Budget
What car can you afford?
Set your all-in monthly budget — or estimate one from your income — and see every car whose complete cost of ownership actually fits. Loan payment, insurance, fuel, maintenance, and depreciation, all counted.
All-in means the car's complete monthly cost — depreciation, insurance, fuel or charging, maintenance, tires, and financing — not just the loan payment.
Not sure what budget to set? Estimate it from your income
Nothing we track fits under $500/month all-in. These are the closest — the lowest all-in monthly costs on MotiveGrid:
How it works
- Your budget is compared against each vehicle's all-in monthly cost — its full 5-year cost of ownership (depreciation, insurance, fuel or charging, maintenance, tires, financing) divided by 60 — at national-average rates and 15,000 miles a year.
- The income estimate uses the two standard affordability guidelines — all car costs near 10% of gross monthly income, total debt under 36% — and takes whichever is more conservative.
- Fits are ordered by MotiveGrid Score, so the list reads as a shortlist, not a dump.
- Every figure comes from the same live cost model as each vehicle's cost-of-ownership page — open any result to itemize and adjust for your state.
Worked example: at $500 a month all-in, none of the 75 new vehicles MotiveGrid tracks fit — a reminder that "$500 a month" usually means the loan payment alone, not the car's complete cost. The lowest all-in monthly cost we track is the 2026 Honda Civic at about $564/month, all costs counted.
Frequently asked questions
- What car can I afford for $500 a month?
- Set the budget slider to $500 and the list updates instantly — it shows every vehicle we track whose complete monthly cost of ownership fits, at national-average rates and 15,000 miles a year. The important part is that $500 here means all-in: depreciation, insurance, fuel or charging, maintenance, tires, and financing combined — not just the loan payment. A $500 loan payment with insurance and fuel on top is a meaningfully more expensive car.
- How is this different from a car payment calculator?
- A payment calculator answers "what loan payment does this price produce?" — which ignores insurance, fuel, maintenance, and depreciation, usually several hundred dollars a month combined. This tool works from each vehicle's complete 5-year cost of ownership divided into a monthly figure, so two cars with identical loan payments sort differently when one costs far more to insure, fuel, or holds its value worse.
- How does the income estimate work?
- It applies two standard guidelines and uses whichever is more conservative: keep all car costs near 10% of gross monthly income, and keep total monthly debt (including the car) under about 36% of gross income. Enter your gross annual income and existing monthly debt, and the suggested budget pre-fills the slider. It is a rule of thumb to anchor your search, not financial advice.
- What is included in the monthly cost?
- Each vehicle's monthly figure is its 5-year cost of ownership divided by 60: depreciation (from CarEdge retention data), insurance at the national-average premium modeled for that vehicle, fuel or home-charging energy at national-average prices for 15,000 miles a year, maintenance and tires, and financing on a standard 60-month loan. Every vehicle page has the itemized breakdown, adjustable to your state.