How much should a car payment be?

If your monthly take-home pay is $3,500, then that means that your car payment shouldn’t exceed $350 to $525. You can lower your monthly payment so that your payment better fits your monthly budget by choosing a longer loan term. However, it’s important to keep in mind that a longer loan term means that you’ll pay more in interest over time.

How do I calculate my maximum car price?

Use your monthly budget to estimate your maximum car price with our car affordability calculator. Adjust loan term, down payment, and trade-in value to see how changes affect how much car you can afford. Based on ...% APR* $...* Estimated sales tax ...% Get prequalified. It only takes a couple minutes and won’t affect your credit.

How much can you afford a car?

The calculator computes the price of the car you can afford within those parameters. How much can I afford per month? The current wisdom from personal finance advisers is to limit your monthly car budget to less than 20% of your take-home pay. A car budget includes your car payment, insurance, fuel, maintenance, and repairs.