Thursday, December 4, 2008

How to Use a Car Loan Calculator

A car loan calculator is an essential tool for any borrower, and many lenders offer one on their website. When you want to apply for a loan from a lending institution, it is imperative that you should be aware of the amount of interest you will be required to pay in order to make a more informed decision on the amount of loan for which you wish to apply.



A car loan calculator is an automatic tool that you can use to know the amount of interest you will be charged for a certain amount of money and the period of time you will be paying. Using this calculator , you can manipulate it to know the total interest you will pay, the monthly payments, the interest as a percentage of principal, interest paid in regard to whether it is simple or compounding interest, and other functions.



Just like many online calculators, the car loan calculator is automatic and will give you your answers instantly depending on what you want. It has a simple user interface where you simply fill in whatever variable you are using and the calculator will give an answer to what you want, whether it is the interest rate, principal or the amount payable over a certain period of time. The calculator works out an estimate of the amount of your monthly loans payments and the total annual income that is required in order to be able to repay the loan in monthly instalments without a lot of financial strains.



Car loan calculators can be used to compute government and private student car loans, lease payments and car loan payments. In computing your loan variables (interest rate, principal and amount of time over which the loan has to be paid); the car loan calculator assumes that the interest rate will remain constant during the repayment period. The calculator may have a fixed interest rate, usually between 5% to 8.5%.



The next assumption made by the calculator is that the loan will be repaid in monthly instalments that are equal through standard loan amortization (that is, standard and extended loan repayment). Due to its assumption of fixed interest rate standard loan amortization, the calculator may not display accurate results if you are calculating alternate repayments plans such as income contingent repayment and graduated repayments.



You can find a car loan calculator readily available for free on the internet. There are basic and advanced types from which you can choose, though not all sites offer each. The basic calculators allow you to enter the number of payments you want to make, or the number of months over which you want the loan to extend, and the calculator works out the monthly amount you will be required to pay. With these, you are able to try various combinations of affordable payments over the payment period. Advanced loan calculators enable you to figure out your debt-income ratios in additional to offering you results for different payment scenarios.



One of the advantages of using a car loan calculator is that you can figure out the amount that you can borrow, you can find out how much of a deposit, or down payment, you have to make to maintain affordable payments, you can calculate your savings on tax and you can make informed decisions on whether to go for fixed or adjustable mortgage rates.



You can use the car loan calculator to decide if you should consolidate your debt with a second mortgage or a home equity loan. You can also know the amount of time you will take to break even on the closing costs. Other calculations you can do include determining the impacts of early payments on your loan and capital gains (if you wish to calculate investment and tax plans).

Friday, November 14, 2008

Loan Calculators Online

There are many things to consider in your purchase of a motor vehicle. There are many choices and it can be confusing to which vehicle to choose. Once you have decided on a car then to what price and possible trade in price to be negotiated. With most car purchases financed, it is also important to remember everything when going through comparing car finance packages.

Australian car loans can vary because of many factors. Car Finance direct from a bank is quite often not the cheapest solution.

When time to purchase a new car, the next question is usually how you are going to pay for it rather than which car you are going to buy.

Financing your next car is a very important process, as you want to choose a finance package most suitable to you. There can be many things to check including car loan interest rates, fees and charges, break fees if you paid it out earlier or if you can pay extra payments.

Remember to consider the time it will take to approve and settle your car loan. Does the car finance company suit your criteria to approve the finance?

You can have unsecured or secured car finance, which can be very different costs on your loan.It can be a requirement of the car finance company to have fully comprehensive on your car before and while you pay off your car loan.

Finance companies can assist to ensure you have a hassle free car purchase and help with additional resources like encumbrance checks to ensure that there are not any outstanding loans from the prior owner left against the motor vehicle. They could have available title checks to confirm the ownership of the car you are purchasing. Most will arrange clear transfer to seller of the amount financed on the car purchase.

Car loans, subject to the finance company's approval can be financed to the full cost of the purchase including on-road costs and taxes, car Insurance, motor vehicle breakdown warranties, loan protection for death, disability and unemployment.

Older cars can be ok. Car loans can apply for all ages new and used depending on the car loan lender.

Finance structures can be flexible to suit your circumstance. Options to consider on your car loan could be delayed payment car loans so you first payment starts at a extended time into your finance contract, interest only payment options including balloon payments, extended finance terms and structured car finance payments to suit your life style or your work cash flow.

There are many motor finance options available for imported cars.

