Auto & Car Loans
Should You Buy or Lease a Car?
How to compare buying and leasing a car fairly, what a money factor really means, and the hidden cost of leasing that the monthly payment never shows.
Auto & Car Loans
Auto and car loan calculators put numbers on a car purchase before you sign, for buyers weighing a loan, a budget, or a lease. The Auto Loan Calculator estimates the monthly payment, total interest, and total cost from the price, your down payment and trade-in, the rate, and the term. The Car Affordability Calculator works backward from your income to a realistic car budget using a payment-to-income guideline, so the monthly payment fits the rest of your finances. And the Car Buy vs Lease Calculator compares buying and leasing the same car over the lease term, crediting the buy side for the resale equity you keep. Together they answer the three questions of every car decision in order: what this car costs, what you can afford, and which way to pay for it. Each tool shows its formula and assumptions, so you can sanity-check a dealer's quote line by line.
Calculators
Auto Loan Estimate a car loan's monthly payment, total interest, and total cost from the price, your down payment and trade-in, the sales tax, the rate, and the term. Car Affordability Estimate how much car you can afford from your income, down payment, rate, term, and a payment-to-income guideline, then see the all-in monthly cost. Car Buy vs Lease Compare buying and leasing the same car over the lease term, with the buy side credited for its resale equity and the lease ending with nothing. EV vs Gas Savings Compare EV and gas costs: cost per mile at your electricity and gas prices, annual and five-year savings, and the purchase premium those savings justify.