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How to use the Finance & Balloon calculator
Finance & Balloon prices a car deal the way the dealer's calculator will not. It shows the total interest including what the balloon quietly adds, the legal rate ceiling, the month your loan finally drops below the car's value, and the full monthly cost once fuel and insurance are counted.
A balloon payment makes the monthly instalment look cheaper by deferring a chunk of the price to the end. It is not a discount. Interest runs on the full balance, balloon included, for the whole term, and at the end you still owe that lump sum. This tool quantifies what that convenience costs.
The balloon is the most expensive comfort in SA car finance. It lowers the payment, so people stretch to a car they cannot really afford, then face a five-figure lump sum or a refinance. If you take one, take it knowing the number, and this is the number.
What you'll need
- The car price, your deposit and any balloon, in rand.
- The term, your credit band and the rate (pick the band and a realistic rate fills in).
- The NCA fees, the initiation fee and the monthly service fee, which the tool seeds with current defaults.
- Your running costs, fuel, insurance and upkeep, on the shared Running costs card, for the full monthly cost.
How to use it
Enter the deal: price, deposit, balloon, term and rate. The tool flags a balloon above the roughly 35% of price that lenders allow, and warns when a 96-month term will not take a balloon at all.
Check the NCA fees against your quote and edit them; the defaults come from secondary sources, not yet gazette-verified. Fill in the Running costs card to get the true monthly cost, not just the finance line.
Reading your result
The headline is the monthly instalment, with the total you pay over the term and the total interest beside it. The true-cost strip shows the whole picture against the sticker price: deposit, amount financed, all interest, and the service fees.
If you set a balloon, a card spells out what it really does: how much cheaper it makes the instalment, how much extra interest that costs, and the lump sum still owed at the end. The owe-versus-worth chart tracks your loan balance against the car's falling value and marks when you climb above water. The full-monthly-cost cards add fuel, insurance and upkeep, and a cost-per-kilometre against the SARS rate.
A worked example
An R450,000 car, R45,000 deposit, an R135,000 balloon, 72 months at 12%, with the default NCA fees.
| Figure | Result |
|---|---|
| Monthly instalment | R6,721 |
| Total you pay | R663,923 |
| Total interest | R207,748 |
| Of which the balloon caused | R42,172 |
The balloon makes the instalment about R1,289 a month cheaper, but it adds R42,172 in interest over the term, and at month 72 you still owe the R135,000 in one lump. Pay it, refinance it, or hand the car back. That is the trade the lower monthly hides.
What it does not do
It estimates resale value on a typical SA depreciation curve, which your exact model will not follow precisely. The NCA fee defaults are not yet gazette-verified, so use your quote. It is information, not advice to take or refuse any specific deal.
To check the car against your income first, use Car Affordability; to place it in your monthly budget, use Budget Splits. When you are ready, open Finance & Balloon.
Money Cat is an information tool, not financial advice. Rates reflect SA prime as at June 2026 and the NCA vehicle ceiling; fees are editable estimates. Confirm your quote with the lender.