How it works
- Pick the carMake, model, your ZIP. Then your number: ten seconds, above.
- We find it everywhereText us and we email every dealer within about an hour of you that has one, as you, from your own inbox. We ask each for its out-the-door price in writing and text you the list. Free.
- We negotiate, you pick it upThe lowest written quote goes to every other dealer, round after round, until the price stops moving. You walk in with a number agreed in writing. A dealer only calls once everything is settled, and you get a brief before it.
Why dealers quote less when we ask
A dealer's whole process is built to get you into a chair. Ours never lets it start.
- Out-the-door, itemized, in writing. The price with the fees, the add-ons and the taxes, so nothing new shows up at the desk.
- Every dealer knows the others are quoting. The best written offer goes to everyone else, and they bid against each other while you do something else.
- No round limit. We stop when the price stops moving: a dealer's final number, tiny drops, nobody beating the best.
- Your phone number never reaches a dealer. No calls, no “come in and we’ll talk.” Everything is email, from your inbox, as you.
- Pre-approved? We say so, and that you’re open to their financing. Credibility first; a deposit only once the number is agreed.
The four numbers inside every lease
Ask for all four in writing. A dealer that will only quote a payment is hiding at least one of them.
- Capitalized cost: the price of the car. Fully negotiable, exactly like a purchase. This is where most of the money is, and the only number dealers hope you won't ask about.
- Money factor: the interest rate in disguise. Multiply by 2,400 to see it as a rate. Dealers can mark it up over the bank's rate; ask for the buy rate.
- Residual: what the car is worth at the end. Set by the leasing bank, not the dealer. Not negotiable, but worth knowing: a high residual is what makes a lease cheap.
- Fees and drive-off: acquisition, doc, disposition. Some are the bank's; the dealer's markups on them are negotiable, and so is what you pay at signing.
Compare leases by capitalized cost and money factor across dealers, same car, same term, same miles. That's the comparison we run for you.
Doing it yourself vs. with Refund Agent
| Yourself | With Refund Agent | |
|---|---|---|
| Finding the car | Hours on dealer sites, one at a time | One search across every dealer near you |
| Getting a real price | A phone number and a “come on in” | Itemized out-the-door quotes, in writing |
| Haggling | Four hours in a chair, the manager, the “let me check” | Dealers bid against each other by email |
| Add-ons and fees | Found out at the desk | Stripped before you walk in |
| Your phone | Rings for weeks | Dealers never get it |
Questions about negotiating a lease
Can you negotiate the price on a lease?
Yes. The capitalized cost is the selling price of the car, and it's as negotiable as a cash purchase. It's the single biggest lever on the payment, and the one dealers steer you away from.
What is a money factor?
The lease's interest rate written as a small decimal. Multiply it by 2,400 for the yearly rate. Dealers may mark it up above the bank's base rate; ask for the base rate in writing.
Is the residual value negotiable?
No. The leasing bank sets it. But it matters when you compare: the same car can have different residuals through different banks, and a higher residual means a lower payment for the same price.
Should I put money down on a lease?
As little as possible. Money down on a lease lowers the payment but is gone if the car is totaled or stolen early. Negotiate the price and the money factor instead.
What's a good lease deal?
One where the capitalized cost is near the best purchase price you could get, the money factor is the bank's base rate, and the fees are the standard ones. The way to know is the same as buying: written quotes from several dealers for the same car and term.
What does it cost?
The search is free: you get every dealer's written price with no strings. Before we do anything that costs money, we tell you the price by text and you say yes or no.
Do I ever have to talk to a dealer?
Not until the number is agreed. Dealers get an email address, never your phone. When everything is settled in writing, one call to confirm the paperwork and the pickup, and you get a short brief before it: who, what's agreed, what not to re-open.
More on cars
- Find your car at every dealer near youPick the car. Refund Agent emails every dealer within an hour that has it, gets their real out-the-door prices in writing, and negotiates for you by text. The search is free.
- How to negotiate a car price (or let us)How to negotiate a car price: written out-the-door quotes from every dealer, made to bid against each other. The short version, and the version where Refund Agent does it for you.
Pick the car. We do the dealers.
Thirty seconds above, then a text. Every dealer near you, their real prices in writing, and a negotiation you never sit through.
Find my car at every dealer