Can I Afford a Car?
The true monthly cost of a car: loan payment plus insurance, fuel and upkeep — against your income.
Most people budget for the car payment and forget the car. This calculator adds the loan, insurance, fuel and maintenance into one monthly number and checks it against what you can actually spare.
At a glance
- What you enter
- Car price, Down payment, Loan interest rate, Loan term, Insurance per month, Fuel/energy per month, Maintenance per month, Net monthly income, Existing monthly costs
- What you get
- True monthly cost of the car, Share of leftover income, Affordability score (0–100)
- Formula shown
- Yes — every step, right below your results.
- Cost and privacy
- Free, no account needed, and nothing you type is stored.
See worked examples ↓ Read the FAQ ↓ Share this calculator ↓
Results are estimates for general information only — always verify with a professional or official source before acting on them.
How to use the Can I Afford a Car?
- 1 Enter Car price
- 2 Enter Down payment
- 3 Enter Loan interest rate
- 4 Enter Loan term (years)
- 5 Enter Insurance per month
- 6 Enter Fuel/energy per month
- 7 Enter Maintenance per month
- 8 Enter Net monthly income
- 9 Enter Existing monthly costs — Everything you already pay before the car.
- 10 Press Calculate. You get True monthly cost of the car, Share of leftover income, Affordability score (0–100), and every intermediate step stays visible under “How is this calculated?”
- 11 Change one number at a time to see what moves the result — that is usually the most useful thing a calculator can tell you.
Worked examples
Real numbers run through this calculator. Open any example to load it into the form above and change it.
A $22,000 car with a $5,000 down payment
Five-year loan at 6%, $280 of running costs, and $2,300 left after existing costs each month.
You enter
- Car price
- $22,000.00
- Down payment
- $5,000.00
- Loan interest rate
- 6%
- Loan term
- 5 years
- Insurance per month
- $90.00
- Fuel/energy per month
- $150.00
- Maintenance per month
- $40.00
- Net monthly income
- $4,500.00
- Existing monthly costs
- $2,200.00
You get
- True monthly cost of the car
- $608.66
- Share of leftover income
- 26.5%
- Affordability score (0–100)
- 68
The loan payment is about $329, but the car really costs roughly $609 a month once insurance, fuel and upkeep are added — around 26% of the $2,300 left over, which the score reads as the high 60s.
A $38,000 car on a smaller income
Six-year loan at 9% with heavier running costs, and only $1,300 left each month.
You enter
- Car price
- $38,000.00
- Down payment
- $3,000.00
- Loan interest rate
- 9%
- Loan term
- 6 years
- Insurance per month
- $140.00
- Fuel/energy per month
- $200.00
- Maintenance per month
- $70.00
- Net monthly income
- $3,800.00
- Existing monthly costs
- $2,500.00
You get
- True monthly cost of the car
- $1,040.89
- Share of leftover income
- 80.1%
- Affordability score (0–100)
- 4
A bigger car over a longer term: the payment alone is about $631 and the true monthly cost passes $1,040, which is over 80% of the $1,300 left each month — the score collapses into single digits.
Guides that go with it
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Frequently asked questions
Why is the true monthly cost so much higher than the loan payment?
Because the loan is only part of owning a car. Insurance, fuel and maintenance are added on top of the payment, and they keep going after the loan is repaid. In many budgets those running costs are what turns a manageable payment into a stretched month, which is why the “True monthly cost” line is the one to hold against what you have left.
What belongs in “existing monthly costs”?
Everything you already pay each month before the car: rent or mortgage, utilities, groceries, transport, other loan or card payments, insurance and any regular saving. The score is driven by what remains after those costs, so leaving something out makes the car look more affordable than it is. If you have never added them up, the Monthly Budget Calculator produces the figure in one pass.
What does the affordability score actually measure?
It is a rule of thumb, not a lending decision: the score starts at 100 and loses 1.2 points for every 1% of your leftover income the car consumes. A car taking a quarter of what is left scores about 70, one taking four fifths scores 4, and the score reaches 0 at roughly 83% of leftover income. If your existing costs already exceed your income, the score is 0 whatever the car costs.
What is left out of the monthly cost estimate?
Depreciation, resale value, road tax or registration, parking, tolls, tyres, and any dealer or loan setup fees you roll into the loan. Maintenance is a flat monthly figure you choose, so a single large repair is not modelled either. Registration and tax rules differ by country and region, so add your own line for whatever you know you will have to pay.