

Last payment: $2.79 goes to interest and $742.92 goes to principal.First payment: $150 goes to interest and $595.72 to principal.Use the amortization schedule or LendingTree’s car affordability calculator to see how much interest you could save.įor example, if you have a $745.72 payment for 60 months at 4.5% interest, here’s what your first and last payments would look like:

Your financing company may have provided an amortization schedule, which breaks down the amount of principal and interest for each payment. The interest is calculated each month, so if you pay the principal faster than the loan agreement, the amount of interest will drop as well. But the amount of money that goes to pay the principal and interest will change each month. The payment is fixed over the life of the loan. Most car loans are simple interest loans, which means the amount of interest is based on the loan’s principal balance. The Truth in Lending disclosure on your loan documents will disclose how much principal and interest you are obligated to pay over the life of the loan. The last few payments will be mostly principal with little interest left.

Over time, more of the payment goes to pay the principal. Your car payment will be a mix of the principal and interest.ĭuring the early part of the loan term, you will pay more interest than principal. This is the interest rate and other fees incurred for borrowing the money. The other part is the annual percentage rate or APR. The principal is only one part of your payment. Taking advantage of dealer or manufacturer incentives, or You can lower the loan principal when you purchase a car by: Wrapped up in that number are the price of the car, any dealer fees and tax, title and licensing (TTL) fees you might have financed. The loan principal is the amount you borrowed to buy the car.
