<prompt> Human: So Ive been doing some research, and Ive read a few articles on bank financing vs. dealer financing, and I think bank financing is the best route for me. My credit is fairly new, but should be good as Ive never missed a payment and such.Im looking into getting a certified pre-owned automobile for 20K-ish. I have 10K to drop down, so that leaves me with 10K to finance. Heres where Im confused: using the chase auto-loan calculator if I set the loan amount to 10K with an APR of 5 I know thats low for someone of my credit, but just for testing purposes and I set it to a 24 month plan the payment 438.71 and the total interest is 529.04. But if I set it to a 36 month plan the payment is 299.71 but the interest is 789.56. Super noob question but why are interest rates on longer term plans higher, and how exactly is the interest calculated? Is the 5 interest rate calculated off of the remainder of the loan every month or so?Also, say if I choose the 24 month plan 438.71, and I pay that amount for the month, but I always want to pay more on top of that. What happens to anything extra I pay on top in regards to interest.Sorry, I know this is somewhat long of a read, but any help would greatly be appreciated. lol. If anyone has any links for beginners as well that would be helpful.  <response>: What are you needs? Im almost certain you can find a vehicle that meets them for 10k.Prepayment penalties are rate so you can always make additional payments on your own terms as you are comfortable. 