I understand not putting money down, when you can pay over time. But why would one lose that money? It’s not a down payment, it’s the drive off. If the car got totaled the insurance would cover the value of the whole car. And the math would not matter if you put 0 down or 10k down. Once all was adjusted you’d either owe money or not.
You don’t own that car, you are leasing it from the bank, if you crash and it’s totaled the insurance company pays off the bank for what you owe, you don’t get the profit back if you have any.
Leases (well, most, Toyota being a main exception) contain gap coverage, meaning any amount that the vehicle is worth less than the current payoff is covered; you’re not liable for the difference. So insurance covers the value of the vehicle, the gap cover/waiver covers the delta.
Essentially, if you put down $0 or you put down $10000, if the car is totaled, you walk away. You don’t get your $0 back or your $10k back. Doesn’t matter if that money is the “drive off” vs a “down payment”, etc. The money out of your pocket is the money out of your pocket.
