Rates & growth
Installment quote comparison
'Lower monthly' and 'smaller fees' are rarely on the same ruler. Break both offers into cash flows and the difference becomes obvious.
Verdict
A costs 10,700 less overall · B is 300 lighter each month
Offer A
t0 −30,000 · 36 × −2,800
Total paid
130,800
vs cash price
+10,800.00
Financed
90,000
Per month
2,800
Effective APR (IRR)
7.77%
Offer B
t0 −21,500 · 48 × −2,500
Total paid
141,500
vs cash price
+21,500.00
Financed
98,500
Per month
2,500
Effective APR (IRR)
10.51%
Every offer on the same ruler
Comparing installments is not about whose monthly figure is smallest. Each offer is broken into a cash-flow timeline: down payment plus fees at t0, the monthly payment every period, and any balloon at the end. The financed amount is cash price minus down minus fee, and the effective annualized rate is the monthly IRR compounded — the same convention as the real-APR calculator.
'Excess over cash' is the most intuitive cost line: total paid minus the cash price. Different terms and different downs sit back on the same start line.
When the IRR cannot be solved
When down plus fees already cover the cash price, nothing is financed and there is no IRR to solve — the tool says so instead of guessing. When total payments stay below the financed amount, the effective rate is negative — a subsidized deal — and that is shown honestly as well.
Frequently asked
Is the lower monthly payment always cheaper?
Not necessarily — a smaller payment often means a longer term and more total interest. 'Excess over cash' and the effective annualized rate are closer to the true cost.
What counts as fee and balloon?
Fee is a one-off charge collected upfront besides the down payment — service or handling charges. Balloon is a final lump due with the last installment. Leave both at 0 if absent.
Why does it say IRR is unsolvable when the down is near the cash price?
Financed = cash price − down − fee. At or below zero there is nothing financed, so no comparable rate exists — the tool labels that rather than inventing a figure.
Is this the same IRR as a bank's APR?
Same family: the rate that sets the discounted cash flows equal to the financed amount, solved monthly and compounded to a year — the same convention as the real-APR calculator.
Both offers use the same IRR basis; third-party costs like insurance or registration are excluded. Estimates only, not investment advice.