happytails.ai

Lease buyout comparison

Open Lease buyout comparison on Happytails.ai. This view has the same page content and links, with explicit tool capabilities. Read the processing notes before using a tool.

Tool capabilities

{
  "id": "lease-buyout-comparison",
  "category": "calculators",
  "built": true,
  "requirements": "Horizons from 1 to 120 months, loan terms from 1 to 120 months, APR from 0 to 48 percent, money factors from 0 to 0.02 (a leading dot such as .0018 is accepted), tax and discount rates from 0 to 100 percent and amounts up to 1000000000000 with up to 6 decimal places. Calculated locally in your browser. Downloads are a JSON report and a CSV with one row per month.",
  "implementation": {
    "fields": [
      {
        "key": "horizon",
        "label": "Comparison horizon (months)",
        "value": "36",
        "type": "text",
        "maxLength": 30,
        "help": "Whole months from 1 to 120. The replacement lease runs for this long."
      },
      {
        "key": "taxRate",
        "label": "Sales and lease tax rate (%)",
        "value": "7",
        "type": "text",
        "maxLength": 30,
        "help": "Applied to the buyout price, the replacement purchase price and the replacement lease. Enter 0 if prices include tax."
      },
      {
        "key": "leaseTaxMethod",
        "label": "Replacement lease tax method",
        "value": "payment",
        "type": "select",
        "values": [
          "payment",
          "upfront",
          "none"
        ],
        "labels": {
          "payment": "Tax on each monthly payment",
          "upfront": "Tax on all payments, paid at signing",
          "none": "No tax"
        }
      },
      {
        "key": "discountRate",
        "label": "Discount rate per year (%)",
        "value": "0",
        "type": "text",
        "maxLength": 30,
        "help": "From 0 to 100. Enter 0 to rank by plain totals."
      },
      {
        "key": "buyoutPrice",
        "label": "Buyout price",
        "value": "18500",
        "type": "text",
        "maxLength": 30,
        "help": "Residual plus any purchase option fee from your lease contract."
      },
      {
        "key": "buyoutFees",
        "label": "Buyout fees",
        "value": "400",
        "type": "text",
        "maxLength": 30,
        "help": "Title, registration and dealer fees for the buyout."
      },
      {
        "key": "buyoutDown",
        "label": "Buyout cash paid",
        "value": "2000",
        "type": "text",
        "maxLength": 30,
        "help": "Cash you pay toward the buyout. The rest is financed."
      },
      {
        "key": "buyoutApr",
        "label": "Buyout loan APR (%)",
        "value": "7.5",
        "type": "text",
        "maxLength": 30,
        "help": "From 0 to 48."
      },
      {
        "key": "buyoutTerm",
        "label": "Buyout loan term (months)",
        "value": "48",
        "type": "text",
        "maxLength": 30,
        "help": "Whole months from 1 to 120."
      },
      {
        "key": "buyoutResale",
        "label": "Current car value at horizon end",
        "value": "11000",
        "type": "text",
        "maxLength": 30,
        "help": "Your estimate of what the car will sell for."
      },
      {
        "key": "buyoutMonthlyCost",
        "label": "Current car running cost per month",
        "value": "120",
        "type": "text",
        "maxLength": 30,
        "help": "Repairs, maintenance and insurance difference you expect."
      },
      {
        "key": "returnFees",
        "label": "Lease return charges",
        "value": "650",
        "type": "text",
        "maxLength": 30,
        "help": "Disposition fee and excess wear or mileage charges if you return the car."
      },
      {
        "key": "leaseCapCost",
        "label": "Replacement lease capitalized cost",
        "value": "36000",
        "type": "text",
        "maxLength": 30,
        "help": "Negotiated price plus capitalized fees."
      },
      {
        "key": "leaseCapReduction",
        "label": "Replacement lease cap cost reduction",
        "value": "2500",
        "type": "text",
        "maxLength": 30,
        "help": "Cash down, rebates and trade-in equity."
      },
      {
        "key": "leaseResidual",
        "label": "Replacement lease residual value",
        "value": "21000",
        "type": "text",
        "maxLength": 30,
        "help": "Lease-end value from the lease offer."
      },
      {
        "key": "leaseMoneyFactor",
        "label": "Replacement lease money factor",
        "value": "0.0018",
        "type": "text",
        "maxLength": 30,
        "help": "From 0 to 0.02, for example 0.0018 or .0018."
      },
      {
        "key": "leaseDueAtSigning",
        "label": "Other replacement lease amounts due at signing",
        "value": "800",
        "type": "text",
        "maxLength": 30,
        "help": "Fees paid up front and not capitalized."
      },
      {
        "key": "leaseDispositionFee",
        "label": "Replacement lease disposition fee",
        "value": "395",
        "type": "text",
        "maxLength": 30,
        "help": "Charged when that lease ends."
      },
      {
        "key": "leaseMonthlyCost",
        "label": "Replacement lease running cost per month",
        "value": "60",
        "type": "text",
        "maxLength": 30,
        "help": "Maintenance and insurance difference you expect."
      },
      {
        "key": "purchasePrice",
        "label": "Replacement purchase price",
        "value": "34000",
        "type": "text",
        "maxLength": 30,
        "help": "Price before the tax rate above is added."
      },
      {
        "key": "purchaseDown",
        "label": "Replacement purchase down payment",
        "value": "4000",
        "type": "text",
        "maxLength": 30,
        "help": "Cash you pay toward the purchase."
      },
      {
        "key": "purchaseApr",
        "label": "Replacement purchase loan APR (%)",
        "value": "6",
        "type": "text",
        "maxLength": 30,
        "help": "From 0 to 48."
      },
      {
        "key": "purchaseTerm",
        "label": "Replacement purchase loan term (months)",
        "value": "60",
        "type": "text",
        "maxLength": 30,
        "help": "Whole months from 1 to 120."
      },
      {
        "key": "purchaseResale",
        "label": "Replacement car value at horizon end",
        "value": "22000",
        "type": "text",
        "maxLength": 30,
        "help": "Your estimate of what the car will sell for."
      },
      {
        "key": "purchaseMonthlyCost",
        "label": "Replacement purchase running cost per month",
        "value": "60",
        "type": "text",
        "maxLength": 30,
        "help": "Maintenance and insurance difference you expect."
      },
      {
        "key": "decimals",
        "label": "Decimal places in amounts",
        "value": "2",
        "type": "select",
        "values": [
          "2",
          "0",
          "1",
          "3",
          "4",
          "5",
          "6"
        ]
      }
    ],
    "registrationFamily": "vehicle-finance",
    "input": false,
    "note": "Calculated on your device for horizons and loan terms up to 120 months.",
    "experience": {
      "automatic": false,
      "single": false,
      "inputMaxLength": 1000000,
      "inputMode": "text",
      "label": "Lease, loan and cost values",
      "placeholder": "Enter values in the form fields",
      "help": "This calculator reads the form fields below; there is no text box. Up to 1,000,000 characters. Review the settings before running.",
      "helpParts": [
        "This calculator reads the form fields below; there is no text box.",
        "Up to 1,000,000 characters.",
        "Review the settings before running."
      ],
      "action": null
    },
    "mode": "explicit",
    "interactive": false
  },
  "execution": "Browser interface",
  "api": null,
  "browser_agent": {
    "supported": true,
    "name": "run_current_tool",
    "discovery": "WebMCP on the human page in a supporting browser",
    "verification": "See audit/API-AUDIT.md; availability is not verification"
  }
}

