Estimate your monthly car loan payment with down payment, trade-in, sales tax, and total cost of ownership.
Sales tax is added to the financed amount, then the loan is amortized at the APR.
7.0% is the 2026 US average for a prime borrower.
A 1% APR reduction on a $35K / 72-month loan saves $1,600+ over the loan. See the top-rated guides on car negotiation, dealer tactics, and lender shopping on Amazon.
🚗 See top car-buying books on Amazon →Enter the vehicle price (or use a quick-pick chip from $10K to $60K). The default $35,000 is close to the 2026 US average new-car transaction price. Add your down payment and trade-in value — both are subtracted from the price before financing.
Pick your state for sales tax. Most US states tax the vehicle price (after trade-in, in some states), and the tax gets added to the financed amount. Five states have no sales tax: Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon. Switch to Canada mode for provincial GST/HST/PST.
Choose a loan term (36 to 84 months) and the APR. The default 7.0% APR is the 2026 US average for a prime borrower. The result shows your monthly payment, total interest, total paid, and amount financed. The yellow "true monthly cost" card adds the realistic fuel + insurance + maintenance cost ($250/mo for a $35K-class vehicle) so you can budget for what owning the car actually costs.
Below the result, the side-by-side comparison shows the same loan at 12 months shorter and 12 months longer — useful for seeing how much interest you'd save (or pay) by adjusting the term. Pro tip: bookmark this page with your scenario in the URL — the calculator rehydrates from URL params so a shared link like ?price=35000&down=3500&term=72&apr=7 opens straight to that scenario.
Monthly payment: The dollar amount you'll pay each month for the life of the loan. Calculated with the standard amortization formula: P × (r(1+r)^n) / ((1+r)^n − 1) where P is the financed amount, r is the monthly interest rate (APR ÷ 12), and n is the number of months.
Total interest: How much extra you pay in interest over the loan's life. On a $35K vehicle with $3.5K down at 7% / 72 months, that's about $7,884 — meaning 18% of your total payments go to interest, not the car.
Total paid: The sum of every payment over the loan term. Subtract the amount financed to get the interest cost.
Amount financed: The vehicle price minus down payment and trade-in, plus sales tax. This is the actual principal the loan is amortized against.
True monthly cost of ownership: Loan payment + $250/mo for fuel, insurance, and maintenance. Most buyers under-budget for these — the rule of thumb is they add 50-60% on top of your loan payment. If your loan is $500/mo, your real monthly cost is closer to $750.
At a 7.0% APR (the 2026 US average for a prime borrower), a $30,000 car loan for 72 months costs about $511/month. Over the life of the loan you pay $36,826 total — that's $6,826 in interest on top of the $30,000 borrowed. Stretching to 84 months drops the payment to about $453 but pushes total interest to $8,034.
At 7.0% APR, a $40,000 car loan for 72 months costs about $682/month. Total paid is $49,101, including $9,101 in interest. Dropping to 60 months raises the payment to about $792 but cuts total interest to $7,520 — saving $1,581 over the loan's life.
A down payment reduces the amount you finance, which lowers both your monthly payment and total interest. On a $35,000 car at 7% / 72 months: $0 down = $596/mo, $3,500 down (10%) = $537/mo, $7,000 down (20%) = $477/mo. A 20% down payment saves you $8,600 in interest over the loan's life and keeps you out of the underwater-equity zone in year 1.
Most US states charge sales tax on the vehicle price (after trade-in, in some states). The tax is typically added to the financed amount, so your monthly payment reflects the full out-the-door price. Five states have no sales tax: Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon. Use the state dropdown to apply the correct rate.
60 months is the safer choice for most buyers — you build equity faster and pay less interest. On a $35K loan at 7% APR, 60 months costs $661/mo ($4,679 interest) vs. 72 months at $596/mo ($7,884 interest). The 72-month option saves $65/month but costs $3,205 more in interest over the loan's life. Rule of thumb: keep the term under 60 months if you can afford the higher payment.
Total cost of ownership is what you actually spend per month to own the car — loan payment + fuel + insurance + maintenance + depreciation. The 2026 rule of thumb is $700-$1,200/month for a new $35K car, with the loan payment making up 50-60% of that. Our calculator adds $250/month for fuel+insurance+maintenance to give you a realistic monthly figure.
Trade-in value is subtracted from the vehicle price before you finance. If you're buying a $35,000 car and your trade-in is worth $8,000, you only finance $27,000 (plus tax). On 7% / 72 months: financing $27K = $459/mo vs. financing $35K = $596/mo. A strong trade-in is one of the fastest ways to lower your monthly payment without extending the loan term.
Top-rated car-buying books on Amazon — the most popular titles buyers use to negotiate the best deal: