Car Lease Decoder Skill
Leases are quoted in a dialect designed to prevent comparison: money factors instead of interest rates, cap costs instead of prices, payments instead of totals. This skill translates everything into the two numbers that matter — the effective APR and the total cost of the lease — then walks the traps that live in the back pages.
What This Skill Produces
- The translation — money factor × 2400 = the APR they didn't say; cap cost vs MSRP vs negotiated price
- Total lease cost — payments + drive-off + fees + likely end charges, one number
- The trap list — mileage math, disposition fee, wear-and-tear standards, early-exit exposure, each priced
- Negotiation points — what's routinely movable, with the asks
Required Inputs
Ask for these only if not provided:
- The offer sheet — payment, term, miles/year, drive-off; ideally: money factor, residual %, cap cost, fees
- The car — model and MSRP (residuals and negotiability vary)
- Your driving reality — honest annual miles; the mileage trap is priced per your number
- The alternative — buying the same car, if they want the comparison (chain to
car-tco)
Framework
- Money factor first: MF × 2400 = APR. Quote it back to the dealer as a rate. A "0.00325 money factor" is 7.8% — a number the customer can compare to their credit union. Also ask what MF the captive lender published — marked-up MF is dealer profit and negotiable.
- The lease equation, shown: depreciation (cap cost − residual) + rent charge ((cap + residual) × MF) + taxes/fees. Every offer decodes into this; anything that doesn't reconcile is a question.
- Cap cost is the price — negotiate it exactly like a purchase price before ever discussing payment. "What payment do you want?" is the trap question; the decode answers with cap cost.
- The mileage math, personalized: (your real miles − allowance) × per-mile charge × term. At 15k real vs 10k leased and $0.25/mile, that's $3,750 hiding behind a cheaper payment.
- The end-of-lease gauntlet: disposition fee, wear standards ("excessive" defined by whom?), and the early-exit table — decode each with its dollar exposure and the one protective ask (e.g., waived disposition if leasing again).
Output Format
Lease Decode: [car] — [term]/[miles]
The two numbers: effective APR [n.n]% · total lease cost $[n] ([payments] + [drive-off] + [fees] + [projected end charges])
The equation, reconciled [depreciation + rent charge + fees vs their payment math — matches / gap of $n asks why]
Trap table | Trap | The line | Your exposure | The ask |
Negotiation points — cap cost, MF markup, mileage tier, disposition — each with wording
Lease vs buy pointer: [one honest paragraph; full math via car-tco]
End verbatim: "This is a plain-language reading, not financial advice — lease structures and taxes vary by jurisdiction; confirm anything load-bearing before signing."
Quality Checks
Anti-Patterns
1---2name: car-lease-decoder3description: Decode a car lease offer — the money factor converted to APR, the cap-cost math, mileage and disposition traps, and what to negotiate. Use when asked to decode my car lease, is this lease deal good, what's a money factor, or review this lease before I sign. Produces the real-numbers decode (money factor → APR, total lease cost), the trap list with dollar exposure, and the negotiation points dealers expect to concede.4---5
6# Car Lease Decoder Skill
7
8Leases are quoted in a dialect designed to prevent comparison: money factors instead of interest rates, cap costs instead of prices, payments instead of totals. This skill translates everything into the two numbers that matter — the *effective APR* and the *total cost of the lease* — then walks the traps that live in the back pages.
9
10## What This Skill Produces
11
12- **The translation** — money factor × 2400 = the APR they didn't say; cap cost vs MSRP vs negotiated price
13- **Total lease cost** — payments + drive-off + fees + likely end charges, one number
14- **The trap list** — mileage math, disposition fee, wear-and-tear standards, early-exit exposure, each priced
15- **Negotiation points** — what's routinely movable, with the asks
16
17## Required Inputs
18
19Ask for these only if not provided:
20- **The offer sheet** — payment, term, miles/year, drive-off; ideally: money factor, residual %, cap cost, fees
21- **The car** — model and MSRP (residuals and negotiability vary)
22- **Your driving reality** — honest annual miles; the mileage trap is priced per your number
23- **The alternative** — buying the same car, if they want the comparison (chain to `car-tco`)
24
25## Framework
26
271. **Money factor first:** MF × 2400 = APR. Quote it back to the dealer as a rate. A "0.00325 money factor" is 7.8% — a number the customer can compare to their credit union. Also ask what MF the captive lender *published* — marked-up MF is dealer profit and negotiable.
282. **The lease equation, shown:** depreciation (cap cost − residual) + rent charge ((cap + residual) × MF) + taxes/fees. Every offer decodes into this; anything that doesn't reconcile is a question.
293. **Cap cost is the price** — negotiate it exactly like a purchase price before ever discussing payment. "What payment do you want?" is the trap question; the decode answers with cap cost.
304. **The mileage math, personalized:** (your real miles − allowance) × per-mile charge × term. At 15k real vs 10k leased and $0.25/mile, that's $3,750 hiding behind a cheaper payment.
315. **The end-of-lease gauntlet:** disposition fee, wear standards ("excessive" defined by whom?), and the early-exit table — decode each with its dollar exposure and the one protective ask (e.g., waived disposition if leasing again).
32
33## Output Format
34
35### Lease Decode: [car] — [term]/[miles]
36**The two numbers:** effective APR **[n.n]%** · total lease cost **$[n]** ([payments] + [drive-off] + [fees] + [projected end charges])
37
38**The equation, reconciled** [depreciation + rent charge + fees vs their payment math — matches / gap of $n asks why]
39**Trap table** | Trap | The line | Your exposure | The ask |
40**Negotiation points** — cap cost, MF markup, mileage tier, disposition — each with wording
41**Lease vs buy pointer:** [one honest paragraph; full math via `car-tco`]
42
43End verbatim: *"This is a plain-language reading, not financial advice — lease structures and taxes vary by jurisdiction; confirm anything load-bearing before signing."*
44
45## Quality Checks
46
47- [ ] The money factor is converted to APR and the markup question is raised
48- [ ] Total lease cost is computed, not just the payment
49- [ ] Mileage exposure uses the user's real miles
50- [ ] Every trap carries a dollar exposure and a protective ask
51- [ ] The disclaimer appears verbatim
52
53## Anti-Patterns
54
55- [ ] Do not evaluate the payment — payments are the costume; APR and total cost are the deal
56- [ ] Do not accept the money factor as a mystical constant — it's a rate with a markup
57- [ ] Do not use the leased mileage in the math — use the driven mileage
58- [ ] Do not ignore the end-of-lease pages — that's where the cheap payment gets paid back
59- [ ] Do not declare lease vs buy universally — it depends on miles, years, and taxes; point to the calculator
gabrielmoreira