🚙 Car Affordability Calculator
Find the car price that fits your budget — without financial strain.
How This Is Calculated
Your target monthly payment is converted into a loan amount using the standard loan formula at your interest rate and term. Your down payment and trade-in value are then added to that loan amount to estimate the total car price you can afford.
Frequently Asked Questions
What percentage of income should a car payment be?
A common guideline is keeping total monthly car costs (payment, insurance, fuel, maintenance) under
15-20% of take-home pay, with the loan payment itself ideally under 10-15%.
Guide: understanding your result
- A widely used guideline is 20/4/10: about 20% down, a loan of no more than 4 years, and total car costs under 10% of gross income.
- Insurance, fuel and maintenance count toward that 10% — not just the loan payment.
- Your actual approval and rate depend on your credit profile.
Worked example
With a $75,000 income, 10% of gross monthly pay is $625. If about 80% of that goes to the loan payment and the rest to insurance and fuel, a 48-month loan at 6.35% supports a car price of roughly $26,432 with 20% down.
Approximate car price by income (20/4/10 guideline)
| Annual income | Monthly loan payment | Approx. car price |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $333 | $17,621 |
| $75,000 | $500 | $26,432 |
| $100,000 | $667 | $35,242 |
| $150,000 | $1,000 | $52,863 |
Assumes 20% down, a 48-month loan at 6.35% and ~20% of the car budget for insurance and fuel.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Stretching to 72–84 months to make an expensive car "fit".
- Ignoring insurance quotes until after buying.
Official sources
Examples are calculated live from the same data the calculator uses and are for education only — they are not financial, tax or investment advice.
More Finance calculators
See all →✔ Reviewed by GelirLab Editöryal Ekibi · How we check our calculators