The information they need is very simple-just the loan amount you are looking for. To figure this out, just find out what the down payment amount you are required to pay for the car is, and then subtract that from the final value, and you will have the amount of money you need the loan for.

If the value of the down payment isn't significant, don't even worry about it. Of course, the next thing you will need is the interest rate the company you are interested in is charging, which can be easily found by going to the companies' website.

However, keep in mind that most times, the rate shown here is lower than what you are going to be paying, because they almost always show the lowest possible rate to get you in the door.

This will almost always go up, because this is the rate they would be charging an ideal customer, i.e. somebody who had a perfect credit score, etc. Therefore, it's imperative that you input the correct variables here.

Yes, you will have to take some time and go through and fill out some forms to receive an accurate quote, but it will be time well spent. Believe me, you don't want to get your loan and be shocked at the interest rate you will actually be paying versus the amount you thought you would be.

Finally, input the length of time the loan will be for into the auto loan payment calculator, and then compute, and you are have the final value you can expect to pay. Again, this will most likely be higher when you factor in the added interest rate, but again, it gives you a ballpark figure.

As soon as you've done this, you will find out the monthly amount you can expect to pay. Also consider the fact that the calculator does not factor in taxes, which often times can add a substantial amount to the final value, depending on where you live.

It might be a good idea to find an auto loan payment calculator that includes these variables, as there are some that will actually figure in the tax amount. Some states don't require taxes, but most do, so be sure to keep this info in mind.

Of course, this makes finding the correct tax rate, as well as other variables, a necessity, many people have killed their planning efforts by inputting faulty information (especially their credit score, the most important variables) into the auto loan payment calculator, so be sure you have all the correct info before you even attempt to figure this out.

However, even with all this info on the auto loan calculator, I haven't even covered the most important step in getting the best possible interest rate; that is saved for part two.