Money Down Multiplier

On a typical 36-month lease, every $1,000 of cap cost reduction ("money down") lowers your monthly payment by roughly $28-$32 — call it $30 as a rule of thumb. The math: $1,000 spread over 36 months is $27.78, plus the foregone interest on the money factor (~$2). Lease pros use this to spot bad deals: if a dealer advertises "$3,000 down for $399/month" but the same car at $0 down would be $489/month, that's a $90 reduction for $3,000 — only $30/multiplier, which checks out. If $3,000 down only drops the payment $60/month, the dealer is keeping the difference somewhere (usually inflated money factor or cap cost).