4108 Burnet Road, Suite 120, Austin, TX 78756
A lease charges you for the value a car loses while you have it, plus a finance charge on the money tied up in it. Everything else is a fee with a name. Here is all of it.
Everything else on the contract feeds one of these two lines. If you can see the adjusted capitalised cost, the residual, the term and the money factor, you can rebuild any quote in the industry.
(adjusted cap cost − residual) ÷ months
The value the car loses while it is yours, spread evenly. On the example below that is$345 a month, which is most of the payment. Lowering the selling price or raising the residual both shrink this line.
(adjusted cap cost + residual) × money factor
The finance charge on the money the lessor has tied up. Multiply the money factor by 2,400 for the APR equivalent. On the example that is $95 a month at a 0.00142 money factor, or 3.41 percent.
$345 + $95 = $440
In Texas the 6.25 percent motor vehicle tax is charged on the vehicle price at inception rather than on each payment, and we capitalise it, so it is already inside these numbers.
36 months, 12,000 miles a year, a $3,000 capitalised cost reduction and the full clean vehicle credit passed through. This is the same worksheet we would print for you at the desk.
Due at signing is the $3,000 cap reduction, the first payment of $440, the $225 doc fee and $105 of title and registration. All figures are samples for demonstration.
Nine fees touch a lease. Four hit at signing, one is waived, and four wait until you hand the car back. Here is each one with the amount, who charges it, whether anybody can discount it and whether it can be rolled into the payment instead of paid on the day.
$1,095
Also called a bank fee. It pays the lessor for writing the contract and it is fixed by the funding bank, so nobody at Current can discount it. You can either pay it at signing or capitalise it, which adds about $34 a month on a 36 month term. We capitalise it by default and show you both numbers.
6.25% of the taxable price
Texas taxes a lease on the vehicle's full purchase price at inception rather than taxing each monthly payment the way most states do. On a $46,300 SUV that is $2,894. It is capitalised into the adjusted cap cost, which is why a Texas EV lease payment looks higher than the same deal quoted in a monthly tax state.
$225
Texas does not cap the doc fee. Ours is $225 and it is the same for every customer and every car, published here so you can compare it before you walk in. It covers title preparation and electronic filing.
$105
State fees, passed through at cost with the receipt attached to your delivery pack. Travis County registration renewals during the term are your responsibility and cost about $80 a year.
One month
Leases are paid in advance, so month one is always collected at delivery. Every due at signing figure on this site includes it, which is why our numbers sometimes look higher than an advert that quietly leaves it out.
$0
Waived on every tier 1 and tier 2 approval. Some lessors offer multiple security deposits to buy the money factor down; if that is worth doing on your deal we will tell you and show the arithmetic.
$0.25 a mile
Charged only on miles past the contracted allowance. Buying miles up front costs $0.16, so if you are confident you will run 3,000 over, prepaying saves $270. If you are not confident, do not prepay: unused prepaid miles are not refunded.
$0 to $5,000
Assessed against the published standards on our wear and tear page. The Current Wear Waiver covers up to $5,000 of chargeable wear for $11 a month, which is worth it if the car will carry car seats, dogs or a ladder rack.
$395
Charged when you hand the car back and walk away. It is waived entirely if you start another Current lease within 30 days, and it does not apply at all if you buy the car at the residual.
All fee amounts are sample figures for demonstration. Texas does not cap dealer documentary fees; ours is published here so it can be compared before you visit. Acquisition and disposition fees are set by the funding lessor and cannot be discounted by a dealer.
Longer terms always carry lower residuals, but they also spread the depreciation over more payments. Those two effects fight each other, and around 39 months the second one usually wins.
| Term | Residual | Sample monthly | Total of payments | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 months | 63.5% | $498 | $11,952 | Highest residual, highest payment |
| 36 months | 57.5% | $440 | $15,840 | The benchmark term |
| 39 months | 56% | $431 | $16,809 | Usually the lowest payment |
| 48 months | 50.5% | $419 | $20,112 | Runs past the 4 year bumper warranty |
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
Sample figures on the Kestra Ridge SE at the 12,000 mile band. A 48 month term runs past the four year bumper to bumper warranty on most vehicles, and at 15,000 miles a year it also passes the mileage limit on that cover. Battery and powertrain cover typically runs to eight years.
They are not equally expensive and the difference between the cheapest and the dearest can be several thousand dollars. Call before you do anything, not after.
