| Period | Payment | Principal | Interest | Balance |
|---|
A common US rule: put 20% down, finance for no more than 4 years, and keep total car costs under about 10% of gross income. Strict — but it keeps you out of long underwater loans.
If you swap cars every three years, a 72–84 month loan almost guarantees negative equity at trade-in. Match the term to how long you will actually drive it.
UK PCP monthly looks cheap because a large optional final payment sits at the end. You still pay interest on the amortising slice — and the balloon is due if you want to keep the car.
Same fixed-rate amortisation as a mortgage. P is the amount financed after deposit, tax, fees and trade-in; on PCP, the balloon is left off that slice.
Pick a region first (US loan vs UK hire purchase / PCP), then set price, deposit, APR, and term. Open Fees & extras for trade-in payoff and arrangement fees. Compare term cards for the interest trade-off; expand the schedule for year-by-year totals. On PCP, treat the balloon as money you still owe at the end — not a discount.
US: a $32,000 car with 10% down and 7% sales tax finances about $31,040. At 6.5% APR over 60 months, the payment is about $607/mo.
UK PCP: a £22,000 car with 10% deposit and a 40% balloon amortises roughly £11,000 — so the monthly looks far lower than hire purchase, but the optional final payment is still due if you keep the car.
Standard fixed-rate amortisation on the amount financed: monthly rate r = APR/12, term n months. Interest is charged on the remaining balance, so early payments are mostly interest.
Hire purchase finances the whole amount after deposit — you own the car when the term ends. PCP leaves a balloon (GFV) unpaid during the term so monthly payments are lower; at the end you pay it, refinance, or return the car under the contract.
Often yes — many dealers roll state/local sales tax into the amount financed. This tool adds tax on the vehicle price by default for the US region; set the tax % to zero if you pay it up front.
Leases use residual value and money-factor pricing, not the same amortisation as a loan. This page covers purchase finance (loan / HP / PCP), not closed-end leases.
Credit-score pricing, dealer mark-ups, insurance, fuel, maintenance, early settlement fees, PCP mileage excess, GAP insurance, and tax treatment. Your lender's illustration is the figure that matters.
No. It is a reference calculator. Real offers depend on credit, dealer, fees, insurance, and (for PCP) contract mileage. Verify with your lender before you sign.
Releases in which this page changed, newest last. Derived from the archived copy of every release, not from notes written afterwards — so it reflects what actually shipped. Site-wide passes are left out; they are in the full changelog.