How a one-pay lease works
The lender works out the lease the usual way, the value the car loses over the term plus a finance charge, and you pay the total up front with the fees and the tax. Our cards show a one-pay offer as that amount spread over the term, marked as effective, so you can compare it with a monthly offer on the same footing.
Why people choose it
- No monthly payment for the whole term.
- Often less in total than the same lease paid monthly, when the lender lowers the finance rate for paying up front.
- One less bill for a business or a household that prefers to pay once.
What to weigh first
- It ties up a large amount of cash that you cannot use for anything else during the lease.
- If the car is stolen or written off, how much of what you paid comes back depends on the contract and your insurance. Ask us to show you that clause before you sign.
- Not every lender offers one-pay on every car, and the saving differs from one to the next.
A simple test
Ask for both prices on the same car: the one-pay total and the monthly lease total, everything due at signing included. If the one-pay saves more than that cash would earn in a savings account over the same term, and you will not need the money, the one-pay is the better deal.