Nearly every bank, lender or car finance broker will have a car loan calculator that you can use to get an idea of what your repayments for a certain car are going to be.
When you use a car loan calculator you need to watch out for those hidden costs that might not be included.
I searched through the top 10 results in Google to see what loan calculators include in your quote for repayments. Here’s what I found:
Most car loan calculators will include the loan amount and the interest that you will pay over the loan term. Only 3 of the top 10 car finance calculators only gave a quote for monthly payments, the other 7 allowed you to select a fortnightly or weekly repayment quote.
5/10 car loan calculators had the option for you to enter a balloon payment (click the link to find out more about how a balloon payment affects your car loan).
This is great information, and it will give you an idea of how much your car will actually cost, but there ARE a few other things that you will need to take into account before deciding if you can really afford a certain car loan.
One thing that is essential for every car loan is your comprehensive car insurance. Here’s why:
In most cases, you’ll be able to arrange car insurance through your car finance broker to streamline the process.
You may also decide to get extra protection for your car loan, in case something happens. The three key types that are available are:
This is an optional insurance that will cover your car loan repayments if you have an accident, trauma, illness, death or involuntary unemployment that prevents you from working and gaining your regular income.
If your new car is written off or stolen, and you put less than 20% deposit up front when you purchased your car, your comprehensive insurance policy may not cover the full amount of your car loan.
This means that you might owe some money to the lender after the insurance payout is made. If this ‘gap’ could put you under financial stress, you might consider getting insurance to cover it so it’s one less thing to worry about if something does go wrong.
The premium will cover you for the full term of your car loan, and can be included in the borrow amount.
The warranty that comes with your vehicle will depend on whether you buy a new car or a used car. The standard warranty is different for different states in Australia.
You might choose to purchase an extended warranty for your new car to protect you against any issues that arise after the manufacturer’s warranty expires. That way you’ll be covered for a range of things that can go wrong mechanically or electrically. Some types of warranty will include emergency accommodation and towing and car hire if you’re more than 150km from your home when the breakdown occurs.
Every state in Australia has different fees for car registration, and there’s different requirements that you’ll need to meet to ensure your car is safe to drive.
The best way to get info on how much your registration will cost each year, is to check your state government website.
You’ll need to allow for regular car servicing. To make sure that you keep your costs down and get good value for money, we’ve put together a guide to Auto Mechanic Accreditation, so you can easily find a mechanic you can rely on in every state in Australia.
The Australian Government have designed a handy app that breaks down all the costs of car ownership, so you can see everything in one place. You’ll be able to work out the cost of your new car, including your loan insurance, car insurance, maintenance and registration.
You definitely should! As you can see, a car finance calculator is a really useful tool to tell you the total cost of your car loan.
The first thing that you’ll notice is that buying a car loan will cost a bit more than the advertised purchase price of the car that you choose. This is due to the interest you pay to borrow money from the bank or lender to purchase the car, and the fees that might be associated with the car loan.
Then you need to factor in your insurances, and the other costs that inevitably come with owning a car.
There’s a lot to consider when you’re getting ready to buy a new car! If you are ready to apply for your car finance you can fill out a quick form here , or you’d just like some more information about car finance and insurance, give us a call right now on 1300 722 210 and we’ll explain to you how it will work in your specific situation.