24/08/2026
A $50,000 car loan does not just cost you $50,000.
At an average rate of around 10 per cent over a five year term, the repayment sits
near $800 a month. Lenders take that repayment off your income before they work out
what you can borrow, so it follows you into every application you make.
In one example we ran, a borrowing capacity of $600,000 dropped to $450,000 once
the car loan was counted. That is $150,000 less, roughly three times the size of
the car loan itself.
Every lender assesses this differently, so the only number that really matters is
yours. If you are buying your first home, it is worth knowing what the car is
actually costing you.