Launching Motorate — Australia's car loan and novated lease calculator

Buying a car in Australia involves more variables than most people realise going in. The advertised interest rate is rarely the comparison rate. On-road costs — stamp duty, CTP, registration — vary by state and can add thousands to the purchase price. Novated leasing introduces FBT calculations, residual values, and pre-tax salary packaging that most generic calculators ignore entirely.

Motorate is built specifically for the Australian market. It handles the full picture: loan repayments, comparison rates, on-road costs by state, FBT exposure on novated leases, and residual value calculations. The goal is to give buyers an accurate number before they walk into a dealership or sign a lease agreement, not a simplified estimate that falls apart when the paperwork arrives.

The novated lease gap

Novated leasing is genuinely useful for salaried employees in Australia — pre-tax salary packaging can significantly reduce the effective cost of a vehicle. But most people don't fully understand the FBT implications, how residuals work at the end of the lease term, or how to compare a novated lease against a standard car loan on an after-tax basis.

Motorate makes that comparison possible. It calculates both scenarios side by side with AU-specific tax rates and the variables that actually matter, so the decision is based on real numbers rather than a dealer's projections.

Supporting content

The calculator launched alongside a guides section covering the mechanics of car loans, how to interpret results, novated lease explained, loan shopping, and common rejection reasons. The intent is to make Motorate useful not just as a calculator but as a reference when navigating the full car buying process in Australia.