How to use the car lease calculator
- Enter the vehicle price (the negotiated price, before fees).
- Enter the residual value as a percentage of the price the car is worth at lease end.
- Enter the lease term in months and the annual interest rate (the lease money factor expressed as APR).
- Enter any down payment.
- Read the monthly payment and the total lease cost.
Worked example
A $30,000 car with a 55% residual after 36 months at 5% APR and a $3,000 down payment has a residual value of $16,500. Monthly depreciation is $283.33 and the monthly finance charge is $48.75, so the lease payment is about $332.08.
The math
residual = price x residual% / 100
depreciation = (price - down - residual) / months
finance = (price - down + residual) x APR% / 100 / 12
monthly = depreciation + finance
The finance charge uses the average of the capitalized cost and the residual, which is the standard lease method.