The calculator is prefilled with an estimated 7.03% APR for a new-car loan at a 700 score (prime tier). Enter your take-home pay and down payment; adjust anything, including the rate if you already have a quote.
If you would rather not enter anything, find your monthly take-home pay in the table. Payments are capped at 10% of take-home, the level that keeps a car from crowding out the rest of a budget, with a 15% stretch column for comparison.
| Take-home pay | Payment at 10% | Car budget | Stretch (15%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| $2,500/mo | $250 | $14,300 | $20,100 |
| $3,500/mo | $350 | $19,000 | $27,100 |
| $4,500/mo | $450 | $23,600 | $34,000 |
| $5,500/mo | $550 | $28,200 | $40,900 |
| $6,500/mo | $650 | $32,800 | $47,900 |
| $8,000/mo | $800 | $39,800 | $58,300 |
Assumes an estimated 7.03% APR at a 700 score, $3,000 down, no trade-in, a 60-month loan, and about 9% added for sales tax, title, and fees. The "car budget" column is sticker price, not the amount financed. Change any of it in the calculator above.
Yes. 700 is a good credit score for buying a car. FICO calls 700 "good" (670-739), and roughly 40% of U.S. consumers score below it. The U.S. average is about 715.
You are in the prime tier, where the average new-car loan prices at 6.3% and used at 9.4%. Approval is not a question anywhere. Manufacturer promotional financing, including the 0% offers, typically starts around 700 to 740, so at 700 it is worth asking whether you clear that cutoff before accepting a cash rebate instead.
A 700 credit score is prime territory (Experian's 661-780 tier), where the average new-car loan prices around 7.03% and used cars around 10.47%. Approval is not in question anywhere; your job is extracting the best offer, because pricing inside this wide tier still varies with where you sit in it.
Manufacturer promotional financing (the 0% to 2.9% offers in ads) typically wants the upper end of this band, often 700 to 740 and up. If you qualify, a promo APR usually beats any cash rebate on the math; run both through the calculator to check.
| Credit tier | Avg new-car APR | Avg used-car APR |
|---|---|---|
| Super prime (781-850) | 4.6% | 6.8% |
| Prime (661-780) | 6.3% | 9.4% |
| Near prime (601-660) | 9.6% | 14.2% |
| Subprime (501-600) | 13.3% | 19.4% |
| Deep subprime (300-500) | 16.0% | 21.8% |
Source: Experian State of the Automotive Finance Market tier averages (latest published quarters). Tier averages flatten a wide range; within a tier, higher scores price better than lower ones, which is what the per-score estimate above reflects.
Take a buyer with $4,500 a month in take-home pay, $3,000 down, no trade-in, on a 60-month loan, keeping the payment at 10% of take-home ($450/month):
| Estimated new-car APR at 700 | 7.03% |
| Loan amount the payment supports | $22,710 |
| Car budget (sticker, after ~9% taxes and fees) | $23,600 |
| Total interest over 60 months | $4,290 |
| Same buyer with super-prime credit | $24,800 (interest $2,921) |
At prime rates the biggest budget lever is no longer your score, it is the term: 60 months at a prime rate keeps total interest modest, while 72 or 84 months quietly adds thousands and risks owing more than the car is worth mid-loan.
Super-prime pricing starts at 781. The gain from here is real but modest (roughly 1.7 points on average); lender competition will usually move your rate more than score gains will. At super-prime rates the benchmark buyer above affords about $24,800 instead of $23,600, and pays about $25/month less in interest for the same loan size.
Rates step down at 601, 661, and 781. Pick your exact score, or use the main car affordability calculator if credit is not your constraint:
Cars are the smaller half of the credit question. See how much house you can afford with a 700 credit score, and what credit score you need to buy a house.
Estimates for educational purposes only, not financial advice. Rates are interpolated from Experian tier averages; your quote depends on the lender, the vehicle, and your full credit file.