Important Terms to Understand

• Vehicle Price: This is the total cost of the car you're purchasing, before any discounts, trade-ins, or down payments.
• Trade-in Value: If you're trading in your old car, this is the amount you'll receive for it. This amount will reduce the total loan you need to finance.
• Existing Loan Balance: If you still have an outstanding loan balance on your current vehicle, this is added to the new loan amount.
• Down Payment: The amount of money you pay upfront toward the car purchase. A larger down payment will reduce your loan amount, resulting in lower payments.
• Sales Tax: This is the tax rate applied to the purchase of your vehicle, based on the total vehicle price. It is calculated and added to the loan amount.
• Interest Rate: The percentage charged by the lender for borrowing the loan amount. This rate affects how much you'll pay over the life of the loan. The higher the interest rate, the higher the payments.
• Loan Term: The length of time over which you agree to repay the loan. Loan terms are typically measured in months (e.g., 36, 60, 72 months). A longer loan term can reduce your monthly payment, but you'll pay more interest over time.
• Monthly Payment: This is the amount you’ll pay each month to repay the loan. It includes both principal and interest.
• Weekly Payment: The equivalent of your monthly payment, broken down into weekly payments (useful for budgeting purposes).
• Annual Payment: This is the total amount you will pay in one year, calculated by multiplying your monthly payment by 12.
• Total Financed: This is the total amount you are borrowing, which includes the vehicle price, sales tax, and any additional charges (minus trade-ins and down payments).

How the Calculator Works

To use the calculator, you'll need to input the following values:

• Vehicle Price: The total cost of the car you're buying.
• Trade-in Value: The value of your old car if you're trading it in.
• Existing Loan Balance: Any outstanding loan balance from a previous vehicle loan.
• Down Payment: How much you're putting down upfront.
• Sales Tax: The tax rate applied to the total purchase price.
• Interest Rate: The rate applied to the loan balance, affecting how much you will pay in interest.
• Loan Term: The number of months or years you will take to repay the loan.

The calculator will then estimate your monthly, weekly, and annual payments, as well as show the total amount financed. This gives you a clear idea of what to expect in terms of loan payments and can help you make an informed decision when financing your vehicle.