Auto Loan Calculator
Calculate your monthly car payment including trade-in and down payment. See your total interest cost instantly.
Monthly Payment
$579.98
Amount Financed
$30,000.00
Total Interest
$4,799.04
Total Payment
$34,799.04
Payoff Date
July 2031
Loan Breakdown
How to Use This Auto Loan Calculator
1. Enter the Vehicle Price. Type in the price of the car you're considering. Use the out-the-door price so your numbers actually reflect what you'd pay.
2. Enter Your Down Payment. Enter how much you're putting down upfront. A bigger down payment means a smaller amount to finance.
3. Enter Your Trade-in Value. Enter its estimated value from an independent valuation site.
4. Enter the Amount Owed on Your Trade-in. Enter your remaining balance. If that balance is higher than your trade-in value, the calculator automatically rolls the difference (negative equity) into your new loan.
5. Choose Your Credit Score Range. Pick the tier that matches your credit or enter a Custom Rate.
6. Choose Your Loan Term. Pick a term from 24 to 84 months.
7. Read Your Results. Monthly Payment shows what you'll owe each month, while Amount Financed shows the real total you're borrowing.
David is shopping for a new car priced at $28,000. He plans to trade in his current vehicle, which an online valuation site puts at $9,000 — but he still owes $13,000 on it, leaving him $4,000 underwater. When he plugs everything into the calculator, including a $2,000 down payment, a "Good" credit tier, and a 60-month term, his Amount Financed comes out to $21,000 instead of the $17,000 he'd assumed before accounting for what he still owed on his old car. What really catches him off guard is watching his monthly payment jump from around $341 to $421 purely because of the rolled-over negative equity — adding more than $4,800 to the total cost over the life of the loan. Seeing that number in black and white, David decides to hold off on the new car for a few months and pay down more of his current loan first, rather than carrying that debt into a brand-new one.
Key Terms
Vehicle Price
The full price of the car you're buying, before down payment or trade-in are factored in.
Trade-in Value & Negative Equity
Trade-in Value is what your current car is worth. If you owe more than it's worth, the gap is negative equity rolled into your new loan.
Credit Score Range
The credit tier that determines your estimated interest rate offer.
Loan Term
How long you have to pay off the loan, from 24 to 84 months. Longer terms lower monthly payments but raise total interest.
Amount Financed
The actual amount you're borrowing — vehicle price minus down payment and trade-in, plus negative equity.
Payoff Date
The estimated date your loan will be fully paid off based on payments and extra contributions.
Rolling Negative Equity Into a New Car Loan — What Your Trade-In Balance Really Costs You
You walk into a dealership planning to trade in your old car, and someone tells you not to worry — the remaining balance can just get rolled into the new loan. It sounds simple enough. But that balance never actually disappears. It just moves somewhere else and keeps accruing interest the whole time.
Why Negative Equity Never Really Goes Away
When what you owe on your old car is more than it's worth, that gap gets tacked directly onto your new loan. A $4,000 shortfall doesn't just cost you $4,000 again — it costs you that amount plus interest, spread across an entirely new loan on a completely different car.
Running the Numbers Before You Sign Anything
A $4,000 gap on a 60-month loan at around 7.5% can add over $80 to your monthly payment and more than $4,800 to what you pay in total.
When It's Worth Delaying the Trade-In
If your negative equity is significant, sometimes the smarter move is holding off on the new car altogether — paying down more of your current loan first, or selling the car privately instead.