2. THE TRUTH IN LEASING ACT - PT. 1
AUTO LEASE GROSS CAPITALIZED COST AND AMOUNT DUE AT SIGNING

Auto Leases, nationally, are governed under REGULATION M of the Federal Truth in Leasing Act. California's Vehicle Leasing Act supplements the federal requirements for auto leases.

In Auto Leases GROSS CAPITALIZED COST in a fancy way of saying what the agreed value of the vehicle to be leased (plus related taxes, insurance, service agreements, and any outstanding prior credit/lease balance) is. The Vehicle Leasing Act requires all these charges be itemized on one place in the auto lease agreement. You can view how all the costs must be itemized by clicking on the lower yellow portion of the contract image to your left or by clicking GROSS CAPITALIZED COSTS here. While Reglulation M does not require this auto lease itemization, California does.

AMOUNT DUE AT LEASE SIGNING: The Amount Due at Lease Signing is one of the 10 required TRUTH IN LEASING/REGULATION M disclosures which must be grouped together ("segregated") on an auto lease. Click on the top yellow portion the contract image where the Amount Due at Lease Signing or Delivery is highlighted.

CAPITALIZED COST REDUCTION: The first number on the itemization of "Amount Due at Lease Signing or Delivery" is "Capitalized Cost Reduction". Capitalized Cost Reduction can be compared to a down-payment; the more money you put toward reducing your "capitalized cost" the lower your monthly auto lease payment and the slower your vehicle's rate of depreciation.