Total Car CostCreate an auto loan budget based on monthly income. We’ll estimate what price car that budget can afford to buy, and even include taxes and fees. As a result, you’ll better understand buying power. (If you already know your budget, figure out your buying power with our purchase price calculator.)
We use a 7% guideline of monthly after-tax income (what hits your bank account). But you know your finances best, so spend wisely.
This car loan budget calculator gives you a more complete picture of what price car you can afford for a specific income. Most estimates you'll see don't include state taxes and fees and don't account for operating and annual expenses. Operating expenses and annual epenses can easily add 50% to the amount you're spending every month.
With just a few pieces of information you get estimates of state taxes and fees based on your zip code. Our calculations factor in downpayment and trade in values as well. This is important because those taxes and fees can add thousands of dollars to your purchase price, increasing your monthly loan payment.
This calculator is here to help build responsible spending behavior. It's very easy to have an incomplete picture of total cost to own and operate a car, which can have severely negative consequences on your personal finances.
This great article from A Wealth of Common Sense highlights the impact that overspending on cars has on the finances of many Americans. Specifically the author looks at how excessive consumer debt is negtively impacting retirement savings.
For example, the Ford F150 is the top selling vehicle in the United States. According to Edmunds, the base model (cheapest) with fewest features starts at $30,000. To fully finance that cost will set you back about $540/month. Taxes and fees will likely cost another $2-$3k, and a monthly average insurance, fuel and annual taxes and fees, the monthly expense climbs toward $800.
Every state has its own taxes and fee structures, different rates and how they apply them. Some states have a sales tax, others don’t. In some states a vehicle trade-in reduces the amount of sales tax. Some states increase registration rates based on vehicle weight or fuel efficiency. It’s quite complex which is why you don’t see other calculators out there including this information. In addition to variances from state to state, a single state may levy fees differently based on the type of automobile and its use.
In order to provide buying expense estimates, we needed to make some assumptions about the type, use and details of a car. As we said, fees vary by state and by vehicle within a particular state. Here are the assumptions we use when necessary to help craft our tax and fee estimates: