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AffordPilot

Car Loan Calculator

Work out what a car loan will actually cost. Enter the car price, your down payment and trade-in, the APR, the term and any taxes or fees, and this auto loan calculator shows the monthly car payment, the amount financed, the total interest and the total you will have paid by the end — in your own currency.

Your loan

Example values are shown below. Replace them with your own numbers.

Only changes how amounts are displayed. No exchange-rate conversion is applied.

Leave at 0 if you have no car to trade.

Sales tax, VAT or registration tax, if financed.

Documentation, delivery and arrangement fees.

Enter 0 for a 0% finance offer.

Estimated monthly payment

369,94 €

Financing 15.300,00 € over 48 months at 7.5% APR.

Amount financed
15.300,00 €
Monthly payment
369,94 €
Total principal
15.300,00 €
Total interest
2.456,99 €
Total loan payments
17.756,99 €

Principal plus interest over the term.

Cash paid over the deal
20.756,99 €

Cash down payment plus all loan payments, excluding trade-in value. Taxes and fees are already inside the amount financed.

Down payment and trade-in
3.000,00 €
Total economic cost including trade-in
20.756,99 €

Cash down payment plus loan payments plus the value of the car you surrender.

What should I do next?

Based on the numbers you entered. Everything is worked out in your browser — nothing you type is sent anywhere.

  • About 370,00 € a month for 48 months

    You would finance 15.300,00 € and repay 17.757,00 € in total, of which 2.457,00 € is interest — roughly 16% on top of what you borrowed.

  • A longer term lowers the payment and raises the interest

    Stretching the term spreads the same balance over more months, so each payment is smaller but the balance is outstanding for longer. Compare the terms below before choosing on the monthly figure alone.

  • Every extra unit of deposit is one less financed

    Your deposit and trade-in of 3.000,00 € already cut the financed amount. Interest is charged only on what is borrowed, so adding to it reduces both the payment and the total interest.

Try a safer scenario

These are hypothetical comparisons. Your own numbers above do not change.

Not sure this price fits your budget in the first place? Try the Car Affordability Calculator →

These are educational estimates based on common rules of thumb, not individual financial advice.

Not sure what car price fits your budget? Check your car affordability first.

Estimates for general education only. Real finance offers depend on your credit profile, dealer charges, balloon payments and local rules. This is not financial or lending advice.

How are car loan payments calculated?

A car loan is a fully amortising loan: you pay the same amount every month, and each payment covers the interest accrued that month with the rest reducing the balance. The monthly payment comes from the standard formula

payment = P × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)−n)

where P is the amount financed, r is the monthly interest rate (APR ÷ 12 ÷ 100) and n is the number of monthly payments. The amount financed itself is the car price plus any financed taxes and fees, minus your down payment and trade-in value.

How this calculation works

  • Amount financed = car price + taxes + fees − down payment − trade-in value, never below zero.
  • Monthly rate = APR ÷ 12 ÷ 100.
  • Monthly payment = P × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)−n). At 0% APR the calculator uses the limiting case, P ÷ n, so there is no division-by-zero error.
  • Total loan payments = monthly payment × number of months.
  • Total interest = total loan payments − amount financed.
  • Cash paid over the deal = cash down payment + all loan payments, excluding trade-in value. Financed taxes and fees are already inside the amount financed, so they are not counted twice. The total economic cost including trade-in also adds the trade-in value you surrender, since that is value you hand over rather than cash you keep.

Assumptions: a fixed APR, equal monthly payments, no balloon or final payment, no early-settlement charges, and no insurance or add-on products rolled into the balance. Negative inputs are treated as zero, and if your down payment and trade-in exceed the total price the amount financed is zero. Currency selection changes formatting only — no conversion is applied.

What moves the numbers

  • APR — raises the payment and, over a long term, the total interest disproportionately. Interest accrues on the outstanding balance, so a slower-shrinking balance costs more.
  • Down payment and trade-in — reduce the amount financed one-for-one, cutting both the payment and the interest.
  • Loan term — a longer term lowers the monthly payment but usually raises the total interest, and keeps you owing more than the car is worth for longer.
  • Taxes and fees — only affect the loan if they are financed rather than paid at signing.

Worked example

Tom buys a car at 18.000,00 € with 300,00 € of financed fees, puts 3.000,00 € down and has no trade-in. He takes 48 months at 7.5% APR.

  • Amount financed = 18,000 + 300 − 3,000 = 15.300,00 €.
  • Monthly rate = 7.5 ÷ 12 ÷ 100 = 0.00625.
  • Monthly payment = 15,300 × 0.00625 ÷ (1 − 1.00625−48) ≈ 370,00 €.
  • Total loan payments = 370 × 48 ≈ 17.757,00 €, of which 2.457,00 € is interest.
  • Cash paid over the deal (deposit + payments) ≈ 20.757,00 €.

At 0% APR the same balance over 48 months would be 319,00 € a month with no interest at all.

Amounts follow the currency selected in the calculator above. AffordPilot never converts between currencies — the figures are the same either way.

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