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Checklist for Leasing a New Car

This checklist highlights some of the important parts of your vehicle lease. It is not a legal document or agreement. This is not a lease contract. Read it carefully and then read your lease just as carefully.

What is a vehicle lease?

A lease is similar to a long-term rental agreement. You are paying for the right to drive a vehicle purchased and owned by someone else. In most instances, you will be responsible for all maintenance on the vehicle, including the maintenance required to maintain warranty coverage.

What affects your lease payment?

Many of the amounts shown may be negotiated by you and the leasing company.

1a. MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price) for this vehicle is.................$_________
1b. The lower the price your leasing company pays for the vehicle, the lower
your payments should be. The leasing company has agreed to pay this price........$_________
which is _______ percent of the MSRP of this vehicle.

2.In addition to the price paid for the vehicle itself, the following optional
equipment costs are added to the price of the vehicle:
................................................................. ....Item _______________Cost $___________
................................................................. ....Item _______________Cost $___________
................................................................. ....Item _______________Cost $___________
................................................................. ....Item _______________Cost $___________
................................................................. .......Total Cost of Optional Items $___________

3. Total Cost of the Vehicle (the sum of items lb & 2).........................................$_________

4. Taxes, Title and License.......................................................... .............Cost $ _________

5. Fee for Acquiring This Lease (Acquisition Fee):......................................Cost $__________

6. Refundable Security Deposit.......................................................... .......Cost $ __________

7. Optional Insurance/Warranty Items
Please note that the following items can be added to your lease contract at your option. You are under no obligation to include these items in your lease contract. Your lessor should be able to provide you with a detailed explanation of what these items are and their stated benefits to you. These extra products/services will increase your monthly lease payments unless the lessor provides them free of charge (e.g. GAP Coverage). It is wise to consider the need for each item carefully and then decide if you can afford to include this extra cost in your lease contract.
Credit Life Insurance and Disability.....................Cost $ __________
Extended Warranty.............................................Cost $ __________
Vehicle Maintenance Agreement.........................Cost $ __________
GAP Coverage included/not included....................Cost $ __________
................................................................. ..................Total cost of these items $ __________

8. Total (The Capitalized Cost) of Your Lease is
(the total of items 3, 4. 5 & 7)............................................................... .............$ __________

9. Initial Payment
You may make an initial payment in cash or by trading in a vehicle. You may make that payment before or at the time you accept delivery of the vehicle. If all or part of this amount is used to reduce the capitalized cost, it would lower your monthly payments. All or part of this amount may also be used to pay for costs which are not included in the total capitalized cost.

a. Cash Payment.......................................................... ......................................$ __________
b. Trade In

You are being paid $ __________ for your trade-in.
You owe $ __________ on the trade-in. The difference is the amount
available for you to use as part of your initial payment. That amount is.................$ __________

c. Total Initial Payment (the sum of 9a. and 9b.).................................................$ __________
(i) Of this total, $ __________is being used to reduce the capitalized cost.
(ii) Of this total, $ __________ is being used to pay the following amounts
which are not included in the capitalized cost.
................................................................. ....Item _______________Cost $___________
................................................................. ....Item _______________Cost $___________
................................................................. ....Item _______________Cost $___________
Note: The sum of (i) plus (ii) should add up to the Total in C.

10. Amount You Are Financing is (the total of item 8 minus item 9c)................$ __________

11. The Cost of Borrowing Money

Leasing is simply one way to finance the use of a vehicle.
Cost of funds affects your lease payment.
For this leased vehicle you have agreed to pay an effective interest rate of..........__________ %

12. Residual Value

A higher residual value will reduce your monthly payments.
The residual value is the forecasted value of your vehicle at
the end of your lease term. Your residual value is..............................................$ __________

13. Monthly Payments

Based on items 1-12, you have agreed to make a total of
__________ payments at $ __________ each. And one payment of ..............$ __________

Additional costs at lease termination

14. Breaking the Lease Early
If vou decide to break your lease early before the lease ends, you must return the vehicle to the leasing company, and you will be responsible for some or all of the remaining lease payments and the termination fee, if any. Provided below is an example of what you would owe should you decide to terminate your lease early. These amounts would be reduced by any amounts received when the lessor sells the vehicle. Bear in mind that these figares include the termination fee but do not include any charges for excess wear and tear or for excess mileage for which you would be responsible under the lease.

Based on breaking your lease:
..........................At 12 Payments _______________Approximately $___________
..........................At 24 Payments _______________Approximately $___________
..........................At 36 Payments _______________Approximately $___________
..........................At 48 Payments _______________Approximately $___________

15. Excess Mileage Charge
This lease assumes you will drive no more than __________ miles per year during your lease. If at the end of the lease term you have driven more than __________ miles, you agree to pay a penalty of $ __________ per extra mile.

16. Excess Wear and Tear
You will be charged extra for whatever wear and tear the lease company determines is above and beyond "normal' wear and tear for the vehicle you are leasing. Make sure the lease company provides you with documentation in the lease agreement of what constitutes excess wear and tear.

17. Buying the Leased Vehicle
If you decide to purchase the leased vehicle, you may do so by exercising the purchase option in your lease contract. A purchase option fee will generally be applied to the total buy-out cost as well. Provided below is an example of what you would pay for your leased vehicle should you decide to purchase it.
Buying your vehicle:
..........................At 12 Payments _______________Approximately $___________
..........................At 24 Payments _______________Approximately $___________
..........................At 36 Payments _______________Approximately $___________
..........................At 48 Payments _______________Approximately $___________

This checklist was provided by the Connecticut Attorney General's Office.
The Reality Checklist and Consumers Task Force Logo are copyrighted and trademarked to the Consumer Taskforce for Automotive Issues Inc.