What it does
Enter the price of the vehicle, what you get for your trade-in, your down payment, the sales tax and fees, then the interest rate and length of the loan. You see the monthly payment, the total interest and the full cost of the vehicle.
It works the same for a car, a bike, a scooter or a truck. To compare offers from two dealers or banks use loan comparison, to work out the tax on its own use sales tax, and fuel cost adds the running costs to the picture.
How to use it
- Type the price, trade-in and down payment.
- Enter the sales tax percent and fees, and say whether tax is on the price minus the trade-in.
- Enter the rate and the number of months. Add a balloon if your finance has one.
- Read the payment and totals.
What each setting does
- Tax on price minus trade-in: the trade-in lowers the taxed amount when ticked. Untick if you are taxed on the full price.
- Add the fees to the loan: financed fees are charged interest; unticked, you pay them in cash.
- Balloon: a lump sum due at the end, as a percent of the price. It lowers the payment, but you still owe it.
Worked example
A 30,000 car, trade-in 5,000, down payment 2,000, tax 8% on the price minus the trade-in (2,000), fees 500 added to the loan. You borrow 25,500. At 6% for 60 months the payment is 492.99, and the interest is about 4,079.
FAQs
Is a longer loan better? It lowers the payment but costs more interest, and you may owe more than the vehicle is worth for longer.
What if I still owe money on my trade-in? Subtract it from the trade-in value (a negative number works), since it must be paid off.
Is the rate the same as APR? The rate here is the loan’s interest rate. Fees can make the APR higher; compare offers with loan comparison.
Not financial or tax advice.
Where the numbers come from
- Payment: the standard level-payment formula; with a balloon, the balloon is discounted at the loan rate and taken off what the payments repay.
- Sales tax rules differ: in many US states and some Canadian provinces tax applies to the price minus the trade-in, elsewhere to the full price. Check your own state, provincial or national tax office and the dealer's quote. Drawings are fibub's own.
Standard scientific values, such as constants, atomic weights and melting points, are facts found in every textbook; we name where ours were checked. If you are an author or publisher and want a value, a credit or a table changed or removed, tell us and we will act quickly.
Last updated 2026-11-10.