Use our car affordability calculator to estimate how much you can afford for your next car. We’ll use your desired monthly payments and the trade-in value of your current vehicle to tell you what you should spend.
Potential savings: $14,679 on average (as of publication)
Since new cars lose around 20% of their value in the first year alone, you can shave thousands off your purchase price by buying a used car instead. If you’re worried you’ll end up with a lemon, consider getting a certified pre-owned car from the original manufacturer. These cars are thoroughly inspected and often come with extended warranties.
Potential savings: $553 on average (as of publication)
When you improve your credit score from fair to very good, you’ll save an average of $553 on your car loan and over $22,000 across different types of credit, like credit cards and mortgages. Lenders offer lower rates to borrowers with high scores and a history of on-time payments, which translates to thousands of dollars of savings across your lifetime.
Potential savings: Several thousand dollars
Manufacturers sometimes offer special car rebates or discounts to encourage people to buy their cars. Rebates are typically discounts on particular car models or for a specific group of people, like college grads or teachers.
If you have excellent credit, you may be able to snag a 0% APR deal, meaning you won’t have to pay interest on your car loan. It’s unlikely that you’ll be able to combine 0% financing with a rebate, so use our calculator to determine which option will help you save more money.
Potential savings: Hundreds of dollars
It may seem counterintuitive to spend more up front to save money on your car loan. But the more you put down for your car, the less you’ll have to finance — and the less money you’ll pay in interest. Plus, making a larger down payment can help you qualify for a car loan with bad credit.
Potential savings: $5,198 on average with LendingTree (as of publication)
Shopping around for your auto loan could help you save thousands. In fact, car buyers could save $5,198 on average by choosing their best offer on the LendingTree marketplace.
Here’s how it works. After you answer a few questions about your car loan, LendingTree will do the shopping for you. We’ll pull rates from the nation’s largest lender network and show you your offers in minutes. Checking your rates won’t impact your credit.
Use our car affordability calculator to estimate how much you can afford for your next car. We’ll use your desired monthly payments and the trade-in value of your current vehicle to tell you what you should spend.
Your current monthly car payments will stay the same when the Fed cuts rates because auto loans come with fixed interest rates that don’t fluctuate with the market. But when auto loan rates start to drop, consider refinancing your car loan to get lower rates and save money on your car payments.
When you get a car loan, you’re borrowing money to pay for the total cost of the car. You’ll pay back what you borrowed plus interest in equal monthly payments. Interest and fees (otherwise known as APR) are the cost of taking out a car loan.
Yes, you can get preapproved for a car loan with multiple lenders. Just make sure to get all of your preapprovals within the 14-day rate-shopping window so that the credit pulls count as a single hard inquiry on your credit report.