Payment Calculators WTF

[Alex Snyder]

Oh the fun of being a customer never ends. Car buying was so much easier when I was a dealer.

My latest gripe is in regards to how the OEM and dealership website's payment calculators don't want you to buy a car.

On the OEM sites (VW is the worst I've seen) they do not disclose how the payments are calculated. As far as I can tell they're based on MSRP, not all the incentives, and take a very wide stance on taxes. Then, who knows what the money factor is and hopefully they're using their own residuals. All of this comes together to say a lease payment is anywhere between $50 to as much as $800 higher (saw this on a Cadillac) than what the actual payment comes out to from the dealer.

Then we get to the dealer. His website probably can't help with a lease payment whatsoever. But the ones who are buying some lease payment plugin are still a bit off. They're not nearly as bad as the OEM versions, but there is a good $20 to $200 difference (this grows as the price of the car does) from reality.

So... I'm a relatively informed car buyer and I'm looking online at options thinking I can't afford that car. With my knowledge I know better, but I'm not average. How many average customers are being scared away from purchases due to these fucked-up lease payment calculators?

 

[craigh]

they do not disclose how the payments are calculated.

In Ontario, we are forced to show the formula and the cost of borrowing for ALL payment calculations.
This is why many vendors now have long, complicated explanations of the payment.
It's great for customer transparency, but it also shows the nasty cost of borrowing on some of these vehicles.

Then we get to the dealer. His website probably can't help with a lease payment whatsoever. But the ones who are buying some lease payment plugin are still a bit off. They're not nearly as bad as the OEM versions, but there is a good $20 to $200 difference (this grows as the price of the car does) from reality.

Apparently Chrome Data has lease residuals now, but we've only just starting playing with them.
Data accuracy is an issue on both lease and financing though, as almost all providers are still getting these from scans or dealer logins to OEM portals - there is plenty of room for human failure.

So... I'm a relatively informed car buyer and I'm looking online at options thinking I can't afford that car. With my knowledge I know better, but I'm not average. How many average customers are being scared away from purchases due to these fucked-up lease payment calculators?

Most of the data I've seen shows low usage on those beyond maybe entering a downpayment.
I'll try and find the studies, but I remember reading numerous places that the payment calculation typically happens on the OEM site and the availability of the vehicle is what is checked on the dealer site.

100% agree with your assessment though.
In evaluating dealer websites a few months ago, we found countless inconsistencies on calculators.
One of our OEM clients sent us a ticket a few months ago pointing out that our payments were wrong, showing us that Scotiabank had the correct payment. We confirmed with 6 different national bank calculators and found that not even the banks have the math right every time.
I don't understand why it's so complicated, but can attest to the mess.

 

[AWNick]

As a car buyer, these calculators make me insane. Every dealership and OEM finance and lease calculator is so far off, its offputting.

For our next-gen dealer website platform coming out in the next month or two, we're pulling current VIN-specific data, local tax rates, state-specific tax calculation formulas, and available lease or finance incentives to create accurate calculators on our VDPs.

Our data shows that our finance and lease calculators are getting a lot of use, why not make them realistic?

My best guess for why current calculators behave as they do is because many dealers and OEMs are afraid to "overpromise" online.

 

[Alexander Lau]

There's no sense in even using them, it's never the rate you think you are going to get. Far too many variables are crunched at the finish line.