Car Affordability Calculator
Find out how much car you can afford.
All calculations happen locally in your browser — nothing is uploaded, stored or tracked.
Set your monthly budget
What you can comfortably pay.
Add down payment and trade-in
Cash you are putting in.
Set rate, term and tax
Then read the maximum price.
What Is a Car Affordability Calculator?
A car affordability calculator works backwards from your monthly budget: given how much you can pay each month, plus your down payment and trade-in, it finds the maximum car price.
A common guideline is keeping the car payment under 10% of gross monthly income (some say 15% including insurance and gas). The calculator lets you set your own comfortable monthly number and includes taxes and fees in the price it derives.
The Method
The loan amount is solved from the payment using the amortization formula, then the down payment and trade-in are added to reach the price.
Your data never leaves your device.
Every calculation on this site runs in your browser using vanilla JavaScript. Nothing is uploaded, stored or tracked.
- 100% local, client-side calculations
- No data stored on any server
- No tracking, no analytics, no ads scripts
- Works offline once loaded
Frequently Asked Questions
How much car can I afford?
Work backwards from your monthly budget — the calculator does exactly this with your rate and term.
What percentage of income should go to a car?
A common guideline is under 10% of gross monthly income for the payment, or 15% including running costs.
Does a longer term let me afford more car?
Yes, but it also means more interest and negative equity risk. The calculator shows the trade-off.
Should I include insurance in the budget?
Yes — the 10% guideline is often quoted for the payment alone; insurance and fuel are on top.
Is this a pre-approval?
No — it is a planning estimate. Lenders consider your full credit profile.