Vehicle Loans
WECU can help you navigate car and vehicle loans, including, motorcycles, RV’s, and boats. We can even help you find you next car with one of our dealer partners.
Planning to buy a new car but unsure about the monthly payments? Our Car Payment Calculator is here to help you make informed decisions. Simply input the vehicle price, down payment, desired interest rate, and loan term, and let the calculator do the rest. It's quick, easy, and hassle-free.
When looking at a car loan calculator for Washington state, it is important to understand how to calculate monthly car payments and to understand the words that are used.
Down Payment: A down payment is the money the buyer pays at the beginning of a vehicle purchase
Loan Term: The time it takes for a loan to be completely paid off when the borrower makes regularly scheduled payments.
Trade-in value: The price a dealer would offer for a borrower’s previous vehicle to put toward purchasing another car the dealer is selling to the borrower.
Annual Percentage Rate (APR): This is the interest rate on a loan and includes fees and closing costs if applicable.
Sales Tax Rate: The tax charged on the sale of goods and services. Use the Washington State Department of Revenue Sales Tax Rate Lookup to find your tax rate to use in our Washington state auto loan calculator.
Whether or not you can be approved for a loan comes down to three main buckets- often titled the “3 C’s of Lending.” The first “C” is Capacity- basically, can you afford the loan? The second “C” is Collateral, which means does the credit union have an asset (e.g., car) to secure to? Finally, the third “C” is Credit- in short, does the member reliably repay loans? Like the three legs of a stool, if each leg is strong, there’s a high likelihood that the member will pay back the loan.
Your credit score is the largest driver in the interest rate you qualify for! Below is an example of how your credit score can affect your interest rate, monthly payment, and total interest paid. This example is for a $20,000 car and a loan term of 60 months (5 years) and assumes the member is only making the minimum payment. Using an auto calculator, like WECU’s Car Payment Calculator, can help you determine how to calculate a car payment with interest. The interest rates affect your total interest cost. Note: the following simplified example is for educational purposes only, and for simplicity’s sake, only three credit tiers are presented.
A down payment is money the buyer pays at the beginning of a vehicle purchase- it makes a big difference. If you borrow the full amount of a $30,000 car purchase and only make minimum payments (5-year term and 7.49% interest rate), you will pay over $6,000 in interest. If you have a $10,000 down payment and instead borrow $20,000 and make an additional $100 payment to the principal each month, you will save about $3,000 in interest and pay off the loan over a year earlier! Search for loans that don’t have prepayment penalties or fees for early payoff. Use WECU’s Car Payment Calculator to determine how a down payment can affect the total interest cost.
A small monthly payment can be tempting, and you can get a really small payment by spreading the loan term over a long period. However, it can also mean you pay a bunch more in interest. If you borrow $30,000 for a car (7.49% interest rate), you can get a payment as low as $429 a month! But that means you will be paying for your car for up to 84 months (7 years), and you will pay over $8,500 in interest! If you instead pay $725 a month on a 48-month loan (4 years), you will save about $4,000 in interest and three years of payment. Don’t just look at the payment amount! Use WECU’s Car Payment Calculator to see how to calculate monthly car payments.
Cars go down in value; some estimates say they go down about half in 5 years. That means a car valued at $30,000 today could be $15,000 in 5 years. If you had a five-year loan (7.49% interest rate), at the end of 5 years of payments, you’d have spent over $36,000 on a car you can now sell for $15,000! That’s not to say you shouldn’t buy the car you want or borrow money for a car; most people need it for work and play. But you can minimize the pain of paying interest on something that depreciates by doing things like having a down payment or making more than minimum payments.
You have to think about 1.) whether you can afford the loan comfortably and 2.) whether what you’re borrowing the money for is worth the sticker price and interest payments.
For many, about a week or two after buying the car, the shininess will wear off, and the car will likely be more of a tool you use, closer to a dishwasher or refrigerator, rather than a life-changing purchase. Making sure you can safely afford the car can help prevent regret.
Shop smart by getting preapproved auto loans. Getting your loan squared away first can help you focus on the vehicle’s price when it comes time to shop. Also, getting pre-approved for a loan can give you negotiating power and help you not overspend. It’s smart to have it figured out separately, away from the exciting car showroom. Visit a local branch where a WECU Relationship Officer can help with the loan paperwork and prepare you to shop for your next vehicle.
The interest rate is the cost of borrowing money. It’s how the credit union makes money when lending. The rate you receive for an auto loan is based on factors like your credit score, loan term, and loan-to-value ratio. The loan-to-value ratio is the loan amount divided by the value of the car. For example, WECU may lend a member $20,000 (loan amount) for a car worth $22,000. This is an LTV of 91%, which means the credit union is secure because the amount lent out is less than the value of the collateral.
It’s based on the balance owing multiplied by the rate and the amount of the term still outstanding. Use a Washington state auto loan calculator to see how much interest you’ll be charged based on price, down payment, loan term and interest rate.
The monthly payment on a car loan is based on factors such as the vehicle price, loan term, and interest rate. Use a car loan calculator to see how the monthly payment is affected by the these factors.
Rates change frequently based on government and economic factors. It’s best to shop around to ensure the rate you receive is fair.
WECU works to approve car loans whenever possible. However, the lower the credit score, the more challenging to be approved based on the borrower’s track record in paying back borrowed money. Typically, the lower your credit score, the higher your payment, which can affect the lender’s decision on the borrower’s ability to pay back the loan.
Generally, banks and credit unions require borrowers to carry full coverage insurance during the loan term.
When there is a loan the borrower is the registered user and the credit union is the legal owner on the title and registration. There are typically fees and paper work involved in transferring a title.
We’re here to help. Find more tools and information to guide your auto loan decisions. Learn how to calculate car payments with interest. Explore your options and get the support you need.
WECU can help you navigate car and vehicle loans, including, motorcycles, RV’s, and boats. We can even help you find you next car with one of our dealer partners.
Prequalify in minutes with no impact to your credit score!
Need help with how to calculate payments for a car? Use our calculator or schedule a meeting with a WECU Relationship Officer.
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