Skip to Main Content

Negative Equity Auto Loan Payment Calculator

Oct 05, 2023

If you owe more on your car than it's worth, you have negative equity. Use this calculator to estimate your car payments if you roll your negative equity into a new loan. 

How to use this calculator 

To use this calculator, simply enter the amount remaining on the loan you must pay, the amount borrowed on your new loan, the loan term and your interest rate. You will now have the expected monthly payment along with the total principal and interest paid.  

If you want to check how extra payments will affect your cost, you can input them as well. Doing so will adjust the monthly payment and total interest paid accordingly. Making extra payments will also help you get out from being upside-down at a much faster rate.

What is negative equity? 

Negative equity — also referred to as being “upside down” — is when you owe more on your auto loan than the vehicle is worth. While it isn’t the worst-case scenario as a loan holder, it can make vehicle trade-in and future auto loan approval a challenge.

There are a few common ways that borrowers become upside down on their car loan, including: 

  • Financing without any money down. 
  • Signing off on too long of a repayment term. 
  • Purchasing a luxury vehicle outside of your budget. 
  • Securing a steep interest rate.

Take advantage of this calculator to understand your monthly payments so that you can best grasp how the amount you still owe would affect the total cost of your new loan. Consider making extra payments, increasing your down payment or even refinancing your loan before you buy something new in order to reduce the amount of extra interest you would pay.