Want to know how much that new car will cost? Just crack open Excel and load this spreadsheet.
It calculates your car loan payments and generates a payment schedule. You can also investigate how changing your loan conditions (such as the payment frequency or the term) affects the payment.
The spreadsheet is easy to use and navigate; required parameters are highlighted, and drop-down menus let you change the payment frequency and compounding period.
Just enter the loan amount, interest rate, loan term, first payment date, payment frequency and loan compounding period
AAfter you click a button, the spreadsheet calculates your
- interest rate per payment
- payment amount
- the date of the final payment
- and the total interest and principal paid at the end of the loan
Watch me use the spreadsheet in this video.
This tool also generates a payment schedule, giving the date of each payment (and the interest and principal paid of every payment, and the balance).
So what this this auto payment calculator do better than the other calculators you can find littering the Internet? Well, you can change the compounding period of the loan.
- US loans are compounded monthly
- Canadian loans are compounded monthly or sometimes semi-annually
- UK loans are compounded yearly
- Australian loans are compounded monthly
This alters the amount of each payment, and the total interest paid at the end of the loan. This flexibility means that you can use this calculator internationally. Just change the compounding period to suit!
This article describes how this spreadsheet calculates interest payments (the article is targeted at mortgages, but the theory and math is exactly the same).
Download Excel Spreadsheet to Calculate Car Payments and Generate Payment Schedule
I am unable to use your calculator as it does not calculate for a loan that uses 6-1/2 years.