A longer car loan and more interest

More months lower the payment and raise the interest you pay if you keep the loan to the end.

The term is in months

The car form asks for months, not years. Sixty is five years. Seventy-two is six. Eighty-four is seven. The payment is the level amount that finishes in that many months at the note rate.

Stretching the term shrinks the payment and grows cumulative interest on the yearly table. The ownership costs do not shrink with the payment.

The car can outlast the loan, or not

A long loan can still be owed after you wish you had sold the car. The balance chart shows what you would still owe. This tool does not predict the car’s resale value, so it cannot say if you would be upside down.

If you will refinance or sell in two years, use a two-year hold in the offer comparison instead of the full-term interest.

The month still has fuel

A seventy-two-month payment can look easy next to a sixty-month payment and still lose once insurance and fuel are added. Read the car total, not only the loan line.

The household payoff date uses the term you picked. A longer term pushes that date out.

This explains how WiseCalculator treats the numbers you type. It is not a lender’s offer and it is not advice for your loan.