What car can I afford for my monthly payment?

Tell us the monthly payment you are comfortable with and we work backwards to the car price it can reach in your province, after tax and fees. The numbers shown are an example, so replace them with yours.

Your monthly budget

These are example numbers. Replace them with yours.

$
% a year
$

Sales tax depends on where you register the car.

Fees and trade-in
$

Documentation, freight, delivery.

$

Licensing and registration.

$

Car price you can reach

$26,355.60

The price before tax and fees, for the payment and term above.

How the budget adds up

Borrowed at that payment
$28,596.83
Plus your down payment
$3,000.00
Total you can spend
$31,596.83
Of which sales tax
$3,621.23
Of which fees
$1,620.00

What a longer loan really buys

TermCar priceInterest you pay
60 months$22,922.58$5,282.48
72 months$26,355.60$7,403.17
84 months$29,528.68$9,817.59

A longer term lets the same payment reach a dearer car, but you pay more interest and may owe more than the car is worth for longer.

Keep going with Uobo

Uobo is your personal car agent. Text it what you need and it does the research and the checks, asks dealerships about availability, condition and price for you, and helps you decide. This is the text you would send:

Text Uobo

On a computer? Text (289) 819-4586 from your phone and paste what you copied. Standard message rates apply. Reply STOP any time to stop.

How it works

First we work out how much a payment can borrow: a lower rate or a longer term lets the same payment borrow more. Then we add your down payment to get the total you can spend.

From that total we take off the fees and your province's sales tax to find the highest car price that still fits. We do this with the same tax rules as the car payment calculator, so the two always agree.

The table at the bottom shows the trap in long loans: the same payment reaches a dearer car over 84 months than over 60, but you pay noticeably more interest to get there.

Example: $500 a month in Ontario

At $500 a month over 72 months at 7.9%, with $3,000 down, $1,500 of taxed dealer fees and $120 of licensing, you can reach a car of about $26,355 before tax. Over 60 months the same payment reaches about $22,923, and over 84 months about $29,529.

What this does not cover

  • It assumes the rate you enter. A different rate changes the answer a lot, so use the rate from a pre-approval if you have one.
  • It covers buying from a dealer. Private sales and leases are taxed and priced differently.
  • It does not include insurance, fuel or maintenance. The affordability tool counts those as well.
  • It covers every province and territory except Manitoba, Quebec and Saskatchewan.

Common questions

How much car can I afford with a $500 a month payment?

It depends on the term, the rate, your down payment and your province's tax. With the example numbers on this page, about $26,000 before tax over 72 months. Change the fields to see your own figure.

Does the down payment change the car I can afford?

Yes. Every dollar you put down is a dollar you do not borrow, so the car price you can reach rises by about that much, less the tax on it.

Is a longer loan a good way to afford a better car?

It lowers the payment, but you pay more interest in total and you can owe more than the car is worth for longer. The comparison table shows the extra interest for 60, 72 and 84 months.

Why does the price you can reach drop when I add fees?

Fees come out of the same budget. Taxed fees also attract sales tax, so each dollar of taxed fees takes more than a dollar of buying power.

Where the numbers come from

Last checked against these official pages on 2026-10-07. Rates and rules change, so check the source before you rely on a figure.

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