Page guide

Compare buying out your current lease with returning it and either leasing or buying a replacement car. See the month by month cash flows and the total cost of each choice over the horizon you pick.

How to use Lease buyout comparison
  1. Choose the comparison horizon in months, your tax rate and an optional discount rate.
  2. Enter the buyout price, fees, cash paid, loan terms, expected resale value and running cost.
  3. Enter the lease return charges and the replacement lease offer.
  4. Enter the replacement purchase price, loan terms, resale value and running cost.
  5. Review the totals, ranks and monthly flows, then download the JSON report or CSV.

Useful next steps

Loan paymentVehicle depreciation calculatorCompound interest

Method

Each choice becomes a stream of payments over the horizon. Buying out finances the buyout price plus tax and fees minus your cash with a level payment loan, adds the monthly running cost and at the end pays off any loan balance and sells the car at your resale estimate. The replacement lease uses the closed-end lease payment (depreciation fee plus rent charge, Regulation M terms in 12 CFR 1013.4(f), checked 16 October 2026) for exactly the horizon, then returns the car with its disposition fee. Its amount due at signing is the cap cost reduction, other amounts due at signing, any up-front tax and the first monthly payment (Regulation M, 12 CFR 1013.4(b)). Both replacement choices also pay the lease return charges of your current car at the start, so they are in the month 0 cash flow and the replacement lease cash at start, but not in the new lease's amount due at signing. The replacement purchase works like the buyout.

Ranking

Choices are ranked by present value at your yearly discount rate, with each month as one twelfth of a year. With a discount rate of 0 the ranking uses plain totals. Lease payments are counted at the start of each month; loan payments and running costs at the end of each month.

Assumptions and limits

Resale values, running costs, rates and the tax rate are your own inputs. The single tax rate is applied to the buyout price, the replacement purchase price and the replacement lease as you choose, with no local tax rules assumed. Insurance, mileage limits and excess wear on the replacement lease are only included if you add them to the monthly costs. This is a comparison of your own numbers, not financial advice.