Getting a good interest rate is one thing, determining whether or not you can afford it is another. Before shopping for either a car or a loan, you need to know what interest rate you can afford. This article offers tips on deciding what new car loan rate you can afford:

Calculate Payments

Calculating your monthly payment under different interest rates is easy, and you dont even have to do the math yourself. Simply type loan calculator into your preferred search engine and several websites will pop up. Choose one that offers free loan calculators and enter in your principal amount, loan term, and interest rate. Play around with different principal amounts, different interest rates, and different numbers of years. When youve found a monthly payment that you can afford, youll have a good idea of what type of car you can afford and what interest rate you need to obtain.

Add Insurance

If youve been driving around in a car that only has liability insurance, or, worse, a car that is uninsured, the cost of full coverage insurance can be shocking. Whenever a lender loans money to a borrower, they make them keep full coverage insurance on the car for the life of the loan. This protects them in the case that the car is wrecked -- they can get their money back. It also protects you from paying on a car that you can no longer drive. Its easy to find out what your insurance would cost. Simply call your insurance company and tell them the year, make, and model of the car youre considering buying. They should be able to give you a quote immediately.

Add Other Debts

Youll also want to make sure that you can afford both your automobile loan and your payments on your other debts. Always consider all of your finances before signing any loan contract.