How to Calculate Your Monthly Auto Loan and Insurance

If you're planning to buy and finance a car, prepare to make monthly payments for the next 36 to 72 months, depending on your chosen loan term. When you take on a new auto loan, remember that you also have to pay car insurance for the vehicle. So, estimate that amount as well and add the two figures together to get your total car-related expense each month.

Instructions

Calculate Auto Loan

1

Determine your monthly auto payments using the Cars.com auto loan calculator. Enter all details about the transaction, including the price, down payment, rate and sales tax you plan to build into the loan. The monthly payment displays at the bottom of the page. You can update any of the terms to see how the payment changes.

2

Use the Edmunds auto calculator to find out your estimated car payment. With this tool you can retrieve the exact vehicle you wish to buy to upload the price automatically and calculate the payment. After finalizing the price and pressing "Go," you can then provide the other terms, including your title and registration fees and any dealer cash incentives. The calculator also integrates your trade-in, if applicable, before determining your final monthly payment.

3

Calculate the car loan payment using Bankrate's amortization schedule auto calculator. Enter the basic terms of the loan (term, amount and rate) to figure out the payment. You also can click "Show/Recalculate Amortization Table" at the bottom of the page if you want to see exactly how the loan balance decreases with each payment.

Estimate Car Insurance

4

Call your current or pending insurance company to get a quote for your new vehicle. If this is a new car insurance policy you'll also have to provide your driver's license number, address and other personal information to get an accurate quote.

5

Determine your total premium for the policy and whether the quote is for six months or a year. Assume, for example, your policy costs $700 for six months.

6

Divide the premium amount by the number of months to determine the amount you'll pay to the car insurer each month. In this example, it's $116.67 per month ($700/6).

7

Add any monthly installment service fee charged by the insurer. Sometimes the insurance company charges you for the convenience of paying the bill monthly instead of all at once. If the fee is $3, for example, your total estimated auto insurance payment would be $119.67 per month.