Commercial car finance options are available that could be suitable for business use. Some choices to consider that relate to business car financing are chattel mortgage vehicle finance, commercial hire purchase, car lease, operational car lease and fully maintained car lease packages. Be careful because the structure of your business car finance can affect your taxation claim.

Dealing through a reputable car loan broker can give you a choice of car finance lenders. It is important to know that you may get car loan interest rates and loan fees and charges cheaper than banks.

Tax information on loan structures in Australia can be found at http://www.ato.gov.au .
Nowadays there are plenty of specialist car loan companies willing to give you a loan. There are a small number who can help if you have bad credit. The search to find a car loan online with bad credit can be very frustrating.

You can choose to take out either a secured car loan or an unsecured car loan and both have their pros and cons. Car loans usually fall into the category of unsecured personal loans, although purchasing a car can also be done through a secured loan. A secured car loan will be secured on your house and as a result you will get a low interest rate loan.

Other people don’t have a home or property to use for security, so for them an unsecured car loan is really the only option. Another advantage of an unsecured car loan is that the loan process usually can be completed more quickly than a secured loan. If you are in the market for a car loan, consider carefully whether an unsecured or secured loan is best for you.

You can generally find a loan for new and second-hand vehicles (Not more than 3 years old). Most loans for the purchase of a car are considered unsecured. Right now car loans are available with the lowest interest rates in years, and it would be an excellent time to save money by taking advantages of the low interest rates on a new car loan. Fact is, hundreds of people with bad credit, and even those with no credit, are approved for new and used car loans everyday. It is now possible to apply online for car loans with absolutely no hassles and the services are generally free and you are under no obligation to take out a loan with the company or companies who provide you with a quote.

With low rates you can get a decision within minutes of applying online. However before taking out the loan you should check if there are any fees or early penalties, which can add an unwelcome small percentage onto your total loan. Be sure to look at the terms of the loans, as different terms will lead to different rates. Also, your credit rating will affect what type of car loan you will be offered. So find out your credit rating by using one of the many online credit rating services. This way you won’t get any nasty shocks when applying for the loan and if your credit rating is seen as bad/poor then at least you can take action to improve it before applying for your car loan.

Monday, September 8, 2008

Types of Car Loans

When you are considering buying a car it is a good idea to first consider the different types of car loans available in the market. This will help you make a decision that suits your needs and requirements.

If you want to buy a new car and want to finance it then a new car loan is ideal for you. This type of loan is usually for a period of five to seven years and the rate of interest offered may depend on the model and make of the car. The latest model of a car would offer a higher rate of interest, while a model of earlier seasons may have more competitive rates. Some car dealerships may be associated with certain banks or lending institutions and offer lower introductory rates for their customers.

If you wish to lower your monthly payments towards your car loan you may want to consider a car refinance loan. Such a loan would offer you a chance to pay lesser amount of money every month for your car. This is a good option especially if you find that you are perpetually behind on your payments.

A lease buy-out loan is a good choice if your car lease is about to end and you wish to possess ownership of the car. Since you would have repaid a fair amount of money the loan amount may not be very high and hence monthly payments would be lower. The lease buy-out loan gives customers an option of owning their car rather than just leasing it. This is a great alternative if you have a novated lease and are changing jobs.

When you are considering a car loan it is important that you consider quotes from a few banks and financial institutions so that you can make the best choice to get a cheap car loan.

Things to Know Before Applying for a Car Loan

Before you take a car loan you need to understand how it will affect your life. Cars are expensive and cost $15,000 to $100,000. It is a long term financial commitment and should be entered after due consideration. Most car loans are for five to seven years and offer a moderate rate of interest, usually about 12%. You will be required to pay some amount as down payment when you buy the car and this may effect the loan term or the rate of interest on the loan.

Before Applying for a Car Loan. Car loans are easier to get if you have a decent credit score, as this tells the lender that you will pay back the amount that is due, in a regular manner. Before you apply for a loan you may want to consider quotes from several banks and financial institutions that offer car loans. This will give you a good idea of the competitive rates offered and also of the terms and conditions that go with the car loan.

It is a good idea to calculate the amount of money you can comfortably pay for the car loan on a monthly basis. Now you can work out the amount of money that you may be able to borrow for your car. It is crucial that you are able to repay the car loan or you may lose ownership of your vehicle.

There are several different kinds of car loans such as the car lease buy-out loan, car refinance loan and new car loan. Once you have decide which car you wan to buy and the amount of money you require to borrow, it is time to get your financial papers in order and apply for the car loan.