How Much Car Can I Really Afford?
The free calculator that gives you the honest number, based on your take-home pay, not a dealer's monthly payment.
Buying more car than you can afford is one of the most common money mistakes, and one of the hardest to undo. A dealer will happily quote you a monthly payment that "feels fine" while quietly stretching the loan to six or seven years. Before you sign anything, run your own real numbers below.
How Much Car Can I Really Afford?
This uses the sane rule of thumb: keep your car payment at or under 10% of your take-home pay, and the loan at 4 years or less.
Remember the hidden half. The sticker price is only part of it. Insurance, gas, and maintenance often add $150 to $400+ a month on top of the payment. If money is tight, aim well below this number.
The rule this uses: 10% and 4 years
The math is simple. Your car payment should stay at or under 10% of your monthly take-home pay, and the loan should run 4 years or less. Why 4 years? Because a longer loan is how you end up "underwater," owing more than the car is worth, and paying interest long after the new-car smell is gone. If you cannot fit the car you want inside those limits, the honest fix is almost always a cheaper car, not a longer loan.
Don't forget the hidden half
The loan payment is only part of what a car costs you. Insurance, gas, maintenance, tires, registration, and repairs quietly add up to another few hundred dollars a month. That is why this calculator nudges you to aim below the maximum. The number it shows is a ceiling, not a target.
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