Time for a LH finance calculator?

Reason for my comment lol

Only thing is, I can see a lot more sales people / brokers joining this site and clogging it up with only finance options because most of them do not know how to creatively structure and also articulate a lease that fits a hackr.

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Somehow connect it to lenders that are offering rates less than captives.

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It would also be nice to show the interest rate OF the money factor in the shared data between the two calcs, with a drop-down type list of interest rates to select for easier comparison btw lease/buy. I know I’m describing poorly, but toggling for easy comparison should be the theme.

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Love this idea!

Along the lines of that, comparing with multiple APRs (and assigning them a name - e.g. captive, cu, bank) for finance can also be helpful. I have had instances where buyers wanted to refinance shortly thereafter, so knowing the difference and comparing it side by side may help.

Adding the option to add a sell date (e.g. 3 years) could help understand what your total cost ends up being and what your estimated balance may be at the end. Maybe even compare it with the lease residual if that is provided.

One thing I did notice was payments may differ depending on when the loan was issued and when your first payment is due (e.g. 45/60 days out). Incorporating that may help estimate the payments more accurately.

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This sounds like you want an amortization schedule/lease payment breakdown on a yearly interval?

Sorry I have read this comment 10 times already and am still struggling to picture what is being suggested.

Hmmm I am still thinking through this.You are right in that leasing and financing are subject to a different payment schedule which can have an impact on the total cost when you compare the two. Even within each category, you can structure different payment schedule to suit your need. For example, with leasing you can do a zero drive-off lease or a one-pay lease or capitalize part of your fees and taxes; With financing, you can opt for a balloon loan.

I am afraid that this would be too granular for an average user and it probably doesn’t impact the lease v finance comparison much? When you are comparing lease and finance, most people are looking at the cost on a high level. It’s hard to predict the exact date you would be ending your loan and how that compares with leasing on the same date?

No balloon in the finance calculator, please :grin:
Just keep it as simple finance, with some bells and whistles.

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Let me mock up a real example and get back to you.

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I was mostly referring to generating a finance monthly payment than about comparing it with lease. Sometimes I have had the question as to why the payment quoted in a calculator did not match the payment quoted by the bank despite having the right term & apr and it usually ends up being the first payment date that messes the accuracy.

Not very important in the grand scheme of things

Great work on the calculator, we need some checkboxes to compare rolling fees, and rolling taxes, into the loan separately. Also perhaps an ‘advanced’ tab to include refi etc in TCO. An example would be for dealers that give you $ to finance with them then 90 days later you go and refi.

Another nice to have, but not necessary, would be amortization schedule, and perhaps a chart of some sort.

We currently include a breakdown for principal and interest paid up to the period of loan termination under Total Cost. I assume the purpose of the amortization schedule is to see how much you have paid up to a certain period? Are there other use cases you are thinking of?

Could shipping and broker fees be included in the calculator as well? Should be simple to add to up-front costs, I would imagine?

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Depending on how you intend to use the calculator, you can include shipping and broker fees (both not residualizable) in the Disposition Fee field. Disposition Fee is included in the Effective Monthly Payment calculation. Otherwise you can put it under Gov Fee and elect to pay Gov Fee upfront.

I would love to be able to put in a balloon percentage so that buyers can see that vs. lease.