Car Loan Payoff and Car Cost Tracker Spreadsheet

About this template

This car loan tracker puts the loan and the cost of running the car in one place, because the monthly payment is only part of what a car costs. In the demo the payment is 700 a month, but the car costs 1,543. It is for anyone who wants the full picture before or after taking on an auto loan.

Please read: This is a tracker tool only, not financial, tax, legal, medical or any other professional advice or advisory service. It records and calculates what you enter; you are solely responsible for checking all figures, rates, dates and results and for every decision you make. By purchasing, downloading or using it, you accept these terms (your statutory consumer rights are not affected).

Running costs priced the way you pay them

Ten running-cost categories, each priced as what it costs each time and how many times a year: fuel weekly, insurance monthly, tires once. The yearly total falls out, and so does the number almost nobody works out, the cost per kilometer with loan and running costs together.

In the demo that is 10,122 in running costs on top of 8,400 in loan payments, over 18,400 kilometers, or 1.01 a kilometer all in. Interest is shown separately and inside the payment, not added on top of it, which is where many spreadsheets quietly double-count.

The loan side

• Loan payments and interest read from your debt list, never retyped
• Both snowball and avalanche calculated in full, month by month
• Freed minimums roll onto the next debt automatically
• A payoff date per debt, and the month you are done
• 400 payments logged, split into principal and interest
• Charts that redraw from your own numbers, not pictures

Eleven connected tabs

Everything recalculates from your debt list, so nothing is typed twice. It works as a loan calculator for the payoff date and as a log of vehicle expenses for the year, with car costs and the loan side by side on the dashboard.

You get a filled-in copy as well as a blank one: a full demo you can click through and a blank ready for your own numbers, in Excel and Google Sheets. There are no dynamic arrays, no macros and no add-ins, and the Google Sheets version is a real workbook, not a PDF with a link in it.

Works with

• Microsoft Excel 2016, 2019, 2021 and Microsoft 365, on Windows and Mac, and LibreOffice. No Microsoft 365 subscription required.
• Google Sheets with a free Google account. No Google account is needed for the Excel files.
• No add-ins, no macros, no subscription and no bank connection

What you download

• The Excel workbook filled with a worked example, and the same workbook blank and ready for yours
• The instruction guide, which has one-click links to the Google Sheets versions (filled and blank)
• The terms of use as a PDF

Your files are ready to download as soon as payment clears. The Start Here tab walks you through setup in a few minutes. The files are for your own use; please do not share or resell them. Questions before or after you buy? Use our contact page and we will help.

Frequently asked questions

Does it work in Excel or Google Sheets?

Both. You get Excel files for Excel 2016 or later on Windows and Mac, and the instruction guide has one-click links to make Google Sheets copies with a free Google account.

How are running costs entered?

For each of ten categories you enter what it costs each time and how many times a year, and the yearly total is worked out.

Does it work out cost per kilometer?

Yes. It combines running costs and loan payments over the distance you drive to give a cost per kilometer, all in.

Does it double-count interest?

No. Interest is shown separately but inside the loan payment, not added on top of it.

Can I track other debts too?

Yes. The debt list takes other loans, with snowball and avalanche calculated in full and a payoff date for each debt.