The 20/4/10 calculator
What car can you actually afford?
Dealers size the loan to the payment you'll tolerate. This does the opposite: it starts from your real budget and gives you two honest numbers — comfortable and stretch — including insurance, fuel and maintenance, not just the payment.
Start with your monthly take-home pay. You'll get two prices — a comfortable one and a stretch ceiling — with the full monthly cost of each: payment, insurance, fuel and maintenance.
Max purchase price
See real rates you qualify for — a pre-qualification takes minutes, doesn't hurt your credit, and walking into the dealership with your own financing is negotiating leverage.
Disclosure: we may earn a commission if you get a loan through this link. It never changes your numbers or our math.
Don't go past this one
Insurance is baked into your all-in number above — and for the same driver and the same car, quotes routinely differ by hundreds of dollars a year. Ten minutes of comparing can buy back a chunk of your budget before you ever talk to a seller.
Disclosure: we may earn a commission if you get a quote through this link. It never changes your numbers or our math.
Refinancing might cut your payment — if your credit improved since you bought, or the dealer marked up your rate, a 10-minute refi check can save real money every month.
Disclosure: we may earn a commission if you refinance through this link. It never changes your numbers or our math.
