{
  "slug": "car-affordability-calculator",
  "title": "Car Affordability Calculator",
  "heading": "Car Affordability Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/car-affordability-calculator",
  "summary": "The car price your income and down payment actually support.",
  "description": "The common rule is 20/4/10: 20% down, a four-year loan, and total vehicle costs under 10% of gross income. Insurance and fuel are what break most budgets, not the payment itself.",
  "formula": "Affordable price = Down payment + PV of (target payment) over the loan term.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=car-affordability-calculator",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "income",
      "label": "Gross monthly income",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 6500,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "share",
      "label": "Share of income for the payment",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 12,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 1,
      "max": 40
    },
    {
      "id": "down",
      "label": "Down payment + trade-in",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 5000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "rate",
      "label": "Loan APR",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 7.2,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "term",
      "label": "Loan term (months)",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 60,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 12,
      "max": 96
    },
    {
      "id": "insurance",
      "label": "Monthly insurance + fuel",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 280,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "price",
      "label": "Car price you can afford",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "payment",
      "label": "Affordable loan payment",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "financed",
      "label": "Amount you can finance",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "budget",
      "label": "Total monthly car budget",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "interest",
      "label": "Interest over the loan",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "totalCost",
      "label": "Total spend over the term",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Gross monthly income: 6500 $",
      "Share of income for the payment: 12 %",
      "Down payment + trade-in: 5000 $",
      "Loan APR: 7.2 %",
      "Loan term (months): 60",
      "Monthly insurance + fuel: 280 $"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Car price you can afford: $30,131.07",
      "Affordable loan payment: $500.00",
      "Amount you can finance: $25,131.07",
      "Total monthly car budget: $780.00",
      "Interest over the loan: $4,868.93",
      "Total spend over the term: $46,800.00"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter gross monthly income ($).",
      "Enter share of income for the payment (%).",
      "Enter down payment + trade-in ($).",
      "Enter loan apr (%).",
      "Enter loan term (months).",
      "Enter monthly insurance + fuel ($).",
      "Read your car price you can afford on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "income": 3900,
        "share": 7,
        "down": 3000,
        "rate": 7.2,
        "term": 36,
        "insurance": 170
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "income": 6500,
        "share": 12,
        "down": 5000,
        "rate": 7.2,
        "term": 60,
        "insurance": 280
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "income": 10400,
        "share": 19,
        "down": 8000,
        "rate": 7.2,
        "term": 96,
        "insurance": 450
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "How does the car affordability calculator work?",
      "a": "The common rule is 20/4/10: 20% down, a four-year loan, and total vehicle costs under 10% of gross income. Insurance and fuel are what break most budgets, not the payment itself. The underlying maths is: Affordable price = Down payment + PV of (target payment) over the loan term."
    },
    {
      "q": "What do I need to enter?",
      "a": "6 values: gross monthly income, share of income for the payment, down payment + trade-in, loan apr, loan term (months), and monthly insurance + fuel. Each field starts with a sensible default, so you can change one number at a time and watch the result move."
    },
    {
      "q": "What does the car price you can afford result mean?",
      "a": "It is returned as a money amount in US dollars and updates live as you edit the inputs, so you can compare two or three versions of a scenario in a few seconds."
    },
    {
      "q": "Is this calculator free, and do I need an account?",
      "a": "Yes, it's free, and no account is required. Nothing you type is stored on our servers — the maths runs entirely in your browser."
    },
    {
      "q": "How accurate is the result?",
      "a": "It applies the standard formula exactly, so the arithmetic is precise. Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them."
    },
    {
      "q": "Who is this tool for?",
      "a": "It's built for anyone comparing money scenarios before committing — budgeting a payment, sanity-checking a quote, or seeing what a change in rate or term actually costs."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/auto-loan-payment",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/lease-or-buy-car"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Car Affordability Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/car-affordability-calculator)"
}