You can use an online calculator to figure out what the monthly payment will be, based on your down payment, credit score, and loan period. Confirm your car's trade-in price: Find out how much you ...

NerdWallet’s normal recommendation for a car down payment is at least 20% of a new car’s purchase price and 10% for a used car, but many people do buy cars with less down or nothing at all.

Scott says the dealership wouldn’t take her car as a trade-in unless she paid the negative equity. Alternatively, the salesperson said she could keep her current car and get a new $62,000 loan ...

So if you earn $3,000 a month after taxes, your all-in car costs—including auto loan payment, gas, maintenance and repairs and car insurance — should come out to no more than $450 per month.

Another recent survey, this one by the car comparison site Edmunds, found that the average trade-in customer with an underwater loan owed $6,458, a record sum. One-fifth of those consumers owed ...

New car: 20% down — a $55,000 car would require a $11,000 down payment. Used car: 10% down — a $25,000 car would require $2,500. Leased car: $0-$3,000 down depending on credit and lease structure.

New cars typically lose value — and quickly. But some basic calculations will help you decide whether it’s worth buying a used vehicle instead.

A down payment of at least 20% is ideal, but more is always better if you can afford it. Buyers who put down 20% or even 25% will find the most favorable rates and terms from lenders.

1. Estimate your vehicle's value. Trade-in value is the amount a dealer would offer you for your current vehicle against the purchase price of a new one.

Per data reported by Edmunds, 24.9 percent of new vehicle trade-ins were upside down on their loans in the fourth quarter of 2024, a rise from 24.2 percent in the third quarter of 2023, and a ...

This article was first published on NerdWallet.com. When Atlanta resident Morgan Nichole Scott financed a used Infiniti QX60 in late summer 2020, car prices were starting to skyrocket. But the ...