How to Estimate Monthly Car Payments
When you’re researching a vehicle purchase, you’re going to have a lot of numbers thrown at you. The price of the car, taxes, fees, interest rate, down payment and term. And if you’re looking at several different cars, it’s a good idea to quickly calculate how much the car payments are going to be each month. The easiest way to keep track is to use an online auto loan calculator. You’ll need to know your interest rate and ballpark fees (we suggest $1,000). Simply plug in the price of the car and the other information and you can estimate monthly car payments for that car. Obviously you’ll get an exact price, interest rate and fee breakdown when you’re serious about one of your options and your actual monthly payment could go in either way $20 dollars or so.
Trades can complicate this a bit, but using online resources to assess your vehicle’s value, you can deduct this value from the new car’s price. Note that some calculators have a field for trade-ins.
Start with the Interest Rate and Vehicle Price
An online vehicle price will usually include any rebates and incentives, so start there. And, based on your credit score, you should research what auto loan rates you might qualify for. It’s best to overestimate your interest rate so that you’re pleasantly surprised at the dealer if it’s lower. Get the final price of your vehicle by adding the taxes, warranties, and other fees that apply. This is the amount that you'll be borrowing.
Calculate Your Car Payments
Now that you have the final auto loan payment and interest rate, you can start to calculate the details of your auto loan. Start by choosing the number of months you want for the loan term. If you're unsure, start with 60-months, a standard term (although some lenders are offering 72, 84 and even 96-month terms).
Use our auto loan calculator to plug in the values you estimated.
How much will you end up paying over the life of the loan? Simply multiply the monthly payment by total months in the term. Subtract the amount borrowed from this number and you’ll see what you’ll be paying in total interest. Play with different terms and interest rates to see how they affect your monthly payment. Even if you don’t stick to these numbers when you’re ready to purchase, it’s helpful to see how different factors can influence your car payments.
How to Choose the Loan Term
One thing that you should be aware of is the fact that you'll get lower interest rates for shorter payment terms. The difference can be as much as a half percent. This can save you hundreds, even thousands of dollars on your total payments. Of course, going with shorter loan terms means that you will have to pay a higher monthly payment. So, you have to make a decision whether it's worth paying higher monthly payments to save money in the long term. If you are bringing in an income that can easily cover the costs and you have savings to back you up, then it's probably the best decision. Of course, if your financial situation changes, you can always try to refinance your auto loan.
And remember, most lenders, including Truliant, feature auto loans with no prepayment penalties. It’s not uncommon for buyers to sign a six year term to get a more manageable monthly payment, but pay off the loan sooner as funds allow. Please note that you are more liable to carry negative equity the longer your term.
Our
Balance Backup coverage offers members emergency overdraft protection, allowing important items to clear and helping you avoid returned payment fees from payees.
Truliant will strive to pay the following types of transactions when you do not have funds available.
- Checks and other transactions made using your checking account number
- Automatic recurring drafts made using your debit card number
We also offer
Balance Backup+ for the following types of transactions when insufficient funds exist in your account:
- Debit card transactions
- ATM transactions
For complete details visit our
overdraft protection page.
Receive one free overdraft per calendar year by contacting us or visiting a branch. Normal fee of $28 per overdraft applies for all other overdrafts.
Enjoy a full suite of everyday benefits designed to protect your wallet, your time, and your peace of mind — all part of this powerful package.
Unexpected perks — A $90 per month value if purchased separately:
- Lifestyle Protection and Savings
- Cell phone protection coverage
- 24/7 roadside assistance
- Buyer protection and extended warranties
- Telehealth for your family
- Save on healthcare (prescription, vision and dental discounts)
- Travel and leisure discounts
- Shopping perks (receive cash back or use for purchases)
- Shell station fuel perks
- Security and Fraud Protection
- Credit and identity monitoring
- View details.
- Or call the Benefits Service Center at 866-298-3686, Mon – Fri, 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. ET for assistance with registration and activation.
Money Access and Everyday Banking Perks:
- Free standard Truliant checks
- Free official checks
- Free incoming wire transfers
- One-time overdraft fee waiver (per calendar year)
- Early Pay — Get your paycheck up to 2 days early
- Surcharge-free ATMs — Access to 80,000 ATMs worldwide that waive their fees for our members
- Free ATM withdrawals, even outside Truliant
Access to more than 80,000 surcharge-free ATMs. A surcharge-free ATM is one you can use without paying an extra fee charged by the ATM owner. Truliant partners with a nationwide network of ATMs that let you withdraw cash, check balances, and more—without those added fees.
Even if the ATM isn’t Truliant-branded, it can still be surcharge-free if it’s part of our network.
Use the
ATM locator to find the most convenient locations near you.
We are proud to offer fewer fees at a lower cost compared to many other financial institutions. Below are our current fees for SafeSpend Banking:
| General Charges |
| Fee Type |
Fee Amount |
| Monthly maintenance |
$5.00
Waived with any of the following:
1) Monthly Total Deposits ≥ $250, or
2) 23 or younger |
| Official check, payable to third party |
$5.00/check |
| Wire transfer (incoming) |
$10.00 (Domestic / International) |
| Wire transfer (outgoing) |
$25.00 (Domestic) $35.00 (International) |
For a comprehensive listing of account-related fees, special service fees, and additional details,
log in to online or mobile banking to view our Deposit Account Agreement or Business Deposit Account Agreement.
