Car Affordability Calculator
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A car budget calculator that works from your income and debts using the 20/4/10 rule, with insurance, fuel and maintenance counted, to give an affordable price.
Educational estimate only. Not a lending decision. Your numbers stay in this browser.
Results
How to read this: the verdict describes how much room your numbers leave, not a decision or an offer. Change any input to see how much the result moves.
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These guides explain repayment schedules, APR, personal loan payment factors, and auto loan total cost.
- Loan repayment schedule explained
- APR vs interest rate
- Personal loan payment factors
- Auto loan total cost
For all guide topics, open Guides. For source and estimate boundaries, read Calculation Methodology and Sources and Assumptions.
Assumptions and formula
Two ceilings are worked out and the lower one sets your monthly payment. The first is a transport budget, 10% of gross monthly income by default, less the running costs of insurance, fuel and maintenance. The second is total debt at 36% of gross income by default, less the debt payments you already make. That payment is turned into a loan amount at your rate and term, and your deposit and any trade-in are added to give a vehicle price.
Running costs you leave blank are not treated as zero: they default to AAA’s 2025 averages, about $434 a month together, and the result says when defaults were used. Only the loan payment counts toward the debt-to-income ceiling, because running costs are not debt. The result also checks the answer against the 20/4/10 rule: 20% down, a term of 48 months or less, and transport within 10% of income.
Worked example
On $6,000 a month of gross income with $500 of existing debt payments, the transport budget is $600. Average running costs of $434.14 leave $165.86 a month for the loan payment, well under the $1,660 the debt-to-income ceiling would allow. At 6% over 48 months that supports a loan of about $7,062, so with $5,000 down the most you could spend is about $12,062.
How much car the 20/4/10 rule allows by income
The 20/4/10 guideline caps all transport costs at 10% of gross income, with 20% down and a loan of 48 months or less. The table turns that budget into a car price at a 7% APR over 48 months, first as if the whole budget went to the loan, then after $300 a month of insurance, fuel and maintenance.
| Gross income (a year) | Transport budget (a month) | Car price, budget all on the loan | Car price after $300/mo running costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $333 | $17,400 | $1,740 |
| $50,000 | $417 | $21,750 | $6,090 |
| $60,000 | $500 | $26,100 | $10,440 |
| $75,000 | $625 | $32,625 | $16,965 |
| $100,000 | $833 | $43,500 | $27,840 |
| $125,000 | $1,042 | $54,375 | $38,715 |
| $150,000 | $1,250 | $65,250 | $49,590 |
The last column is the realistic one. Most affordability tools stop at the third column, which assumes the car costs nothing to insure, fuel or service. Running costs come out of the same 10%, and at lower incomes they take a large share of it. That is why the calculator asks for them and subtracts them before it works out a loan.
The guideline is a ceiling, not a target. It also says nothing about your other debts: someone with a large student loan or credit card balance can meet 20/4/10 and still be over-borrowed overall. The calculator checks total monthly debt against income as well, and uses whichever limit is tighter.
Frequently asked questions
How much car can I afford on my salary?
The widely used guideline is 20/4/10: put at least 20% down, borrow over no more than four years, and keep all transport costs within 10% of gross monthly income. The part most calculators miss is that the 10% covers insurance, fuel, and maintenance as well as the loan, so the payment you can afford is what is left after those are paid, not the whole budget. This page starts from your gross income and existing debt payments, subtracts running costs, applies both the transport-budget limit and a total debt-to-income limit, and names which of the two is actually constraining you. It is a how much car can I afford calculator that works from income, a 20/4/10 rule calculator when you keep the defaults, and a car affordability calculator based on income when you change them.
Why does it ask for my income instead of a monthly payment?
Because the payment is the answer, not the question. It works out what you can afford from your income and existing debts, then subtracts insurance, fuel, and maintenance before turning what is left into a loan. It follows the 20/4/10 guideline: 20% down, 48 months or less, and all transport costs within 10% of gross income.
What is the 20/4/10 rule for buying a car?
Put at least 20% down, borrow for no more than four years (48 months), and keep all transport costs — the loan payment, insurance, fuel and maintenance — within 10% of your gross income. It is a guideline for staying comfortably within budget, not a lending rule, and many buyers choose to stay well under it.
Does a longer loan make a car more affordable?
It lowers the monthly payment but raises the total cost, because you pay interest for longer. A long loan also leaves you owing more than the car is worth for longer, which is a problem if you need to sell or the car is written off. That is why the 20/4/10 guideline caps the term at 48 months.
Should I count my partner’s income or only my own?
Count the income that will actually pay for the car. If the loan and running costs will come from a shared household budget, use household income and include the household’s other debts. If you are buying on your own, use only your income, because that is what a lender will look at.