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What they said · Car loans

“We'll roll what you still owe into the new loan.”

You owe $12,500 on the old car. It is worth $8,000. The $4,500 gap goes into a $44,500 loan at 6.97% over 72 months.

How much interest will you pay on that $4,500 over the six years?

$400
$0$3,000
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The real number

$1,019

It comes to $1,019.

Your guess—
The real figure$1,019

The old gap costs $1,019 in interest and adds $77 to every payment. You pay $54,579 in all for a $40,000 car.

Why so much?

Why

Rolled-in debt is financed at the new rate, for the new term, and you owe more than the car is worth from day one.

The new loan, $44,500
  • $4,500 the old loan's gap
  • $40,000 the car

$77 of each payment is paying for a car you no longer have.

Day one

You owe $44,500 on a car worth $40,000. If it is written off or you need to sell, the shortfall starts there.

Show me one move

One move

Clear the gap first, or buy less car.

Roll it in

$758a month
$10,079interest

Clear it first

$681a month
$9,060interest

$77 less a month and $1,019 less in interest.

If you cannot clear it, a cheaper car or a shorter term shrinks the damage. Gap insurance covers the shortfall, at a price.

Try it with my numbers

Now yours

Your loan with the gap rolled in.

$758.04 a month. Interest in all: $10,079. You pay back $54,579.

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The whole story, as text

“We'll roll what you still owe into the new loan.” What does the gap cost?

“We'll roll what you still owe into the new loan.” You owe $12,500 on the old car. It is worth $8,000. The $4,500 gap goes into a $44,500 loan at 6.97% over 72 months. How much interest will you pay on that $4,500 over the six years?

The answer

$1,019. The old gap costs $1,019 in interest and adds $77 to every payment. You pay $54,579 in all for a $40,000 car.

Why

Rolled-in debt is financed at the new rate, for the new term, and you owe more than the car is worth from day one. $4,500 the old loan's gap, $40,000 the car. $77 of each payment is paying for a car you no longer have. Day one: You owe $44,500 on a car worth $40,000. If it is written off or you need to sell, the shortfall starts there.

One move

Clear the gap first, or buy less car. Roll it in: $758 a month, $10,079 interest. Clear it first: $681 a month, $9,060 interest. $77 less a month and $1,019 less in interest. If you cannot clear it, a cheaper car or a shorter term shrinks the damage. Gap insurance covers the shortfall, at a price.

Negative equity is the polite name for owing more than the car is worth. Rolling it forward is how it follows people from car to car.

Yours

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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.