remain estimates and may contain errors.
Results are estimates for planning and comparison, not financial advice or a lender's quote. Rates, fees, tax rules and regulations vary by country and change over time; confirm figures with your lender or a licensed adviser. Spotted an error? Tell us — see our editorial policy for how corrections are handled.