Car Loan Calculator
Monthly payment and total interest on a vehicle loan.
Your figures
Result
How to use this tool
- Enter your own figures over the defaults — Loan amount, Annual interest rate, Term.
- The answer updates as you type. There is no button, and nothing is sent anywhere.
- Change Annual interest rate on its own to see how much it moves the result — the worked example below shows exactly that.
Cars depreciate faster than the loan amortises in the early years, so a long term on a small deposit can leave you owing more than the car is worth. Shorter terms cost more monthly but avoid that.
How it works
This takes 3 inputs — loan amount, annual interest rate, term — and returns monthly payment, total repaid, total interest, interest as share of loan and number of payments. The whole calculation happens in this page as you type: there is no submit button, no request, and nothing stored.
Because it recalculates on every keystroke you can use it as a sensitivity test rather than a one-shot answer. Moving annual interest rate alone from 7.5 to 8.5 changes monthly payment from 601.14 to 615.50 — the worked example below sets that out in full.
A worked example
Worked through with the figures the page already has in it: loan amount of 30,000 and annual interest rate of 7.5 %, and the rest as shown, giving monthly payment of 601.14. These numbers come from running the calculator’s own code, not from being typed in here, so they cannot drift away from what you see on screen.
Starting from:
- Loan amount: 30,000
- Annual interest rate: 7.5 %
- Term: 5 years
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Monthly payment | 601.14 |
| Total repaid | 36,068.31 |
| Total interest | 6,068.31 |
| Interest as share of loan | 20.2% |
| Number of payments | 60 |
What happens when one input moves
Holding everything else steady and changing Annual interest rate from 7.5 % to 8.5 % — one percentage point — moves the answer like this:
| Figure | 7.5 % | 8.5 % |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly payment | 601.14 | 615.50 |
| Total repaid | 36,068.31 | 36,929.76 |
| Total interest | 6,068.31 | 6,929.76 |
| Interest as share of loan | 20.2% | 23.1% |
| Number of payments | 60 | 60 |
That is usually the number worth arguing over: it is easier to move than the headline amount, and the difference compounds across the whole term.
Car Loan Calculator — frequently asked questions
What term should I choose?
Shorter is cheaper overall. A 7-year car loan has a tempting monthly payment but you will pay far more interest and spend years in negative equity.
Does this include tax, title and fees?
No. Enter the amount you are actually financing, which normally includes those costs if you rolled them into the loan.
Is dealer financing worse than a bank?
Not always — manufacturer promotional rates can beat banks. Compare the total repaid figure, not the monthly payment, since dealers often stretch the term to make payments look smaller.
Is this calculator free?
Yes, with no account, no limits and no data collection. It runs entirely in your browser.
Should I rely on this for a financial or medical decision?
No. It is a planning estimate built on standard formulas and stated assumptions. For decisions that matter, speak to a qualified professional who can account for your full circumstances.
How accurate is the Car Loan figure?
The arithmetic is exact. With the defaults on this page — loan amount 30000, annual interest rate 7.5 %, term 5 years — it returns monthly payment of 601.14. What limits accuracy is the assumptions, not the maths: change annual interest rate to 8.5 % and the same formula gives 615.50. Treat it as a well-founded estimate, not a quotation.
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Background reading: Loan, Mortgage and Investment Calculators Explained
Nothing is sent anywhere. The figures you type stay in this page and are never transmitted or stored — how that works.
Disclaimer. The formula is exact; the answer is only as good as the figures and assumptions above. Not financial, tax, medical or legal advice. Full disclaimer.