The free auto loan calculator is one of the most useful tools available if you are currently looking to buy a car. Using one can help you make many of the critical decisions required both before as well as during the buying process. These calculators - there's more than one type - can assist you in deciding a number of things including whether you should to buy or lease, use bank or
car dealer financing, as well as the advantages of paying your loan off early. This article will discuss three different types of free auto loan calculator.
The first type of free auto loan calculator we'll discuss is the "early loan payoff" calculator. Everyone knows that if you finance your car with a simple interest loan you can save money by paying off your loan early. That's because simple interest loans contain a provision that doesn't penalize borrowers for an early loan payoff. This means that the simple step of paying a few dollars more each month toward the loan principle can pay off big time in the long run.
Here's how the early loan payoff works: You simply enter the loan term, the original loan amount and the interest rate. You then enter the number of remaining months and the additional monthly payment that you're prepared to spend. When you hit the "calculate" button of this free auto loan calculator, it will compute the scheduled monthly payment, the accelerated payment, the total amount you would pay both with and without the accelerated schedule as well as the total savings in dollars.
But this free auto loan calculator doesn't stop there. It also shows you, on a graph, the amount of scheduled interest paid, accelerated interest paid, the scheduled principal balance and the accelerated principal balance over the life of the loan. You can also view the amortization schedule by year or by month and view as well as print the report - not bad for a free calculator!
A second type of free auto loan calculator is the "buy versus lease" calculator. By entering the loan term, interest rate, other fees, annual depreciation, residual percentage and security deposit amount, you can compare the net vehicle cost over a comparable period to see which ownership scenario is ultimately the better deal (even though lease payments are traditionally lower than financing, a lease could end up costing you more money in the long run).