Buying Power Calculator Element¶
The Buying Power Calculator runs the financing question backwards. Instead of asking what a vehicle costs and reporting the payment, it asks what payment the visitor can afford and reports the vehicle price that supports it.
Add it the same way as the Financing Calculator — drag or select the Buying Power Calculator element into your page builder's content. It is available on every template and page type.
This is the element for a finance or pre-qualification page, where the visitor hasn't chosen a vehicle yet. It ignores the current listing entirely, so placing it on a VDP gains nothing.
Settings¶
Each setting pre-fills a field the visitor can change.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Payment | The payment the visitor can afford, per payment period. Required for a result. |
| Down Payment | Cash the buyer is putting down. Optional — treated as 0 when left empty. |
| Trade-In Value | Value of a vehicle being traded in. Optional — treated as 0 when left empty. |
| Interest Rate | Annual interest rate as a percentage. Enter 6.9, not 0.069. |
| Loan Years | Length of the loan in years. |
| Payment Frequency | Monthly, Bi-Weekly, or Weekly. |
Payment is per period, not always monthly
The figure is interpreted according to Payment Frequency. Pair it with Weekly and the visitor's number is treated as a weekly payment, not a monthly one. Label the field on your template to match whichever frequency you set.
Style tabs¶
Identical to the Financing Calculator: Input Style (Background Color, Border, Border Radius, Padding, Typography) and Label Style (Typography).
How buying power is calculated¶
- Number of payments = loan years × payments per year
- Financed amount = the present value of that stream of payments at the given rate — the balance those payments would pay off
- Buying power = financed amount + down payment + trade-in value
Down payment and trade-in are added because both are money the buyer brings to the deal, on top of what the lender finances.
A 0% interest rate is handled as payment × number of payments, plus the cash contributions.
Shortcode¶
Registered with DMS as dms_buying_power_calculator:
[dms_buying_power_calculator payment="450" down_payment="2000" trade_in="5000" interest_rate="6.9" loan_years="5" frequency="12"]
frequency takes the payments-per-year value: 12 monthly, 26 bi-weekly, 52 weekly.
Pairing the two¶
A common layout puts the Buying Power Calculator on a finance page to establish a budget, then links to search results filtered to that price range. The Financing Calculator then confirms the payment on whichever vehicle they land on.