Free calculator · Personal Finance
Car Affordability
Calculates the car price a monthly payment budget can generally support by discounting the payments at the loan rate and adding the cash down payment and any trade-in value. Inputs are the monthly budget, the loan rate, the term in months, the down payment, and the trade-in value.
By Devon Coombs, CPA, MBA · Teaching Professor of Finance, Santa Clara University · Reviewed August 2026
From the author: Devon Coombs, CPA, MBA teaches finance at Santa Clara University and works with corporate teams on practical AI.
AI training for finance teams · Consulting · The 10 Laws of Finance
Interactive Tool
Car Affordability
Affordable car price
$25,726
at $450/mo for 60 months
Loan the payments support
$22,726
PV at the loan rate
Cash up front
$3,000
down + trade-in
Financing cost
$4,274
interest over 60 months
PV = $450 × (1 − (1 + i)^−60) ÷ i = $22,726, where i = 7.0%/12; price = PV + $3,000
The price shown excludes tax, title, and fees, which typically add several percent, and a longer term raises the affordable price only by adding interest months.
Learn the concept
This calculator comes from the free Corporate Finance: The 10 Laws of Finance course, where the concept is taught with readings, worked examples, and practice questions.
Precomputed reference tables
Embed this calculator on your site
Free to embed on any site; the widget includes an attribution link back to this page.
One useful finance email a week
A tool, a number worth knowing, and what it means for your money or your business. From Devon Coombs, CPA, MBA. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Built by Devon Coombs, CPA, MBA, Teaching Professor of Finance at Santa Clara University.