A down payment helps many lenders remove some of the upfront risk associated with a car loan. So if you decide to buy a car with no money down, realize you may have to pay a higher interest rate throughout your loan. It can also mean you may pay more for your loan over time due to those higher rates.
You may be thinking, “But if auto lenders don't get the down payment, why do they require it?” Good question. It's because down payments provide security to the loan, lower your monthly payment, and prove to the lender that you're willing and able to invest in your own success.
The Bottom Line of Down Payments
An excellent way to get safe and reliable modern transportation without having to squirrel away money for years is to finance a new or used car with an auto loan at a reasonable interest rate. Just be sure to have at least 20% of the purchase price — including any trade or rebate.
“A typical down payment is usually between 10% and 20% of the total price. On a $12,000 car loan, that would be between $1,200 and $2,400. When it comes to the down payment, the more you put down, the better off you will be in the long run because this reduces the amount you will pay for the car in the end.
When it comes to a down payment on a new car, you should try to cover at least 20% of the purchase price. For a used car, a 10% down payment might do.
As a general rule of thumb, it's recommended that you put down at least 20% on a new vehicle, and at least 10% on a used car. Depending on the car's selling price, this could mean shelling out quite a bit of cash.
The general rule is that for every $1,000 you put down, your monthly payment will drop by about $15 to $18.
The average new car payment in America has crept above the $500 per month mark for the fist time, settling in at $503, according to a recent study by Experian. And if that weren't bad enough, the average length of a car loan now stands at 68 months.
With a loan amount of $30,000, an interest rate of 8%, and a loan repayment period of 60-months, your monthly payment is around $700. Before you purchase your new vehicle, remember to budget for car maintenance, gas, and car insurance.
Using the formula above, you can estimate your monthly payment for various loan terms to be: 12 months: $1269.25. 24 months: $643.99. 36 months: $435.49.
With a three-year $10,000 loan at a 4.5% interest rate, your monthly payments would be $297 per month or more if you include the sales tax in the loan.
In general, lenders look for borrowers in the prime range or better, so you will need a score of 661 or higher to qualify for most conventional car loans.
To cut to the chase, it's smart to spend less than 10% of your monthly take-home pay on your car payment, so you can keep your total car costs below 15% to 20% of your income.
Your monthly payments would look like this for a $40,000 loan: 36 months: $1,146. 48 months: $885. 60 months: $737.
As a general rule, you should pay 20 percent of the price of the vehicle as a down payment. That's because vehicles lose value, or depreciate, rapidly. If you make a small down payment or no down payment, you can end up owing more on your auto loan than your car or SUV is worth.
Minimum Down Payment Requirements
When you're dealing with poor credit, the smallest down payment you can typically make is 10% of the vehicle's selling price or at least $1,000.
700 is a good credit score to buy a car because it proves you are a responsible borrower with a credit history in the prime range. Even if your score is under 700 there are still ways to obtain affordable financing, especially at Green Light Auto Credit!
Unless you have the cash, that means you need an auto loan. It's essential to be knowledgeable about how your auto loan process will be different than someone with a higher score. You might not have the same options, but you can still get an auto loan with a 600 credit score.
If you have a credit score above 750, you can probably qualify for the best rates available and negotiate an excellent deal on your car. If your credit score is lower, see if you can give it a boost before you apply for a loan.
For instance, using our loan calculator, if you buy a $20,000 vehicle at 5% APR for 60 months the monthly payment would be $377.42 and you would pay $2,645.48 in interest.
Brian Moody, executive editor for Kelley Blue Book, told ABC News that a low supply of cars and high demand from buyers means consumers "are going to be paying more" than the MSRP.
A down payment on a car is a percentage of the vehicle's total cost that you will pay at the time of purchase. For example, if the car you're buying costs $25,000, a down payment of $2,500 is a 10% down payment.
Example: A six year fixed-rate loan for a $25,000 new car, with 20% down, requires a $20,000 loan. Based on a simple interest rate of 3.4% and a loan fee of $200, this loan would have 72 monthly payments of $310.54 each and an annual percentage rate (APR) of 3.74%.