Do they charge interest in a lease?

If you look at the lease document, the total interest charged is called the "rent charge."

When you lease a car, you're essentially getting a loan for the total price, then over time, you're paying for the depreciation and interest on that loan. In a lease, you don't pay down principle, so you end up paying interest on the full amount of the car throughout the lease term. For example, let's say you lease a $100K S class at 10% interest (or whatever the money factor for 10% is) for 3 years, you will end up paying $30k, or $10/year in interest. $30k will be called the "rent charge."
If you had financed the car over 3 years, at the same 10% interest rate, you will pay a little over $16k in interest because you pay down your principle and thus pay interest on a smaller and smaller amount every month.
Hope this helps.



