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Car Affordability Calculator

What car a payment supports, with running costs shown alongside. Fuel, insurance, tax and servicing typically add most of the loan payment again, which is the part the showroom conversation leaves out.

Also called: how much car can i afford, car budget calculator.

%
%
months
%
Car price you can afford
₹6,76,148

₹6,76,148 on a payment of ₹10,000 a month. Running costs add about ₹4,508 a month on top, so the true monthly cost is ₹14,508.

Loan payment
₹10,000
Loan amount
₹4,76,148
Running costs a month
₹4,508
True monthly cost
₹14,508
Interest over the term
₹1,23,852

An estimate, not an offer or a guarantee. Projected returns assume the rate you entered holds for the whole term, which no market does.

Method and background

This is what the calculation gives for the numbers you entered. It is an estimate, not advice, and it knows nothing about your situation beyond those numbers. Rules for India change on a published schedule; the effective date is shown on every rule-based tool.

How this is calculated

The affordable payment sets the loan, the loan plus deposit and trade-in sets the price. The number worth attention is the second line: running a car costs roughly eight to twelve percent of its value a year in fuel, insurance, tax and servicing, so a payment you can just afford becomes a total cost you cannot. Stretching the term lowers the payment and raises the interest, and on a depreciating asset it also raises the time spent owing more than the car is worth.

price = the loan an affordable payment supports, plus the deposit and trade-in
E
Affordable payment (currency)
D
Down payment (currency)
T
Trade-in (currency)

Worked examples

Each of these is asserted on every build. If a change to the engine ever moved one of these answers, the build would fail before the page could print it.

ten percent of a lakh of income

Gross monthly income
₹1,00,000
Share of income for the car payment
10%
Down payment
₹2,00,000
Trade-in value
₹0
Interest rate
9.5%
Term
60 months
Running costs as a share of price a year
8%

Car price you can afford₹6,76,148

arithmetic identity on the payment

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a zero rate makes the loan a plain multiple

Gross monthly income
₹1,00,000
Share of income for the car payment
10%
Down payment
₹0
Trade-in value
₹0
Interest rate
0%
Term
60 months
Running costs as a share of price a year
0%

Car price you can afford₹6,00,000

boundary

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no income affords nothing

Gross monthly income
₹0
Share of income for the car payment
10%
Down payment
₹0
Trade-in value
₹0
Interest rate
9.5%
Term
60 months
Running costs as a share of price a year
8%

Car price you can afford₹0

degenerate case

Open this example

Method and limits

What it assumes

  • Running costs as a share of price, which varies with how far you drive.

What it deliberately does not model

  • Depreciation is the largest cost of owning a car and is not included here.
  • Insurance premiums depend on driver and location far more than on price.

Formula version 1.0.0 · definition 1.0.0 · India · Report a problem with this calculator

Frequently asked questions

Is a longer loan a good idea?
Rarely. It lowers the payment and raises the interest, and because the car depreciates faster than a long loan amortises, it extends the period where you owe more than the car is worth.