Auto Loan Comparison Calculator for Comparing Payments and Interest Costs

Auto Loan Comparison Calculator Sign

This auto loan rate comparison calculator will calculate a side-by-side monthly payment and interest cost comparison of up to 10 different car loan and term combinations.

Plus, unlike other auto finance calculators, this car loan comparison tool will also calculate the number of hours you will need to allocate to working just to pay the interest costs of each loan included in the comparison.

Finally, the calculator also generates an "Auto Loan Interest Comparison" graph and a button for creating a printer-friendly report.

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Auto Loan Comparison Calculator

Calculate and compare car payments and interest costs for auto loans having differing number of payments and interest rates.

Special Instructions

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Selected Data Record:

A Data Record is a set of calculator entries that are stored in your web browser's Local Storage. If a Data Record is currently selected in the "Data" tab, this line will list the name you gave to that data record. If no data record is selected, or you have no entries stored for this calculator, the line will display "None".

DataData recordData recordSelected data record: None
Loan amtLoan amountAuto loan amountAuto loan amount:

Auto loan amount:

Enter the auto loan amount you wish to use for comparing the auto loan payments and interest cost. Enter as a dollar amount, but without the dollar sign and any commas. Note that you can change this amount later and the rates and terms you are comparing will automatically recalculate based on the new principal amount.

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Wage/hrHourly wageReal hourly wageReal hourly wage (optional):

Real hourly wage:

Optional: Enter your real hourly wage (RHW is the after-tax, after work-related expense wage earned per hour devoted to working). Enter as a dollar amount, but without the dollar sign and any commas. If you do not know your RHW, click the link to open the real hourly wage calculator in a new window.

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# loans:Number of loans:Number of loans to compare:Number of loans to compare:

Number of loans to compare:

Select the number of different term and interest rate combinations you would like to compare. This will display an entry row for each combination in the form below.

Select Rates and Terms

Select Rates and Terms:

After selecting the number of loans to compare, the Loan Combination List will be populated with the selected number of entry rows.

Select the variable you wish to appear in the right-most column (Pmt = Monthly Payment, Tot = Total of all payments, Int = Interest cost through payoff, Hrs = Work hours required to pay the interest cost). You can change the 3rd column variable at any time.

For each entry row in the Loan Combination List, select the interest rate (Rate) and number of payments (Term). At least 2 rows must contain values in the right-most column before the "Create Comparison" button will be enabled.

To bulk fill the Rate or Term column, select the rate or term from the Fill All menu in the header row. You can then make changes to individual rows.

If you would like to save the current entries to the secure online database, tap or click on the Data tab, select "New Data Record", give the data record a name, then tap or click the Save button. To save changes to previously saved entries, simply tap the Save button. Please select and "Clear" any data records you no longer need.

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Help and Tools

Quiz

Interest Charge Quiz

Interest Charge Quiz

Question #1: Have you ever walked into an auto finance company with a 5-gallon bucket filled with cash and asked the loan officer, "So, how much interest charges can I buy with this much cash?"

Question #2: Have you ever opened your mailbox hoping the new interest charge catalog was inside?

Question #3: Have you ever dreamed of the day that you could own your very own interest charge?

Question #4: Have you ever believed you would be more attractive to the opposite sex if you could afford to own the latest interest charge to hit the market?

Question #5: Do you proudly display your collection of interest charges above the fireplace?

Question #6: As a child, did your letter to Santa always include a request for a new interest charge?

Three Methods for Reducing Finance Costs

Regardless of your quiz results, I think you will agree that interest charges are not something you truly want to purchase. So if you don't have the cash to purchase an automobile, then here are some steps you can take to reduce the amount of the interest charges you will pay when borrowing for a car purchase.

1. Purchase a lower priced car.
Purchasing a lower priced car means you won't have to borrow as much money, and a smaller loan will likely cost you less in interest charges. If you compare low, low-medium, medium-high, and high purchase prices using the auto loan comparison calculator, you will see what a difference price can make in the amount of the interest charges you will pay.

2. Shop for the best auto loan rates.
The time you spend shopping for the lowest car lending rate can typically save you more money than you could otherwise earn with the time spent. Use the compare auto loans calculator on this page to see how even 1/8th of a percentage point can make your research time well worth the effort.

3. Pay off the auto loan as quickly as possible.
The sooner you pay off the loan, the less you will pay for interest charges. Use the compare car loan calculator on this page to see how much you will save by shortening the number of payments.

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Adjust Calculator Width:

Move the slider to left and right to adjust the calculator width. Note that the Help and Tools panel will be hidden when the calculator is too wide to fit both on the screen. Moving the slider to the left will bring the instructions and tools panel back into view.

Also note that some calculators will reformat to accommodate the screen size as you make the calculator wider or narrower. If the calculator is narrow, columns of entry rows will be converted to a vertical entry form, whereas a wider calculator will display columns of entry rows, and the entry fields will be smaller in size ... since they will not need to be "thumb friendly".

Show/Hide Popup Keypads:

Select Show or Hide to show or hide the popup keypad icons located next to numeric entry fields. These are generally only needed for mobile devices that don't have decimal points in their numeric keypads. So if you are on a desktop, you may find the calculator to be more user-friendly and less cluttered without them.

Stick/Unstick Tools:

Select Stick or Unstick to stick or unstick the help and tools panel. Selecting "Stick" will keep the panel in view while scrolling the calculator vertically. If you find that annoying, select "Unstick" to keep the panel in a stationary position.

If the tools panel becomes "Unstuck" on its own, try clicking "Unstick" and then "Stick" to re-stick the panel.