The Lease Cost Score helps you read one quote. The comparison tools help you compare the costs you enter for different offers. Neither result is a search of every deal on the market.
What the Lease Cost Score measures
The score runs from 0 to 100. A higher number means a stronger result under our cost guide and quote checks. The figures come from your entries, including any assumptions or worked-out terms shown with the result.
We start with the effective monthly cost as a percentage of MSRP:
Effective monthly cost ÷ MSRP × 100.
Effective monthly cost spreads the cost counted in the check across the lease term. It includes signing costs and the remaining payments, so it can differ from the monthly bill. Positive trade equity used in the lease counts as your money. An identified refundable deposit is excluded on the assumption that it is returned.
The quote checker assumes the first payment is included in the signing total, then counts the remaining payments. Confirm that basis on your worksheet. When the signing total is missing, the result uses an estimate and labels it as such.
If the payoff is higher than the trade's value, the check subtracts that shortfall from the counted cost. Your payment can still include that old debt and the cost of financing it. The score's cost measure is not the total cash you will pay. The trade adjustment does not remove every rent charge or tax associated with old debt.
How the number is worked out
The following points set the starting score. Between them, the score changes in a straight line. These are our rules of thumb, not lender standards or market-price findings.
| Effective monthly cost as a percentage of MSRP | Starting score |
|---|---|
| 0.90% or less | 100 |
| 1.10% | 85 |
| 1.30% | 70 |
| 1.50% | 50 |
| 1.90% or more | 0 |
We round effective monthly cost to cents, then the cost percentage to four decimal places before using this table.
Quote findings can then reduce that starting score. Information-only findings and green checks do not take points off. Red and amber findings use these deductions:
| Finding | Red deduction | Amber deduction |
|---|---|---|
| Money factor above the base comparison entered | 10 | 5 |
| Money factor above another comparison entered | 6 | 3 |
| Residual below the comparison entered | 8 | 4 |
| Car price above MSRP | 10 | 5 |
| Little or no discount from MSRP | — | 3 |
| Documentation-fee finding | 5 | 5 |
| Acquisition-fee finding | 3 | 2 |
| Each flagged add-on group | 4 | 2 |
| Large cash down payment | 4 | 4 |
| Payment higher than the entered terms explain | 12 | 6 |
| Signing amount higher than the entered terms explain | 8 | 4 |
| Old debt rolled into the lease | 3 | 2 |
| Low mileage allowance | 3 | 3 |
Some findings use only one of those severities. The table describes the score's configured deductions; it does not say every red branch is active or that a fee breaks the law. Documentation-fee applicability needs a current, transaction-specific source.
Deductions take off at most 40 points in total. We round the result to the nearest whole point, keep it between 0 and 100, and cap it at 69 if any finding is red.
| Final score | Cost label shown with the quote check |
|---|---|
| 85–100 | Low cost by our guide |
| 70–84 | Moderate cost by our guide |
| 50–69 | Higher cost by our guide |
| 0–49 | High cost by our guide |
Read the findings as well as the number. A cost label is not credit approval, a vehicle inspection or a verdict on the dealer. MSRP is the sticker price, not a verified market value; compare the dollar cost too.
What a partial check means
Missing terms can leave checks incomplete. A price or money factor worked backward from the payment is an estimate, not an independent confirmation of that payment. A comparison rate supplied by a shopper is not a verified lender program.
Review the missing details, assumptions and estimated amounts before comparing scores. A green result alone does not establish that the whole quote has been checked. A favorable score does not settle taxes, fees or eligibility that still need confirmation.
How quote comparisons choose a lower-cost result
The quote comparison tool counts entered upfront cash, remaining payments, contributed trade equity, delivery or broker costs, end fees and projected excess-mile charges. It excludes the identified refundable deposit and counts the first payment once.
It divides the counted cost by each quote's actual term to compare effective monthly estimates. A displayed equivalent for another number of months is a budgeting comparison; it doesn't extend a lease at its old payment. Compare matching terms, mileage, equipment and eligibility before choosing an offer.
The quote comparison tool treats effective monthly differences smaller than half a cent as a tie.
How delivery affects a local-versus-distant comparison
The out-of-state comparison counts each offer's entered extra costs, then adds the delivery amount or range to the distant quote. It requires matching lease terms. If either offer is ineligible, eligibility is unknown, or usable delivery costs are missing, it doesn't name a winning offer.
When both offers are eligible and the delivery inputs support a comparison, the distant offer is lower-cost only if it remains lower across the whole delivery range. The local offer is lower-cost only if it remains lower across that range. When the ranges meet or overlap, the result says the saving is uncertain, except for an exact equal-cost tie.
An estimate is still an estimate. The shipping range can miss the actual price, and state notes can have unresolved limitations. Confirm the written lease and transport terms before relying on a difference.
The shipping estimator's cost range is calibrated from past Ship A Car orders. It is not a live search of carrier prices; the estimator explains the history and assumptions used.
Our affiliation and commercial placements
Lease A Car Direct is operated by Othex Corp. Ship A Car, Inc. is a separate company under common ownership with Othex Corp.
The cost calculations described here take their figures from the entered terms and the stated formulas. They contain no input that raises an offer's score because it uses Ship A Car. That explains these calculations; it is not a claim about every future listing or paid placement.
This page describes the current tools, not a market-wide ranking of dealers, brokers or available cars. Any separate sponsored placement needs a clear label and an explanation of the commercial relationship beside it.
Read how we make money, check your quote, or compare written quotes.