1. Enter your current loan details below — balance, APR, and months remaining (all three tabs use this). 2. Pick a tab — Early Payoff (pay extra each month), Refinance (compare a new rate/term), or Am I Underwater? (compare your payoff amount to what the car is worth). 3. Adjust the sliders in that tab to see the result update live.
This is a rough planning estimate, not a payoff quote. Your lender's exact payoff amount includes per-diem interest and may differ slightly from a pure amortization calculation. Confirm exact figures with your loan servicer before making a decision.
Auto Loan Tools
Payoff, refinance, and equity calculators for an existing car loan. Three related questions, one shared starting point: your current loan balance, rate, and remaining term.
Assumes the extra amount is applied directly to principal every month, starting now, with no other change to your loan terms. Some loans charge prepayment penalties — check your contract before paying extra.
Or, invest the extra instead?
Compares two paths over the same time horizon (your loan's original remaining term): Path A — pay the extra toward the loan, then once it's paid off early, invest the full former payment for the rest of the term. Path B — keep paying the loan on schedule, and invest the extra amount every month for the whole term instead. Each path's "net position" is investment growth minus total interest paid — whichever is higher wins. This is the classic "pay off debt vs. invest" trade-off, and the answer flips based on your loan APR vs. your realistic investment return.
The annual interest rate the lender charges — lower means less of your payment goes to interest instead of paying down the balance.
$
Compares total remaining interest on your current loan (at its current rate, over its remaining term) against total interest on a new loan for the same balance at the new rate/term, net of fees. A longer new term can lower your monthly payment while still costing more in total interest — both numbers are shown separately.
In plain terms: this checks whether you owe more on your loan than your car is actually worth right now.
$
$
"Payoff amount" here is your current loan balance. If you're underwater (owe more than the car is worth), trading in typically rolls the difference into a new loan — increasing what you finance next time. Get an actual payoff quote from your lender and a real appraisal/trade-in offer before deciding.
The negative equity trap: what does rolling it in actually cost?
$
$
This isolates the true cost of rolling your negative equity into the new loan: it compares a loan for just the new car (price minus down payment) against a loan for that plus your rolled-over negative equity and fees, at the same APR and term. The gap in total interest — not just the rolled-over amount itself — is what the negative equity actually costs you over the life of the new loan.
Opens your browser's print dialog — choose "Save as PDF" as the destination.