With our car loan calculator you will find the best credit offer matching your personal financial situation.
Buying a car usually means spending a lot of money. If you do not have all the money available, you have the option of financing the new vehicle. In addition to offers for payment in installments directly from the dealer, you can also car loans a good financing option.
The advantage of a loan is the possibility of a substantial discount. Because if you pay the total cost in full right at the beginning, you can usually cash discount profit.
How does the car loan calculator work?
With the car loan calculator, you can easily determine the conditions under which you can obtain a loan for your car purchase.
For a general car loan comparison, you first need to enter only three values:
- Net loan amounthow much money do you need?
- Termhow long do you want to pay off the loan??
- purposewhat do you need credit for (new or used car)??
With this information you already get a overview of numerous credit offers. Displayed are the conditions, d. H.: amount of monthly installments, target interest rate p.A. And annual percentage rate of interest. As well as any special features of the loan, such as the possibility of free unscheduled repayment or the length of time it takes to pay out the loan. In addition, you can also find out about the lending bank or. View customer reviews.
Get a personal loan offer and take out a loan
If a credit offer appeals to you, you can request a loan by providing additional personal data free credit mediation and advice apply. By entering these data, this offer can be tailored to your individual financial situation.
If you have decided on a loan within the framework of credit mediation, you can apply for the loan. This can be done quickly and easily online from the comfort of your own home. Most banks now offer video-ident verification, which significantly speeds up the time it takes for the loan to be approved and for the money to reach your account.
Favorable car financing – that’s why a car loan is worthwhile
As already mentioned, the advantage of a car loan over dealer financing lies in the following factors cash discount. The vast majority of car sellers offer their customers a substantial discount of up to 20% if the total cost of the vehicle is paid in full at the outset.
The car must be paid for cash discount not in cash be paid. The only thing that matters for this discount is that the costs paid immediately and in full are.
With a car loan you have the possibility to get this discount. If the discount is taken into account when calculating the cost of financing, a car loan is usually cheaper than financing the car through the dealer. Even if this costs less than the car loan at first glance.
The advantage of the loan is also that – unlike financing offered by the dealership – you are free to choose a dealer and a model. The favorable financing through the dealer is tied to certain models. These are often discontinued models that can no longer achieve a particularly high value when resold.
Car loan: favorable conditions thanks to earmarking
Strictly speaking, a car loan is also a normal installment loan. D. H. the bank grants a loan for a certain amount. After disbursement of this sum, you repay the bank the money in constant monthly installments.
Nevertheless, a car loan is cheaper than a classic installment loan. This is due to the earmarking of the loan. banks charge lower interest rates for earmarked loans, because the vehicle purchased with the loan serves as collateral for the lender. In the case of a car loan, the bank normally retains the registration certificate part II (formerly the vehicle title) until the end of the term. If you, as the borrower, can no longer service the monthly installment, the car remains the property of the bank.
These are the costs of a car loan
For a car loan there are always more costs than the actual loan amount. How much a car loan ultimately costs depends on several factors:
- loan amountThe higher the loan amount, the more the bank charges for providing the money.
- Termthe term of the loan determines not only the amount of the installments, but also the interest rate. the longer the term, the more interest the bank charges.
- Interest ratethe interest rate is, of course, a decisive factor in the costs incurred for a loan. debit interest rate and effective annual interest rate must always be distinguished when comparing the interest rate of the different credit offers. The decisive factor is the effective annual interest rate, which includes the total cost of the loan.
Processing fees may not be charged for a car loan. If your bank charges such fees, you can reclaim them. There is a three-year statute of limitations for reclaiming unlawfully paid processing fees.
down payment and final installment – what to look out for in car financing
There are different models for car financing. Whereas with a car loan you pay a constant monthly rate, with the balloon financing the final installment is significantly higher. Financing with a final installment is only advisable in a few cases. Furthermore, there is also the so-called 3-way financing. Here, too, constant monthly installments are initially paid. However, once the credit agreement has expired, there is a choice of three options:
- Payment of a high final installment
- Financing of the remaining amount through a follow-up financing
- Return of the vehicle to the dealer
the same applies to 3-way financing: compared to a car loan, you normally pay more with this financing option. The advantage here, however, is that you, as the customer maximum flexibility you don’t have to decide right away whether you want to keep the vehicle or return it.
New or used car?
Whether you decide on a new car or a used car, you ultimately have to decide from your personal financial situation and make your needs dependent. In principle, however, it can be stated that both its advantages and disadvantages has. A used car that appears cheap at first glance can quickly become very expensive due to the repair costs involved. For this reason, you should only buy a used car if you can thoroughly inspect it for any defects or if you have a guarantee from the dealer that there are no defects.
With a new car, you do not have to reckon with additional costs for repairs as quickly, but the loss in value of new cars is enormous in the first period. In addition, of course, there are the significantly higher purchase costs for a new car compared to a used car.
