20 4 10 Rule For Buying A Car (2023)

FAQs

20 4 10 Rule For Buying A Car? ›

To apply this rule of thumb, budget for the following: A 20% down payment. Repayment terms of four years or less. Spending less than 10% of your monthly income on transportation costs.

The chart assumes you are following 20/3/8, putting 20% down, paying your car off in 3 years, and keeping your monthly payment at or below 8% of your gross income. The table assumes an interest rate of 5%, so if your interest rate is a little different, the car you are able to afford may be a little different, too.

Basically, the rule goes that you provide a down payment of 20% of the balance, sign a loan for a four-year period, and pay no more than 10% of your monthly income on car expenses. These expenses include any money you put towards your new vehicle, including gas, insurance, and loan payments.

Set your car payment budget

50% for needs such as housing, food and transportation — which, in this case, is your monthly car payment and related auto expenses. 30% for wants such as entertainment, travel and other nonessential items. 20% for savings, paying off credit cards and meeting long-range financial goals.

Seek Out Auto Service

So if your car hits 30,000 miles, 60,000 miles, or 90,000 miles, you should bring it to an auto shop for the maintenance that it needs. It is better to take care of it when it needs to be taken care of rather than waiting and seeing what happens.

The average car payment for Americans is $644 a month for new cars and nearly $488 for used cars. If you're shopping for a vehicle, it's a good idea to understand the breakdown of that cost so you can budget accordingly.

Closing should only be 20 percent of the purchase process. The other 80 percent is listening to customers, providing information, product knowledge and presentation. In fact, if you do the other 80 percent well, the closing will just happen naturally.

20% down — be able to pay 20% or more of the total purchase price up front. 4-year loan — be able to pay off the balance in 48 months or fewer. 10% of your income — your total monthly auto costs (including insurance, gas, maintenance, and car payments) should be 10% or less of your monthly income.

The rule of thumb among many car-buying experts dictates that your car payment should total no more than 15% of your monthly net income, sometimes called your take-home pay (some might stretch this to 20%, but 15% is more conservative and therefore likely to make budgeting even easier).

Is $500 a month too much for a car? ›

An affordable car payment would be one that doesn't exceed $600 a month, based on the rule of thumb that your car payment shouldn't be more than 15% of your take-home pay. If you take out a 60-month car loan at 8% APR, you should aim to take out a car loan of less than $30,000.

If your take-home pay is $60,000 per year, you should pay no more than $750 per month for a car, which totals 15% of your monthly take-home pay.

Get a nice Honda Accord or a Toyota Camry. Honda and Toyota make great cars. If you want something a little nicer buy an Acura TLX or a Lexus ES. If you prefer an SUV, get a Honda/Acura SUV., or an equivalent Toyota/Lexus.

you comfortably afford under an 80 000 salary. a volkswagen golf gti audi a3 a toyota. avalon the kia stinger and the cadillac ct4.

Financial experts answer this question by using a simple rule of thumb: Car buyers should spend no more than 10% of their take-home pay on a car loan payment and no more than 20% for total car expenses, which also includes things like gas, insurance, repairs and maintenance.

According to Edmunds, about 17% of the people who financed a new vehicle during the first quarter of the year pay $1,000 or more a month for that vehicle. This is a record-high. The average down payment for a new vehicle also was at a record high during the first quarter of 2023 – $6,956.

One rule to live by is to set aside 10–15 percent of your monthly net income to cover transportation costs, but each person should decide what's best for them. It's important to understand that a car loan is a secured loan, a loan in which your property is used as collateral.

Making a substantial down payment and financing less of the purchase price signals to lenders you are a lower-risk borrower. Also, with a lower loan amount, you can most likely go with a shorter term and pay less in interest over the life of the loan.

While mortgage lenders prefer a debt-to-income ratio below 36%, many auto refinance lenders have a maximum of 50% — others don't have a maximum at all. A good rule of thumb is to keep your DTI below 50% to increase your odds of getting approved for a car refinance loan.