Tool · Collateral

Secured or unsecured?

Putting up your car, savings or home can lower the rate. Enter both offers to see what the lower rate is worth on the same cash in hand, how much a longer term gives back, and what you would be pledging for how long.

Reviewed 24 September 2026 · Method: equal-cash comparison and estimated APR · Example values are fictional

Result

$10,000.00 in hand. Unsecured 24%, 36 months, 6% fee. Secured by car: 16%, 60 months, no fee.

The secured loan costs $434.52 less, with your car worth $14,000.00 pledged for 5 years.At the same 36 months, the lower rate would save $2,368.82. Stretching to 60 months gives $1,934.30 of that back.

Unsecured

24% · 36 mo · 6% fee

Monthly payment: $417.37
Paid off in: 36 months
Total cost: $5,025.35

+$434.52 more

Nothing pledged

Secured by your car

16% · 60 mo · no fee

Monthly payment: $243.18
Paid off in: 60 months
Total cost: $4,590.83

Lowest cost

Pledged: your car worth $14,000.00 for 5 years

The secured loan costs $434.52 less, with your car worth $14,000.00 pledged for 5 years. On $10,000.00 in hand, the unsecured offer (24%, 36 months, 6% fee) costs $5,025.35 and the secured offer (16%, 60 months, no fee) costs $4,590.83. At the same 36 months, the lower rate would save $2,368.82. Stretching to 60 months gives $1,934.30 of that back.

What you would be putting at risk

Your car stays pledged for 5 years. Many lenders can start repossession after a missed payment, often around 30 days late.
A repossessed car is usually sold at auction, often for less than it is worth. If the sale does not cover the balance, you can still owe the rest.
After 12 months you would still owe $8,580.74 against a car worth $14,000.00 today, and cars lose value as the loan runs.

Line	Unsecured24% · 36 mo · 6% fee	Secured by your carLowest cost16% · 60 mo · no fee
Cash you receive	$10,000.00	$10,000.00
Fee	$638.30	$0.00
Amount on the note	$10,638.30	$10,000.00
Interest rate	24%	16%
Estimated APR	28.69%	16.00%
Monthly payment	$417.37	$243.18
Term	36 months	60 months
Total of payments	$15,025.35	$14,590.83
Pledged	nothing	car, $14,000.00
Still owed after 12 months	$7,894.12	$8,580.74
Total cost of borrowing	$5,025.35	$4,590.83

Show the math

Both offers compared on $10,000.00 in hand (equal-cash method).

Unsecured: 24% for 36 months, 6% fee
  Amount on the note   = $10,638.30;  payment $417.37;  total $15,025.35
  Total cost           = $15,025.35 − $10,000.00 = $5,025.35;  estimated APR 28.69%

Secured by your car: 16% for 60 months, no fee
  Amount on the note   = $10,000.00;  payment $243.18;  total $14,590.83
  Total cost           = $14,590.83 − $10,000.00 = $4,590.83;  estimated APR 16.00%

Difference             = $5,025.35 − $4,590.83 = $434.52 in favour of secured
Same term check        = secured at 16% over 36 months would cost $2,656.53, a difference of $2,368.82

Questions to ask your lender

Is the 16% secured rate fixed for the whole 60 months?
Can I have the secured rate on a 36 months term, so the car is pledged for less time?
If I miss a payment, how late must I be before the car can be repossessed, and would I owe anything after a sale?
Does the secured loan require insurance, GAP cover or a lien fee, and what do they cost?
Is there a prepayment penalty on either loan?

Assumptions and limits

Both offers are compared on the same cash in hand, with fees deducted or added as you entered them. Rates are treated as fixed.
Payments are level, monthly, on time and in full. Late fees, repossession costs and collateral insurance are not included unless you enter them as fees.
The collateral value is what you entered. The tool does not know what a lender would recover in a sale.
This compares cost only. Whether to pledge an asset is your decision; the risk notes say what is at stake.

Learn more

More than two offers? Compare up to four on the same cash in hand. A secured loan offer often comes with credit insurance or GAP cover: see what add-ons really cost.