Vehicle EconomicsAuto Loan LTV Calculator
Calculate your loan-to-value ratio and see your equity exposure as a single number.
Why this comes up
Loan-to-value is the ratio lenders and insurers actually think in, but most owners only ever see the dollar equity number, if they see either. LTV tells you the same underlying story as a single percentage: below 100% you owe less than the car is worth, above 100% you owe more, and the distance from 100% is a cleaner way to compare across different vehicles and loan sizes than the dollar figure alone.
How we calculated this
LTV is your current loan balance divided by your vehicle's market value, expressed as a percentage. We also report the dollar equity or negative equity behind that ratio, since the percentage alone doesn't tell you the size of the gap.
Worked example, using this page's own defaults ($18,000 balance, $20,000 value): LTV comes to 90%, meaning $2,000 of positive equity. Run the calculator above with your own numbers to see where you stand.
What this means
- 100% LTV is the transition point between owing less and owing more than your value basis, it is not a universal lender approval cutoff, different lenders and insurers use different thresholds.
- A high LTV early in a loan is normal and expected, what matters is the trend: is it falling as you pay down principal, or is depreciation outrunning your payments?
- If you're underwater, Trade-In Equity Calculator shows what an actual trade offer would do to that gap, not just the market-value estimate.
Limitations
Market value is your own estimate, not an appraisal, and this engine does not use or assert any specific lender's LTV approval threshold. See Methodology.
Methodology
This engine is built on Vehicle Economics' equity and depreciation projection model: your value and loan payoff projected forward from your own depreciation figure until they cross. See Methodology for the full detail.