🚗 Car Affordability Calculator
Estimate how much car you can comfortably afford based on your monthly income, down payment, and loan terms.
How much car can you afford?
A common budgeting rule is to keep your total car payment at or below about 10-15% of your gross monthly income. This calculator uses that percentage, along with your down payment, loan term, and interest rate, to estimate a maximum comfortable purchase price.
How the math works
We first find your maximum monthly payment (income × your chosen percentage), then use the standard loan amortization formula to work backward and find the largest loan that payment can support. Adding your down payment gives an estimated maximum car price.
This is a general planning estimate only. Your actual affordability also depends on insurance, fuel, maintenance, taxes, and other budget priorities.