Car Loans

Monthly payment by price, down payment and credit tier.

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Monthly payment on a $36,000 car loan at 9%

$36,000 at 9%

$747per month over 60 months

$649 over 72 months, $896 over 48 — the same debt, 3,721 dollars apart in interest

48-month payment$7,001 total interest	$896
60-month payment$8,838 total interest	$747
72-month payment$10,722 total interest	$649
84-month payment$12,653 total interest	$579
Cost of stretching 48 → 72saves $247 a month and costs that much over the loan	$3,721
Underwater until roughlyon a 72-month loan, against a −20% first year and −15% a year after	month 35
Per $1,000 borrowedat 9% over 60 months	$20.76

Notes

The term does more to the payment than the rate does. Moving this loan from 48 to 72 months drops the monthly figure by $247, which no realistic rate negotiation would achieve. It also adds $3,721 in interest. A dealer who asks "what payment are you looking for" is asking which term to sell you, not which price.
Negative equity is the real cost of a long term. A car loses roughly a fifth of its value in the first year. On 72 months this loan is worth less than it owes until about month 35 — and trading in during that window rolls the shortfall into the next loan, where it earns interest again.
The advertised rate belongs to a credit tier, not to the car. Spreads between the best and worst tiers run 10 percentage points or more on used vehicles, which on this amount is the difference between $663 and $838 a month.
Sales tax, title and fees are financed too, unless you pay them separately. They add roughly 6–10% to the amount borrowed in most states, so the payment above understates the real bill by about that much whenever the figure quoted is the sticker price rather than the amount financed.

1,600 calculations · browse all

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