Monthly payment and total cost of a car loan after the down payment.
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Amount financed
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Total interest
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Your breakdown
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What this calculator is really telling you
Buying a car in the Philippines almost always means financing it, and the number that decides whether the purchase fits your budget is the monthly amortization. This tool strips the deal down to four inputs: the sticker price, your down payment as either a percentage or a peso figure, the annual interest rate, and the term in months. From those it works out how much you actually borrow, the fixed monthly payment, and the total you will have paid by the time the last instalment clears. It is meant for the moment before you sign, when a dealer is quoting attractive monthlies and you want to see the full cost rather than just the headline figure.
The amortization formula in plain terms
The amount financed is the price minus your down payment. The calculator then spreads that balance over the term using the standard amortizing-loan formula, where each payment covers the interest accrued that month and chips away at the principal. Early payments are mostly interest; later ones are mostly principal. The monthly figure is held constant for the whole term, which is how bank auto loans in the Philippines normally work once you are quoted an effective rate.
A PHP 1.2 million SUV with 20 percent down
Run the defaults: a PHP 1,200,000 vehicle, 20 percent down, a 9 percent annual rate, and a 60-month term. Twenty percent of the price is PHP 240,000, leaving PHP 960,000 financed. At 9 percent over five years the payment lands a touch under PHP 20,000 a month.
So the PHP 1.2 million car costs about PHP 1.44 million by the end. The interest alone, PHP 235,681, is what you are paying for the convenience of not handing over the full price up front. The chart below shows how the down payment and financed principal sit beneath that interest layer.
The add-on rate trap that inflates your real cost
Here is the single most expensive misunderstanding in Philippine car financing. Many dealers and in-house financing arms quote an add-on rate, not the effective rate this calculator uses. An add-on rate charges interest on the full original principal for every year of the term, ignoring the fact that your balance is falling. A 9 percent add-on rate on a five-year loan is roughly equivalent to an effective rate in the mid-teens. Always ask which rate you are being quoted, and if it is add-on, the true cost is meaningfully higher than what you would get by typing that same number into the effective-rate field here.
One practical tip: push the down payment as high as you comfortably can. Moving from 20 to 30 percent on this same car cuts the financed amount by PHP 120,000 and trims both the monthly and the total interest. A larger down payment also protects you from being underwater, owing more than the car is worth, in the first couple of years when depreciation is steepest.
Does this include insurance, chattel mortgage, and registration?
No. The figure here is pure principal and interest. Comprehensive insurance is usually mandatory while the loan is active and is often bundled into the first year, and there are chattel mortgage fees, documentary stamp tax on the loan, and LTO registration on top. Budget several tens of thousands of pesos beyond the down payment for these one-time and recurring costs.
Should I take a longer term to lower the monthly?
You can stretch to 72 or 84 months to shrink the payment, but you pay far more interest overall and stay in negative equity longer. A car is a depreciating asset, so the shortest term you can service comfortably is almost always the cheaper choice. Use the term field here to compare a 48-month and a 60-month plan on the same car and the trade-off becomes obvious.