We are proud to offer fewer fees at a lower cost compared to many other financial institutions. Below are our current fees for Reserve Plus Banking:
| General Charges |
| Fee Type |
Fee Amount |
| Monthly maintenance |
$25.00
Waived with any of the following:
1) Average Monthly Deposit Relationship ≥ $25,000, or
2) Average Monthly Truliant Financial Advisors Investment ≥ $50,000 |
| Order checks |
Standard Truliant Checks are free |
| Wire transfer (outgoing) |
$25.00 Domestic, $35.00 International (incoming wires are free) |
| Overdraft Charges |
| Fee Type |
Fee Amount |
| Balance Backup* and Balance Backup+** overdraft protection |
$28.00/transaction (limit of six service charges per day) - 1 fee waiver per calendar year |
| Deposit account overdraft protection transfer service charge |
$3.00 (limit once daily) |
| Line of credit overdraft protection transfer service charge |
$3.00 (limit once daily) |
*Balance Backup service charge occurs anytime we cover overdrafts caused by check, recurring transaction, or other transaction made using checking account or debit card number.
**Balance Backup
+ service charge occurs anytime we cover overdrafts caused by debit card or ATM transactions.
For a comprehensive listing of account-related fees, special service fees, and additional details,
log in to online or mobile banking to view our Deposit Account Agreement or Business Deposit Account Agreement.
We are proud to offer fewer fees at a lower cost compared to many other financial institutions. Below are our current fees for Essentials Plus Banking:
| General Charges |
| Fee Type |
Fee Amount |
| Monthly maintenance |
$7.50
Waived with any of the following:
1) Monthly Direct Deposit ≥ $500, or
2) Average Monthly Checking Balance ≥ $1,500, or
3) Average Monthly Deposit Relationship ≥ $5,000 |
| Order checks |
Standard Truliant Checks = $10.00 |
| Official check, payable to third party |
$5.00/check |
| Wire transfer (incoming) |
$10.00 Domestic or International |
| Wire transfer (outgoing) |
$25.00 Domestic, $35.00 International |
| Overdraft Charges |
| Fee Type |
Fee Amount |
| Balance Backup* and Balance Backup+** overdraft protection |
$28.00/transaction (limit of six service charges per day) - 1 fee waiver per calendar year |
| Deposit account overdraft protection transfer service charge |
$3.00 (limit once daily) |
| Line of credit overdraft protection transfer service charge |
$3.00 (limit once daily) |
*Balance Backup service charge occurs anytime we cover overdrafts caused by check, recurring transaction, or other transaction made using checking account or debit card number.
**Balance Backup
+ service charge occurs anytime we cover overdrafts caused by debit card or ATM transactions.
For a comprehensive listing of account-related fees, special service fees, and additional details,
log in to online or mobile banking to view our Deposit Account Agreement or Business Deposit Account Agreement.
Enjoy a full suite of everyday benefits designed to protect your wallet, your time, and your peace of mind — all part of this powerful package.
Unexpected perks — A $90 per month value if purchased separately:
- Lifestyle Protection and Savings
- Cell phone protection coverage
- 24/7 roadside assistance
- Buyer protection and extended warranties
- Telehealth for your family
- Save on healthcare (prescription, vision and dental discounts)
- Travel and leisure discounts
- Shopping perks (receive cash back or use for purchases)
- Shell station fuel perks
- Security and Fraud Protection
- Credit and identity monitoring
- View details.
- Or call the Benefits Service Center at 866-298-3686, Mon – Fri, 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. ET for assistance with registration and activation.
Money Access and Everyday Banking Perks:
- One-time overdraft fee waiver (per calendar year)
- Early Pay — Get your paycheck up to 2 days early
- Low-cost standard Truliant checks — Only $10 per order
- Surcharge-free ATMs — Access to 80,000 ATMs worldwide that waive their fees for our members
- Free ATM withdrawals, even outside Truliant
Acceptable forms of identification:
- Driver’s license (state or U.S. territory issued)
- Driver’s license learner permit (state or U.S. territory issued)
- ID card (state or U.S. territory issued)
- Passport (U.S. or foreign government-issued)
- Armed Forces ID (U.S. government-issued)
- Permanent resident card (U.S. government-issued)
- Employment authorization card (U.S. government-issued)
- VISA (U.S. government-issued)
- Matricula Consular ID (Mexican consulate issued)
All identification must be valid, have a full-face photo, and not be expired.
Additional documents may be requested to verify identity and residency.
Truliant's Early Pay program lets you access your money up to two days before your payday on Automated Clearing House (ACH) direct deposits. You don't need to sign up or opt-in: Early Pay is a free and automatic service we provide to our members.
See more details here.
Non-Sufficient Funds occur when there isn’t enough money in your account to complete a payment. If this happens, we’ll simply reject the payment — and we won’t charge you a fee.
Chat with us.
