.....For example, my lease deal looks like this:
MSRP $43,170
Negotiated Price (before rebate) $39,836
Residual Value (57%) $24,607
So my lease is paying for the difference between $39,836 and $24,607 (plus some interest and fees) divided over 39 months.
With leasing fees (non-negotiable), a $735 rebate, and a $500 down payment, my Base Payment is $429.34 ($467.98 with tax.)
If I buy the car at the end of 39 months, I'll have paid $43,358 total, versus $43,183 if I had paid cash for it.
I have never considered leasing a car before, but with all the new technology I thought it would be nice to have 39 months before I have to decide whether to commit to ownership or not. I plan on keeping the car, but like having the option to just hand it back if I want.
If my goal had been to find a great lease deal, I would have looked at cars with the largest discount off of MSRP and the highest residual value. Those two factors, combined, can significantly lower the difference between sales price and buy-out price, and that's what the lease payments are paying for - that difference.