Floor plan interest calculator for dealers
Every day a floored car sits on the lot costs you interest. Put in what your lender advanced on the car, the rate and the days, and see the interest, the cost per day and per week, and what another month would add, so you know when to cut the price.
In GARAGEBIRDS, put each month’s floor plan interest on the car it belongs to, with the purchase price and the recon, and the car’s true profit includes it. How to know your true profit per vehicle →
How floor plan interest is worked out
Most floor plans charge simple interest by the day on what’s still owed on the car. One day’s interest is the amount floored times the rate, divided by the days in the lender’s year (365, or 360 for some lenders). Multiply by the days the car has been on the plan and you have the interest; add the per-car fees and you have what the car has cost you to hold so far.
Your real statement can differ: a curtailment (a required pay-down after a set number of days) lowers the balance and the interest after it, rates can change during the month, and some lenders add their fees on a schedule. Use the lender’s statement for your books; use this to see what time on the lot costs while you decide on the price.
Why the cost per day matters
A car that sits does more than tie up the line: every week adds interest that comes straight out of its gross. In the example, the car costs $3.12 a day, so another month on the lot is $93.70, before insurance. If a price cut sells it this week for less than that, the cut pays for itself. That’s holding cost, and it belongs in the car’s true cost next to the purchase price and the recon. Try it on a whole car with the true profit calculator.
An estimate, not your lender’s figure: it assumes simple daily interest on the amount floored for the whole period, with no curtailment or rate change. Your floor plan agreement and statement govern.
Questions
How is floor plan interest calculated?
Usually as simple daily interest: the amount floored times the annual rate, divided by the days in the lender’s year (365 or 360), times the number of days the car is on the plan. Per-car fees are added on top.
What is a curtailment on a floor plan?
A required pay-down of part of what you owe on a car once it has been on the floor plan for a set number of days. It lowers the balance, and so the interest after it. Your floor plan agreement sets when curtailments are due and how much.
Is floor plan interest part of a car’s cost?
Yes. It’s a holding cost: what the car costs you for the days it sits on your lot. Put it on the car with the purchase price, fees, transport and recon, and the profit you see is the profit you made.
Does the calculator save what I enter?
No. It runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type is stored or sent anywhere, and reloading the page brings back the example.
Every cost on the car, free
Cost tracking with true profit per vehicle is on the Free plan, no credit card.