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Guess · Fri, Oct 2

A $30,000 new car loan.

72 months at 6.97%, the latest Fed-reported average bank rate.

How much interest will you pay over the six years?

$3,500
$0$12,000
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The real number

$6,795

It comes to $6,795.

Your guess—
The real figure$6,795

That is on top of the $30,000 for the car. You pay back $36,795 in all.

Why so much?

Why

Interest is charged on the whole balance, every month, for six years.

Your first payment, $511
  • $174 interest
  • $337 pays for the car

A third of your first payment never touches the car.

After one year

You've paid $6,132. $1,959 of it was interest.

Show me one move

One move

Same car. 60 months instead of 72.

72 months

$511a month
$6,795interest in all

60 months

$596a month
$5,761interest in all

$85 more a month. $1,034 less in interest. Done a year sooner.

Uses the latest Fed-reported average 60-month rate, 7.14%. Your lender's quote is what counts.

Try it with my numbers

Now yours

Your car loan, in one tap.

$511.04 a month. Interest in all: $6,795. You pay back $36,795.

Nothing you type leaves your phone.

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The whole story, as text

How much interest on a $30,000 car loan?

A $30,000 new car loan. 72 months at 6.97%, the latest Fed-reported average bank rate. How much interest will you pay over the six years?

The answer

$6,795. That is on top of the $30,000 for the car. You pay back $36,795 in all.

Why

Interest is charged on the whole balance, every month, for six years. $174 interest, $337 pays for the car. A third of your first payment never touches the car. After one year: You've paid $6,132. $1,959 of it was interest.

One move

Same car. 60 months instead of 72. 72 months: $511 a month, $6,795 interest in all. 60 months: $596 a month, $5,761 interest in all. $85 more a month. $1,034 less in interest. Done a year sooner. Uses the latest Fed-reported average 60-month rate, 7.14%. Your lender's quote is what counts.

Rates are the Federal Reserve’s G.19 averages for new car loans at commercial banks, second quarter of 2026. A dealer or credit union quote can be higher or lower; the shape of the answer is the same.

Yours

Where did my payments go? runs these numbers for any loan. Nothing you enter leaves your browser.

Written and reviewed by Riverbend Crossroads Digital LLC, Friday, October 2, 2026. Figures from the Show Real Cost engine, computed exactly and shown to the cent. Educational, not advice; your lender's disclosures are the authoritative figures. How we calculate · Corrections.