The calculator is prefilled with an estimated 4.70% APR for a new-car loan at a 790 score (super 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 | $15,000 | $21,100 |
| $3,500/mo | $350 | $19,900 | $28,500 |
| $4,500/mo | $450 | $24,800 | $35,800 |
| $5,500/mo | $550 | $29,700 | $43,200 |
| $6,500/mo | $650 | $34,600 | $50,500 |
| $8,000/mo | $800 | $41,900 | $61,500 |
Assumes an estimated 4.70% APR at a 790 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. 790 is as good as credit gets for a car loan. FICO calls 790 "very good" (740-799), and roughly 73% of U.S. consumers score below it. The U.S. average is about 715.
Super-prime pricing averages 4.6% on new cars and 6.8% on used, and you qualify for essentially every promotional APR on offer. No further score improvement will change your rate meaningfully; lender competition and the negotiated price of the car are the only levers left.
A 790 credit score is super prime (781+), the top of Experian's scale. Average pricing here runs about 4.7% on new cars and 7% on used, and you clear the bar for essentially every manufacturer promotional offer, including the 0% ones.
Your credit work is done; the remaining wins are in the deal itself. Negotiate the car's price, not the monthly payment, arrange financing before you walk in so the dealer has to beat it, and decide promo-APR-versus-rebate with arithmetic rather than instinct.
| 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 790 | 4.70% |
| Loan amount the payment supports | $24,020 |
| Car budget (sticker, after ~9% taxes and fees) | $24,800 |
| Total interest over 60 months | $2,980 |
| Same buyer with super-prime credit | $24,800 (interest $2,921) |
With rates this low, financing can beat paying cash if your money earns more invested than the loan costs. That is a real choice at 4.6% in a way it never is at 16%.
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 790 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.