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How to Determine your APR for a Car Loan?
How to determine your APR for a car loan – The more you know about calculating the APR on a car loan, the more informed you will be when it’s time to sign on the dotted line or walk away if the loan doesn’t meet your financial needs.
The APR of a car loan is the cost you will pay to borrow money each year, expressed as a percentage. It includes the interest rate on loans and some fees. On the other hand, the interest rate only reflects the annual cost of borrowing money, not including fees. When likening loans, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau suggests looking at interest rates versus interest rates because the interest rate more accurately reflects how much you’ll pay to finance a car.
Let’s look at How to determine your APR for a car loan using a computer spreadsheet and some of the factors that could affect the APR you are offered.
How do I see what my APR is?
After you have received a formal and final offer on a loan, you can find out pardon the APR is in one of two ways.
Ask your lender: The federal Truth in Loaning Act, a law that helps ensure customers are informed, requires lenders to provide you with certain information about your loan, including the APR, before signing the loan agreement. If you have your loan documents handy, you should be able to find the APR on your contract.
Estimate it yourself: If you have loan details handy, you can calculate the how to determine your APR for a car loan using a computer spreadsheet. See the formula below for calculating the estimated APR on an auto loan.
How to Calculate the APR of a Car Loan?
How to determine your APR for a car loan to calculate the estimated APR on a car loan, we have developed a method using a computer spreadsheet. To follow this route, you will need the following information:
Loan amount: The total amount you plan to finance, usually the price of the vehicle, minus any down payment or trade-in (down payment on your car loan or trade-in will reduce the amount you need to finance, which may lower your monthly income):
- Loan term – The length of your car loan
- The interest rate on the loan (this is an estimated rate until you make a formal request)
- Specific fees, such as set-up fees
The first step in calculating the APR yourself is in calculating your estimated monthly payment.
1. Calculate your Estimated Monthly Payment
You can skip this step if you now know your estimated monthly payment. If you don’t, you can easily calculate your monthly car payment in a spreadsheet by typing the formula below into a cell.
=PMT (interest rate in decimal/12, number of months of loan duration, loan amount, with fees)
The result is your projected monthly payment. It will be the wrong number, but don’t worry. You didn’t make any mistake. Keep this number handy to calculate your APR.
You want to money $13,000 ($12,500 plus a $500 loan application fee) with a loan term of 60 months and an interest rate of 4%. This is what your formulation would look like with these numbers connected.
=PAYMENT(.04/12, 60, 13000)
Using this example, your worksheet would calculate your monthly payment as $239.41.
2. Calculate your Estimated APR
To estimate your APR on a loan using a spreadsheet, enter the formula below into a cell. This formula assumes your monthly payment was calculated in step 1 or includes a fee. If you didn’t compute your monthly income in Step 1, or if you’re not sure if the monthly payment reflects expenses, keep in mind that this formula may not be the best way to calculate your projected APR.
= RATE (number of months in the loan term, valued monthly payment, loan value, fewer fees)*12
Using the monthly sum you calculated (-$239.41), this is what you would enter in the cell for this loan example.
=RATE(60,-239.41,12500)*12
Entering the above formula would calculate your Estimated APR to around 5.6%.
What is APR?
The APR is the total annual cost of borrowing money, including interest and fees, represented as a percentage. It also considers any dealer fees, rebates, or expenses incurred by the borrower in obtaining a loan, including an auto loan.
The lower the annual percentage rate for cars, the cheaper it is to borrow money.
Sometimes, the APR and interest rates can be confused since they are both expressed as percentages. The main difference is that an interest rate for a car loan is simply a percentage of the principal (the amount borrowed).
At the same time, the APR takes into account the additional fees and costs of borrowing money, in addition to interest. For example, the interest rate on a car loan might be 4.0%. But once various fees and costs are factored in, the APR could be 4.25%.
The APR is a better metric for evaluating the cost of borrowing than the interest rate alone. Even if two lenders offer the same interest rate and terms on a loan, the difference in their fees and additional charges will show up in the APR.
Before we get to how to calculate the APR on a car loan, it may be helpful to have our complete guide to car loan terms handy.
Why is APR important?
Knowing the APR of a car loan is essential because it helps you understand how much it will cost you to borrow money from that lender. The lower the APR, the less you will pay to finance your car.
When comparing loans side-by-side, pay attention to APRs to help you identify the cheapest loan. Even a single percentage point difference can add up over time.
For example, suppose you are comparing two $23,000 loans, each with a term of four years. One loan has an APR of 5%, and the other has 6%. You will pay $503 more in interest on the 6% APR loan than on the 5% APR loan.
What is a Decent APR for a Car Loan?
In August 2020, commercial banks exciting an average APR of 4.98% on 48- and 60-month auto loans, according to the Federal Reserve. But keep in mind that notice rates vary by lender, and other factors can affect the APR they offer you. That’s some.
Your Credit Scores
The better your credit, the inferior the interest rate on your loan. Check your credit scores before buying a car to get a good idea of your overall credit health.
The Term of your Loan
A longer-term loan, such as 72 or 84 months, may lower your monthly payment but may have a higher interest rate than you would get on a short-term loan. And with a longer-term, you’ll end up paying more interest over the life of the loan.
Your Loan-to-Value Ratio
Suppose the amount you want to borrow is significantly less than the value of the car you’re buying, perhaps because you’ve made a sizeable down payment or you have a vehicle with a substantial trade-in value. In that case, you may need to pay a lower APR. Indeed, the loan presents less risk for the lender than a loan intended to finance the car’s total value.
What’s Next?
Learning how to determine your APR for a car loan can be helpful when shopping for an auto loan. Before signing loan documents, make sure you know the APR of the loan; It is essential to understand how much you will pay to borrow money from this lender.
Notice rates and fees vary from lender to creditor. That’s why it’s essential to shop around and compare quotes before deciding on a loan. Prequalifying for an auto loan can get the assistance you understand the loan rate and terms. If you might qualify for and identify which lender might best fit your financial needs.
Conclusion
How to determine your APR for a car loan – Understanding how to calculate the APR on an auto loan is helpful when evaluating financing options.
It’s also value checking your credit score and personal finances to understand better what your interest rate is likely to be. It’s not the only factor in your APR, but it’s one of the main ones.
Remember that obtaining or refinancing a car loan for bad credit is often possible. Refinancing might even lower your interest rate if your credit score has improved. And, if done correctly, it can help avoid a scenario known as a reverse auto loan. Which means you owe more money than the car is worth.
If you’re looking to refinance your car loan, Lantern by SoFi can help. By just filling out a connected form, you will be able to compare auto refinance options from several lenders.
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