- High purchase costs
- High depreciation in the first few months
- Manufacturer’s warranty
- No major repairs to be expected in the first few years
- Favourable purchase costs
- Possible (major) repairs within a short period of time
Frequently asked questions about car loans
What types of car financing are there?
Financing via the dealer or the bank
If you can’t pay for your new vehicle out of your own pocket, you have the option of financing it through the dealer or taking out a car loan with a bank that is independent of the dealership.
At first glance, the financing offers from the dealer are more favorable than financing through the bank. However, the offers are usually tied to certain vehicle models.
Many dealers offer balloon financing or the 3-way financing to. In both cases, monthly installments are paid initially and after the expiration of the contract, a high final installment due. This can also be subsequently financed by a new loan. In addition, 3-way financing offers the option of returning the vehicle to the dealer.
Another option, which is mainly offered by the dealers, is the leasing. With leasing, monthly payments are also made, but the vehicle is returned to the dealer at the end of the leasing contract. If the car is taken over, the installments already paid are not taken into account.
You can take out a car loan via the bank, which is usually somewhat more expensive than a loan via the dealer. For this purpose, you can obtain a loan from the bank from the cash discount benefit. In this way, the loan via the bank then becomes (significantly) cheaper.
How to find the best car loan?
It makes sense to compare loans
Before you decide on the first offer for car financing, you should first find out about the different financing options for a car. If you have already decided on a type of financing, it is important to obtain and compare as many different offers as possible. For a car loan in such a case offers a online credit comparison via a car loan calculator at. Here you can get a quick and non-binding overview of different offers and conditions.
What to look out for in a car loan?
If you have several credit offers to compare using a credit calculator, the following points are particularly relevant:
- term
- Amount of monthly installments
- debit interest p.A. And effective annual interest rate
- Total cost of credit
- Are there any costs for an unscheduled repayment
- If an early repayment penalty is charged
These factors should fit your personal financial situation. Choose the amount of the installments so that you still have a financial buffer each month.
Also pay attention to whether the bank processing fees calculated, these are, according to a decision of the federal court of justice for car loans or. Loans in general not allowed.
What is the difference between target and effective interest rates??
the target interest rate (also normal interest rate) is the interest rate that is charged on the balance of the loan account as long as the loan is outstanding. The target interest rate does not include additional costs that arise in connection with the loan. These are taken into account in the effective interest rate, he reflects the total cost for the loan. For this reason, the effective interest rate should always be used when you want to make a loan comparison.
Who may apply for a car loan?
General criteria for the granting of credit
For the granting of a loan apply criteria generally applicable in germany. These must also be met when granting a car loan:
- the borrower is of age
- Main residence in germany
- Regular income
- Sufficient creditworthiness
- account with a bank in germany or. German account
What documents do you need for a car loan??
identity card and certificate of registration
The documents required to apply for a car loan always depend on the lending bank. Always required is the statement or passport and a current certificate of registration. These documents are necessary for the verification by post or video-ident procedure.
Proof of income and bank statement
In addition, most lenders also require an proof of income and a proof of the current financial situation in the form of a account statement.
Evidence of the vehicle
In addition, the banks require information about the vehicle, what is to be purchased. The vehicle make and type, the date of first registration and the mileage should therefore be stated.
It is also important to have a copy of the purchase contract as well as the registration certificate part II. This usually remains as collateral with the bank until the loan has been fully repaid.
Which term is suitable for a car loan??
Keep the term as short as possible
As a general rule, the shorter the term of a loan, the more favorably you will receive the loan. Although the installments are lower if you choose a longer term, the interest costs increase.
When must the first installment be paid??
First installment due after 30 days
With most banks, the first installment for your car loan is due 30 days after disbursement.
However, some banks also offer longer installment breaks at. Find out more about this when you take out the loan. In some cases, a later start or a later repayment of the loan is possible. Suspension of repayment is associated with additional costs.
Can you reschedule a car loan?
Debt rescheduling also possible for car loans
As with any other consumer loan, a car loan can be rescheduled. If you have the opportunity to replace the current loan with a more favorable one, you can save some costs in this way.
You must take into account the following when rescheduling a car loan notice period: when is it possible to cancel? How far in advance do you have to register them?
You should also check whether there is prepayment penalty incurred. The amount of the early repayment penalty is regulated by law, but it still results in additional costs, which of course should not exceed the savings made by redeeming the loan.
one last important point to consider when rescheduling a car loan: if the registration certificate part II was deposited with the bank as collateral, you must have it transferred to you or to the bank where you are taking out the rescheduling loan.
How useful is residual debt insurance??
residual debt insurance takes effect if the borrower is no longer able to pay off the loan for certain reasons (usually health reasons or unemployment). Often, however, numerous contingencies are excluded by the insurance company from the outset, and the insurance does not take effect. It makes sense to have residual debt insurance especially for long loan terms and high loan amounts. This essentially applies to real estate financing.
Since a car loan is usually paid off within a few years, the additional costs incurred for such insurance are less worthwhile. This is also true because a car can normally be resold more quickly and with fewer restrictions than a property.