Have a clarifying question on leasing- new here- so apologies if this is kinda dumb. I understand the terms and significance of residual value and money factor. question- is it possible to lease a car (sentra in the above example)- where I benefit from the good residual value but dont want to “finance” the car with high APR. I am willing to make the payment upfront for say 36 or fewer months (so no interest). Not sure if the question makes sense or that is how leasing even works. Thanks.
No. The brands will sometimes make up for higher residual with higher lending costs, it’s a package deal. You could (not all brands) do a One pay which lowers your MF by a bit. Not all dealers are willing to do it
Even if you prepay there is still an interest charge because the bank is “lending” you the residual value for 3 years while you have the car and their capital is tied up. One pay / prepay gets you a discounted rate with many banks since there is reduced risk but doesn’t mean no interest.
Read through this for a better idea on leasing.
What you’re looking for is a one-pay lease.
The MF won’t necessarily be zero. It’s up to each bank to decide.
Nissan/NMAC allows one-pays with MSD on top to reduce the MF even further.
Look at the Nissan Frontier deals as examples.