What is too high of a monthly car payment?
Financial experts recommend spending no more than 10% of your monthly take-home pay on your car payment and no more than 15% to 20% on total car costs such as gas, insurance and maintenance as well as the payment.
How much should you spend on a car? If you're taking out a personal loan to pay for your car, it's a good idea to limit your car payments to between 10% and 15% of your take-home pay. If you take home $4,000 per month, you'd want your car payment to be no more than $400 to $600.
Experts say your total car expenses, including monthly payments, insurance, gas and maintenance, should be about 20 percent of your take-home monthly pay. For non-math wizards, like me – Let's say your monthly paycheck is $4,000. Then a safe estimate for car expenses is $800 per month.
NerdWallet recommends spending no more than 10% of your take-home pay on your monthly auto loan payment. So if your after-tax pay each month is $3,000, you could afford a $300 car payment.
Car Loan APRs by Credit Score
Excellent (750 - 850): 2.96 percent for new, 3.68 percent for used. Good (700 - 749): 4.03 percent for new, 5.53 percent for used. Fair (650 - 699): 6.75 percent for new, 10.33 percent for used. Poor (450 - 649): 12.84 percent for new, 20.43 percent for used.
The average monthly car payment for new cars is $716. The average monthly car payment for used cars is $526. 39.5 percent of vehicles financed in the fourth quarter of 2022 were new vehicles.
Financial experts recommend spending no more than about 10% to 15% of your monthly take-home pay on an auto loan payment. These percentages do not factor in total car expenses, including gas, insurance, repairs and maintenance costs.
If you take a car loan of $40000 at an interest rate of 4.12% for a loan term of 72 months, then using an auto loan calculator, you can find that your monthly payment should be $628.
Follow the 35% rule
Whether you're paying cash, leasing, or financing a car, your upper spending limit really shouldn't be a penny more than 35% of your gross annual income. That means if you make $36,000 a year, the car price shouldn't exceed $12,600. Make $60,000, and the car price should fall below $21,000.
According to Edmunds, about 17% of the people who financed a new vehicle during the first quarter of the year pay $1,000 or more a month for that vehicle. This is a record-high. The average down payment for a new vehicle also was at a record high during the first quarter of 2023 – $6,956.
How much should I spend on a car if I make $100000?
50% of Your Income Across All Vehicles
Similarly, if your family earns $100,000 per year total, the value of all of your vehicles shouldn't be worth more than $50,000.
How much car can I afford if I make $50,000? While it depends on factors like your credit score, loan terms, down payment and any potential trade-in value, you may find that a vehicle in the $20,000 to $35,000 range will fit your budget.
Buying a $100K car on a 60 month loan will cost you $2500 or so per month after you factor in sales tax, interest, registration fees, insurance, maintenance, etc.
You might find your car payment is too high for a variety of reasons: Maybe you financed your car at the dealership and now realize you could have qualified for a loan with a lower rate and payment. Perhaps you bought a more expensive car than you could realistically afford.
| Payment Period | Purchase APR* "As Low As" | Payment per $1,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 60 Months | 5.99% | $19.33 |
| Up to 66 Months | 6.24% | $17.94 |
| Up to 72 Months | 6.49% | $16.81 |
| Up to 75 Months | 6.74% | $16.38 |
In December of 2022, the Fed indicated that it expects the funds rate to fall to 4.1% by the end of 2024 after reaching the 5.1% mark by the end of 2023. If that holds true and the federal interest rate begins to fall, auto loan rates should start to drop shortly after.
Those with higher credit scores pose a lower default risk to issuers, and they tend to land better interest rates. Even if you have a higher interest rate and carry a balance, you can pay less interest on your credit card debt if you make payments whenever you can.
With a $1,000 down payment and an interest rate of 20% with a five year loan, your monthly payment will be $768.32/month.
The 20/3/8 car buying rule says you should put 20% down, pay off your car loan in three years (36 months), and spend no more than 8% of your pretax income on car payments. As we go into depth to determine how realistic this rule is, you may consider whether it can actually help you budget for your next car.
There's a good rule of thumb when it comes to car buying that recommends you purchase a car that is worth under 35% of your annual income. In the context of $60k a year, the limit would be $21,000.
Is $400 a month too much for a car?
In general, experts recommend spending 10%–15% of your income on transportation, including car payment, insurance, and fuel. For example, if your take-home pay is $4,000 per month, then you should spend $400 to $600 on transportation. To be sure, that range is simply for guidance.
Paying extra payments toward the principal in your car loan will shorten the overall length of your loan. While you'll be paying more every month, you'll be paying the loan back for fewer months total. You'll also build equity much faster.
Your car payment won't go down if you pay extra, but you'll pay the loan off faster. Paying extra can also save you money on interest depending on how soon you pay the loan off and how high your interest rate is.
If you earn an annual income of $55,000, for example, that means your budget for a car should be $5,500-$11,000. If you make $70,000, your budget would be $7,000-$14,000.
There's no set minimum credit score required to get an auto loan. It's possible to get approved for an auto loan with just about any credit score, but the better your credit history, the bigger your chances of getting approved with favorable terms.
If you are offered a 2% interest rate for three years (or 36 months), 3% for four years (48 months), 4% for five years (60 months), and 5% for six years (72 months), your monthly payments for a $40,000 loan will be as follows: Three years – $1,146. Four years – $885.
