Can it be assumed that whenever there is a due at signing and you want to roll that into the monthly payment, you just divide that amount by the term? Going by the rule you don’t want to pay anything down.
There is a difference between down and due.
Down is cash down - due is first payment (when you buy a car you’re making a first payment) and taxes/fees.
You can’t just roll it in since it get’s taxed and has the MF applied against it.
Use this as example:
Lease
Chevrolet National Lease Offers
Ultra Low-Mileage Lease for Qualified Lessees
$279/month for 36 months. $3,199 due at signing (after all offers).
$2,699 due at signing for Current Lessees of GM vehicles (after all offers)*.
Tax, title, license, and dealer fees extra. $0 security deposit.
Mileage charge of $0.25/mile over 30,000 miles at participating dealers.
how would you roll the due at signing into the payments, breaking it down?
You can add it into the top line - it just won’t be exact.
so divide it by the term and it’ll be close?
Roughly but again it won’t add tax and such.
Every $1000 more on a lease adds near $30 per month
There is no such rule. It is just one of those things invented and then perpetuated on the internet.
This is the rule from the site I was referring to
It’s rule 8,
8. Never Put A Down Payment On A Lease
There are two good reasons for this:
If your car is ever totaled or stolen, you can always walk away from a lease without penalty (thanks to GAP insurance). However, you won’t always get your down payment back—so don’t pay one to begin with.
A down payment obscures the cost of the lease and makes it more difficult to compare deals. Any car can be leased for $199 per month if there’s a sufficient down payment.
Instead, we recommend placing a security deposit, which lowers the money factor and could save you thousands in finance charges. Brands that offer a multiple security deposit program include Audi, BMW, Infiniti, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, and Toyota.
I agree with MSD being the first choice use of funds available at signing. The rest is a matter of individual circumstance. Because your MF is high (not everyone is Tier 1). The leasing company may not include GAP insurance and insurers in your state may not offer it either.
The corollary of the above ‘rule’ is that you set aside the money for a down payment and use it to pay/supplement your monthly payments. This ignores the reality of many people who would just squander the money instead.