A 60-month car loan

Sixty months is five years of level payments. The yearly table has five rows.

What 60 means

Type 60 in the term. The schedule has 60 payments. The household date is 60 months out, named as a month and year.

The payment is higher than the same loan at 72 months, and the cumulative interest is lower if you keep it for all five years.

A five-year hold

If you compare two rates and set the hold to five years on a 60-month loan, you are pricing the whole loan, plus fees. Break-even still matters if one rate charges more at the start.

Selling in year three means you should not use the five-year cumulative interest as the cost of the deal. Shorten the hold.

Ownership over the same five years

Multiply your monthly insurance, maintenance, and fuel by 60, and add five years of registration, if you want a rough ownership total beside the interest. The calculator shows those as a month, not as a five-year sum.

That product is not interest. Do not add it to the APR fee.

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