What "Due at Signing" Means on a Car Lease (and What's Hiding in It)

Every lease ad has a "due at signing" number. Almost none of them mean the same thing.

Here's what usually gets stuffed into that number, and what gets left out.

What's included in due at signing

The first month's payment. An acquisition fee the bank charges to set up the lease, typically somewhere between $600 and $1,100 depending on the brand. A dealer doc fee. Registration and tags. And sometimes a capitalized cost reduction, which is a fancy way of saying a down payment.

What's usually left out

Tax. Read the fine print on most lease ads and you'll see "plus tax, tag, and fees" somewhere near the bottom. That $2,999 due at signing becomes $3,800 once you're sitting at the desk. Nobody lied, exactly. They just didn't add it up for you.

How our lease deals list it

When we list a deal, the monthly payment includes tax and the total due at signing is the actual check you write. If it says $1,500, it's $1,500. First payment, fees, tax, tags, done. We got tired of explaining the difference, so we stopped playing the game.

Should you put money down on a lease?

Usually no. Here's what people miss: if the car is totaled or stolen three months in, the money you put down is gone. Insurance pays the bank, not you. So we generally tell people to keep the drive-off as low as possible and take a slightly higher monthly instead. Same total cost, a lot less risk.

There's an exception if you need to hit a specific monthly number for budgeting reasons. That's fine. Just know what you're trading.

Every deal on our deals page shows the real total due at signing. If a number ever looks too good, ask us what's in it. We'll tell you.