Vehicle EconomicsPrivate-Party Auto Loan Economics Calculator
See exactly how much more a private-party auto loan's rate premium costs versus dealer financing on the same amount.
Why this comes up
Lenders typically charge a higher rate on a private-party purchase than a dealer purchase at the same loan amount, since a dealer sale carries more standardized paperwork and title assurance. This engine isolates that rate premium's dollar cost at a held-equal loan amount and term.
How we calculated this
We run a real amortization schedule at each rate for the same loan amount and term, then compare the two total costs directly.
Worked example, using this page's own defaults ($16,000, 10% private-party vs 7% dealer, 60 months): run the calculator above to see the exact dollar cost of the private-party rate premium.
What this means
- Shopping your private-party loan with a credit union before finalizing the purchase often narrows or closes this gap.
- The private-party vehicle itself is often priced lower than a comparable dealer listing, weigh that savings against the financing premium shown here.
- If in-house dealer financing is the actual alternative, see Buy-Here-Pay-Here vs Traditional Financing instead.
Limitations
This compares stated rates only; it does not model a specific lender's private-party loan fees or a required in-person title transfer process. SeeMethodology.
Methodology
This engine uses Vehicle Economics' fixed-rate amortization model to compute a full total-cost schedule at each rate. See Methodology for the full detail.