The down payment on a car loan

Cash down reduces the amount financed. It is not a monthly cost.

Where it goes

The amount financed is price, minus down payment, minus trade-in, plus sales tax on the price after trade-in. A larger down payment shrinks that loan and the principal-and-interest payment.

The down payment does not reduce insurance, fuel, or registration. Those stay as you typed them.

A down payment larger than the car

If down payment and trade-in cover the price and the tax, the loan is zero. You still see ownership costs. The payoff date for the loan is absent because nothing is financed.

The balance chart is the loan. A zero loan has nothing to draw down.

Do not type the down payment as a debt

Cash you already paid is not a balance. The debt list is for amounts you still owe. The car loan, if you finance it, is either in the car calculator or in the debt list, not both. The month has a switch for that.

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