AutoMath

About AutoMath

Last updated

What this site is

AutoMath is a growing set of car-cost calculators: auto loans, lease vs buy, fuel and EV-charging cost, true cost of ownership, depreciation, tire and towing math. Each calculator shows the formula it uses and runs entirely in your browser — no account, no server round-trip, no telemetry beyond aggregate page-view counts via privacy-friendly Cloudflare Web Analytics.

The site exists because most car calculators on the internet either hide their math behind opaque interfaces or are built by lenders and dealers to steer you toward a specific financing product. AutoMath shows the math, explains the assumptions, and names what the formula leaves out.

What it isn’t

  • Not financial advice. Outputs depend entirely on the assumptions you provide. APRs, tax rules, and individual circumstances vary. Confirm with your lender and state DMV before signing anything.
  • Not a SaaS. No accounts. No subscription to use the calculators. Inputs save to your device’s localStorage, nothing else.
  • Not AI-generated. Every calculation is hand-derived from first principles, unit-tested, and explained in plain language by a human.
  • Not affiliated with any dealer, lender, or manufacturer beyond standard, clearly-labeled affiliate relationships (see “How it stays free”).

Editorial principles

  1. Show the formula. Every calculator’s math is shown explicitly on the page or its guide. No black boxes.
  2. Cite primary sources. IRS mileage rates, federal fuel-economy data, manufacturer residual schedules, state tax rules — when a number comes from somewhere, that somewhere is named.
  3. Acknowledge what the formula misses. Every page ends with what the math does not capture: dealer add-ons, depreciation variance, regional cost differences, the time cost of driving.
  4. No outcome promises. No “save thousands guaranteed”, no manufactured urgency. The math gives a number; whether it’s a good deal depends on facts we can’t see.
  5. Sponsored content is labeled and walled off from the math. Affiliate links to lenders, refinance marketplaces, insurance comparison, and retailers are disclosed with rel="sponsored nofollow" and a footer-wide disclosure. The math doesn’t change based on who pays a commission.

Errata and corrections

Every page is a hypothesis. Math errors, outdated tax rates, regional inaccuracies happen. Email hello@auto-calculate.com with the URL and the issue. Corrections are made within a week, usually within 24 hours.

How it stays free

Three revenue streams, all disclosed:

  1. Display advertising — Google AdSense, contextual auto/finance ads, no interstitials or autoplay video.
  2. Affiliate links to auto-finance and related products we’d consider using: loan/refi marketplaces (LendingTree, Caribou), insurance comparison (Insurify, The Zebra), tire retailers, EV chargers. Marked rel="sponsored nofollow". The math doesn’t change based on commission.
  3. Premium tier (planned, not live) — future paid tier, KPI-gated. The existing calculators stay free permanently.

Who runs this

AutoMath is run by a small editorial team operating under the brand name; communications go to hello@auto-calculate.com. We don’t publish individual bylines — every piece reflects the same editorial standards and is the responsibility of the publication.