Buying without dealership pressure · The Model Black education
Cash, finance, or lease, on the same car.
To compare cash, finance, and lease on the same car, you need three numbers built from the same selling price, the same taxes and fees for your ZIP code, and the same down payment: the out-the-door cash total, the monthly finance payment at your credit range and term, and the monthly lease payment, on the manufacturer's lease program when one is in effect for that car.
The Model Black shows all three on every new car from a participating dealership with one click between them. This page explains what each number contains and how to read the differences.
What each number is made of.
Cash
Finance
Lease
Price basis
Selling price
Selling price
Selling price (capitalized cost)
Sales tax
Full price, minus trade where the state credits it
Same, financed into the loan
On each payment in most states; on the full price in a few
What you pay for
The whole car
The whole car, plus interest
The depreciation over the term, plus rent charge
Ends with
A title in your name
A title after the last payment
Return, buy at the residual, or trade
Best when
You keep cars a long time and want no interest
You want to own and spread the cost
You want a lower payment, a new car every few years, and predictable miles
How to read the comparison.
Same down, same trade, same ZIP. Set your deal profile once so the three numbers are comparable. A different down payment on one option makes the comparison meaningless.
Total cost over the time you keep the car. Multiply the finance payment by the term; add the down and the trade. For a lease, multiply the payment by the term and add the drive-off. For cash, it is the out-the-door total minus what the car is worth when you sell it.
The one-pay lease. If you have the cash, a one-pay lease puts the whole lease in one payment at a lower money factor. The Model Black shows it next to the cash price on every car where a lease program exists.
When the answer is obvious.
Leasing tends to win on cars with strong residuals and a factory-subsidized money factor, and when you drive under the mileage allowance. Financing tends to win when you keep cars well past the loan and drive a lot. Cash wins when the rate you would pay is higher than what the money earns elsewhere. The comparison on the car page shows which of those is true for the specific car and program that month.
Your payment, three ways.
Type your own numbers and see the same car priced as cash, as a loan, and as a lease, with the taxes and state fees for Arizona. Nothing you type leaves this page.
An estimate on the numbers you type, not an offer of credit or a quote from any dealership. Starting loan rates are Rateous's rates for each credit range and term; they are not an offer from any lender. The residual and money factor are the ones you type for your car, and the acquisition fee starts at an example figure; the leasing company sets the real ones. The documentary fee starts at an example figure, the state's legal cap where it has one or $599 where it does not, not any dealership's fee; each dealership sets its own. Taxes and state fees are estimates for Arizona; the dealership's paperwork and your motor vehicle agency have the final numbers. What you own at the end assumes the car is worth the residual. Nothing you type is sent, saved, or used to check your credit.
Quick answers.
Is a lease cheaper than financing?
Per month, usually. Over the life of the car, financing and keeping it is usually cheaper. The car page shows both payments for the same car so you can weigh the difference against how long you keep cars.
Does the cash price include taxes and fees?
Yes. The cash number on The Model Black is the estimated out-the-door total: selling price, sales tax at your rate, title, registration, and the dealer's doc fee, with your trade applied.
Can I switch between the three after I send my deal?
Yes, until you sign. The dealership confirms the car is still available when your deal arrives, and you settle the structure with the dealership directly before the paperwork is written.