I’m considering leasing a Volvo XC90 and received a breakdown of the monthly payments from a dealer, which includes depreciation, rent charge, and taxes. I have a question about the rent charge calculation. The dealer’s formula includes the residual value: rent charge = (capitalized cost + residual value) * money factor (MF). Since the rent charge compensates the leasing company for the use of their car over the lease term, shouldn’t the correct calculation be (capitalized cost + residual value) / 2 * MF? This would represent the average cost of the car over the lease term. Otherwise, it seems like the MSRP is being somewhat double-counted.
For example, assuming the sales price equals the MSRP with no additional capitalized costs or rebates:
Rent charge = (capitalized cost + residual value) * MF
Rent charge = (MSRP + MSRP * residual value %) * MF
Rent charge = (1 + residual value %) * MSRP * MF
This way, the formula would fairly represent the leasing company’s actual risk.