Pay Yourself a Car Payment Calculator

Two people make the same car payment every month. One finances every car. The other keeps their paid-off car, pays that amount into savings, and buys each next car with cash.

–

Finances every car

– to a lender

in the bank at the end

– interest paid
–

Pays themselves

– to their savings

–

in the bank at the end

– interest earned
–

Their cars, year by year

–

Finances every car

Pays themselves

Bought with a loan Paid in cash The paid-off car they start with

Your numbers

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Car payment, the same for both

The person paying themselves wants

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Rates and more settings

Car loan rate

Loan length

Savings account earns

Paid-off car you start with

Cars lose value each year

Averages from Experian for early 2026: $770 a month for a new car and $531 for a used one, on loans of about 70 months at a 6.39% average rate for new cars.

The money

Owing vs. owning

Green is money in savings. Red is money owed on a car loan.

Good to know

The catch, and what this leaves out

The first few years are the hard part. You keep driving your current car while the first car fund builds. After that, every car is paid in cash.
Car prices stay at today's level. Prices will rise for both people, so in today's money the gap is smaller than the totals shown.
Repairs on the older car, plus taxes and fees on each purchase, are left out. Savings interest is taxable.
Rates change. Loan and savings rates stay the same here for the whole time, which real ones won't.
Buying a car soon? The Cash Back vs. Low APR Car Loan Calculator compares a dealer's rebate with its low-rate financing.

I'm not a financial advisor, and nothing here is financial advice. See the disclaimer.