Financial experts say your car-related expenses shouldn't exceed 20% of your monthly take-home pay. So, let's say you bring home about $2,500 each month. The total amount you should spend on your car — including loan payment, gas, insurance and maintenance — is right around $500.
What is considered high mileage on a car? Often, 100,000 miles is considered a cut-off point for used cars because older vehicles often start requiring more expensive and frequent maintenance when mileage exceeds 100,000.
Safe debt guidelines
If you make $50,000 a year, your total yearly housing costs should ideally be no more than $14,000, or $1,167 a month. If you make $120,000 a year, you can go up to $33,600 a year, or $2,800 a month—as long as your other debts don't push you beyond the 36 percent mark.
The average monthly payment for a new vehicle hit a record $730 in the first quarter, up from $656 in 2022. And 16.8 percent, or about 1 in 6 of them, are paying $1,000 or more a month — also a new all-time high.
How can I avoid a high car payment?
- Compare multiple loan offers. Financing your purchase through the dealership is easy, convenient, and quicker than shopping around for other offers, but it may not be your best bet. ...
- Buy a lower-priced vehicle. ...
- Improve your credit. ...
- Make a larger down payment. ...
- Extend your loan term.
Around 31% of American adults say they're relying on an auto loan to pay for a car in 2022, with a further 14% saying they plan on getting an auto loan in the first half of 2023, according to Finder's Consumer Confidence Index, quarterly survey of consumer attitudes on wealth, debt, savings and more.
Most of the millionaires surveyed said they never spent more than $65,000 on an automobile. Over 50 percent of these cars are American made with 3 in 10 millionaires driving a Ford F-150 pickup.
As a general rule of thumb, many experts suggest following the 20/4/10 rule, which holds that you should set aside 20% of a car's purchase price for a downpayment, take 4 years to repay your car loan, and ensure that your monthly transportation costs don't exceed 10% of your monthly income.
The short version is that it recommends making a 20% down payment on the car, taking four years to return the money to the lender, and keeping transportation costs just under 10% of your monthly income.
How much is a lease for a $45,000 car? Using our calculator, we input a $5,000 down payment, an assumed $25,000 residual value, an interest rate of 7% and a term of 36 months (three years). It resulted in monthly payment of $606 before taxes.
Most people that are driving a $200K car are earning 500K+ and worth 5 million +, whether that's trust fund, or salary, or business ownership/stocks, or some combination.
As a general rule of thumb, the total value of your vehicles (anything with a motor in it) should never be more than half of your annual household income. Dave doesn't recommend buying a new car—ever—until your net worth is more than $1 million.
The total interest amount on a $30,000, 72-month loan at 5% is $4,787—a savings of more than $1,000 versus the same loan at 6%.
The car payments on a 80,000 dollar car loan vary based on the type of vehicle, new versus used, your credit score, and the sales tax rate of your state. The monthly car payments on a $80K car loan range from $1,333.72 to $2,198.91.
How much is a $30,000 dollar car monthly bill?
The car payments on a 30,000 dollar car loan vary based on the type of vehicle, new versus used, your credit score, and the sales tax rate of your state. The monthly car payments on a $30K car loan range from $505.94 to $834.15.
At $25,000 per month, this supercar has the most expensive car lease ever.
As you make on-time loan payments, an auto loan will improve your credit score. Your score will increase as it satisfies all of the factors the contribute to a credit score, adding to your payment history, amounts owed, length of credit history, new credit, and credit mix.
As a general rule, it's recommended that your monthly car payment not exceed 20% of your take-home pay. So, if your monthly take-home pay is $3,000, your car payment should be no more than $600.
In the context of $60k a year, the limit would be $21,000. Popular cars that range in cost from $17,000 to $19,000 includes the 2020 Honda Fit, 2021 Kia Soul, 2022 Hyundai Accent, 2021 Hyundai Venue, 2022 Kia Rio, and 2020 Chevrolet Sonic.
According to our research, you shouldn't spend more than 10% to 15% of your net monthly income on car payments. Your total vehicle costs, including loan payments and insurance, should total no more than 20%. You can use a car loan calculator to calculate a monthly payment within your budget.
If you have been qualified for a $30,000 car loan, the monthly payment depends on the amount of the down payment, interest rate, and loan length. For example, with a down payment of $2,500, an interest rate of 5%, and a loan length of three years, you will have to pay $824.20/month.
The monthly car payments on a $30K car loan range from $505.94 to $834.15. Payments vary based on your credit score, and the sales tax rate of your state, and whether you are financing a new or a used car.
A target credit score of 661 or above should get you a new-car loan with an annual percentage rate of around 5.82% or better, or a used-car loan around 7.83% or lower. Superprime: 781-850.
The monthly car payments on a $45K car loan range from $754.27 to $1,243.58.
How much is the $40,000 car payment for 60 months?
Depending on the length of your loan, your monthly payments would look like this for a $40,000 loan: 2% interest rate for 36 months: $1,146. 3% interest rate for 48 months: $885. 4% interest rate for 60 months: $737.
For $40,000 loans, monthly payments averagely range between $900 and $1,000, depending on the interest rate and loan term.