Works if: You are staying with us and the car is in demand
On a $440 payment with 5 months left, a 3 payment pull ahead cancels $1,320 and the new lease starts the following week. We only offer it when the auction value is running above the residual, and we will show you the number we are working from.
Works if: Your circumstances changed and you want out cleanly
The new driver takes over the remaining payments after a credit check. You are typically released from liability on transfer, though some lessors keep contingent liability for the first 12 months. We check that clause on your specific contract before we list it.
Works if: The car is worth more than the payoff
The payoff is the remaining depreciation plus the residual plus unearned rent charge. At month 20 of a 36 on a Lume S that is roughly $27,400 against a private party value near $28,900, so there is about $1,500 of equity. That gap is real money and most people do not know it is there.
Works if: Nothing else fits
Hand the car back early and you owe the difference between the payoff and what it makes at wholesale auction, plus remaining fees. Walking away from that same Lume S at month 20 could cost $2,600 or more. We will always look at the other three routes first.
Mileage band and term move the payment more than trim does. We start with how far you actually drive, then find cars that fit the number.
A soft pull gives us your tier and the money factor you qualify for. It does not touch your score and it takes about eleven minutes to come back.
Cap cost, residual, money factor, every fee and the total of payments, on one page, before anything is signed.
Our electrician surveys your panel and fits the Level 2 box, usually in the week before delivery, so the car arrives to a working charger.
Ninety minutes at your house or office: charging, preconditioning, one pedal driving, the app, and where the second fob lives.
Six months out we check tread depth, mileage pace and your payoff against market value, then tell you which exit route is cheapest.
If a question you have is not here, call and ask for a lease advisor. Nobody will read you a script.
Two things plus tax. Depreciation is the adjusted capitalised cost minus the residual value, divided by the number of months. Rent charge is the adjusted cap plus the residual, multiplied by the money factor. Add them together and that is your payment. Texas motor vehicle tax is capitalised into the cap cost at inception rather than added monthly, which is why a Texas payment looks higher than the same deal quoted in a monthly tax state.
It is the lease equivalent of an interest rate, written as a small decimal. Multiply it by 2,400 to get the APR equivalent. A money factor of 0.00142 is roughly 3.41 percent. Every offer on this site shows both numbers. If a dealer will not tell you the money factor, that is the answer to a different question.
Because the residual is the bank's forecast of what the car will be worth at the end of the term, and it is set as a percentage of manufacturer's suggested retail price before any discount. That is why negotiating the selling price down helps your payment but does not change the residual. It is also why a car with a big discount and a low residual can still be an expensive lease.
Usually not. A capitalised cost reduction lowers the payment but it is not refundable if the car is written off or stolen early in the term, and gap cover pays the lessor, not you. We normally recommend the smallest cap reduction that gets you the tier you want, and putting the rest nowhere.
Yes, in full, as a capitalised cost reduction shown as its own line on your worksheet. Because the lessor takes the credit on a lease rather than the driver, there is no income cap and no assembly location requirement to satisfy. Talk to your own tax advisor about your circumstances; we are not tax advisors and this is a sample figure.
Sample monthly payments on cars we have here now, each with the term, mileage band, due at signing, residual and money factor on the card. Nothing is hidden behind a phone call.
Best valueHatchback · 244 mile EPA range
The cheapest way into an electric car in Austin
$281a month, sample
Most leasedSedan · 301 mile EPA range
The car we lease more of than anything else
$342a month, sample
SUV · 289 mile EPA range
Five seats, 31.7 cubic feet and a tow rating that is real
$440a month, sample
Estate · 315 mile EPA range
More cargo than the SUV, 26 miles more range
$506a month, sample
SUV · 302 mile EPA range
Seven seats, and a 39 month term that shaves the payment
$659a month, sample
Truck · 271 mile EPA range
A 9.6 kW generator that also does the school run
$713a month, sample
Every lease carries the Standard column at no cost. The two waivers are optional, priced separately and added to the payment rather than buried in it. Whichever you take, the six promises on the right apply.
$0included with every lease
What every Current lease carries before you add anything.
$11a month, added to the payment
The one most families add. Turn in with no wear invoice.
$29a month, added to the payment
For cars that carry tools, dogs, car seats or a ladder rack.
Package prices are sample figures added to the monthly payment. Waiver terms, limits and exclusions are set out in the waiver agreement supplied with your contract. Offers are samples, subject to credit approval.
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