How much car can I afford?

Work backwards from the monthly amount you can spare, set aside the running costs (fuel, insurance, rego, maintenance), and use what is left for finance repayments. That repayment, plus your deposit, sets the car price you can afford without straining your budget.

Why include running costs?

A car is not just the purchase price. Fuel, insurance, registration, warrants and maintenance often add a few thousand dollars a year. Budgeting only for the loan repayment leaves you short on the true cost of ownership.

Should I buy with cash or finance?

Paying cash avoids interest, which is the cheapest way to own a car. If you finance, a larger deposit and a shorter term reduce the interest. This calculator includes a deposit and finance to show what fits your monthly budget.

Car Affordability Calculator

This calculator works out the car price your budget can comfortably sustain in New Zealand, once you have allowed for the true cost of owning a car, not just the loan repayment. Rather than starting with a car price and hoping the numbers work, it works backwards from what you can actually afford each month. You enter the monthly amount you can set aside for a car, your expected running costs (fuel, insurance, registration, warrants and maintenance), the finance rate you expect to pay, the loan term in years, and any deposit or trade-in you have towards the purchase. The calculator subtracts your running costs from your monthly budget to find what is genuinely left for finance repayments, then works out the loan that repayment could service over your chosen term at your finance rate, and adds your deposit to give the maximum car price you can afford. You get back the car price you can afford, the monthly amount going towards finance repayments, and the loan amount that repayment supports. Use it before you start car shopping, so you know your ceiling rather than discovering it at the dealership, and remember that paying cash avoids interest altogether while a bigger deposit and shorter term both reduce it. This is an indicative estimate to guide your budget, not a loan offer or finance approval.

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Monthly amount for a car

Running costs per month

Finance rate

Loan term (years)

Deposit / trade-in

car price you can afford

For finance repayments$0

Loan amount supported$0

Sets aside running costs first, then uses the rest of your monthly budget for finance over the term, and adds your deposit. Paying cash avoids the interest entirely. Estimate only, not a loan offer.

How it works

The calculator subtracts running costs from your monthly car budget to find what is left for finance repayments. It then works out the loan that repayment could service over the term at the finance rate, and adds your deposit or trade-in to get the maximum car price. This keeps the true cost of ownership, not just the loan, inside your budget.

Worked example

With $700 a month for a car and $350 of running costs, $350 is left for finance. At 12% over 4 years that services a loan of about $13,300; adding a $5,000 deposit gives a car price of around $18,300 you can comfortably afford.

Related calculators

Car Loan Calculator: finance repayments.
Vehicle Running Cost Calculator: running costs.
Car Replacement Fund Calculator: save for a car.
Lease vs Buy Car Calculator: lease or buy.

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