<prompt> Human: I did a search in this sub and didnt find anything that explicitly addresses this question. Percentage wise, how much of a persons monthly take home pay should go to a car payment ? Assistant: Depends on what you can afford. Plus a bunch of other factors. What kind of cars are you looking at? Buy or lease? It all starts with what we call the 20410 rule, which says you should: Make a down payment of at least 20. Finance a car for no more than four years. And not let your total monthly vehicle expense, including principal, interest and insurance, exceed 10 of your gross incomeHuman: I am considering buying or leasing a luxury brand. You bring up a good point with the financing term. But what if a person took the longest term possible to keep payments low and exceeded monthly minimum payment. This could free up cash in case of emergency ?  <response>: If they have to do that theyre buying too much car. You can finance it for as long as the bank will allow, but always make sure youre on the 20410 schedule to have it paid off. 