Car shopping usually starts backward: find a car you like, then figure out if the payment fits. Our car affordability calculator starts from your budget instead, using the well-known 20/4/10 rule of thumb — 20% down, a loan of 4 years or less, and total car costs (loan plus insurance, fuel, and maintenance) at or under 10% of your gross income.
- One number that matters — a maximum car price, not just a monthly payment, so you know what you’re actually shopping for.
- Running costs included — insurance, fuel, and maintenance count against the same 10% ceiling as the loan payment.
- Honest about trade-offs — stretch the loan term past 4 years and the tool shows a note: you can “afford” more on paper, but you’ll pay more in total interest for it.
Enter your income, down payment target, loan term, and estimated running costs, and the result updates instantly. The calculator is embeddable on your own site with one iframe.