# Car leasing initial payment, explained | Preloved Car Hire

> An initial payment is the first rentals paid up front, not a deposit that comes back. What 2 + 5 means and why paying less up front raises the monthly.

Source: https://prelovedcarhire.co.uk/guides/car-leasing-initial-payment

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[Guides](https://prelovedcarhire.co.uk/guides)

# What an initial payment is, and why ours is 2 + 5 or 3 + 11

An initial payment is the first rentals of the agreement, paid up front in one go. It is written as a multiple of the monthly figure — two months up front on a six month term is a **2 + 5** profile. It is part of what the term costs, not a fee on top, and it is not a deposit being held.

## Reading the notation

The trade writes a term as two numbers. The first is how many months' worth you pay up front; the second is how many monthly payments follow it, one a month, until the term ends.

Notice that the two do not add up to the length of the term. A six month term written 2 + 5 is seven payments, not six, because the money up front is front-loaded rather than simply paid early. That is standard across the trade and it is the number worth checking on any quote you are given, ours included.

| Term | Profile | Up front | Then |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 6 months | 2 + 5 | 2 months' worth | 5 monthly payments |
| 12 months | 3 + 11 | 3 months' worth | 11 monthly payments |
| 24 months | 3 + 23 | 3 months' worth | 23 monthly payments |
| 36 months | 3 + 35 | 3 months' worth | 35 monthly payments |

Ours are the four above. Two months up front on a six month term, three months on twelve months and longer. You will also see 6 + 23 and 9 + 35 elsewhere, which are the same idea stretched over longer terms than we do.

## It is not a deposit, and it does not come back

This is the part most people have wrong, and it is worth being blunt about. An initial payment is **the first payments of the term, paid early**. It is not money held somewhere on your behalf. At the end of the term there is nothing to return, because you have already had the use of the car it paid for.

A **deposit** is a different thing entirely: a sum held against damage, fuel and anything owing at the end, and returned once the car is back and checked. Both can appear on the same agreement, and they behave in opposite ways.

Worth doing before you sign anything with anyone: ask them to put in writing which of the two each figure is, and what happens to it at the end. The answer should take one sentence. If it takes a paragraph, read the paragraph.

Want the two figures for a real car?

Pick a term and we will give you the initial payment and the monthly, in writing, before you commit to anything.

Two months up front on a six month term, three months on twelve months and longer. No obligation.

## Why a bigger initial payment means a smaller monthly

The two numbers trade against each other. Take more up front and the monthly figure comes down; take less and it goes up, because the same car over the same months has to be paid for either way. Which is why comparing two quotes on the monthly figure alone tells you almost nothing until you have both numbers.

That is the whole of what a "no deposit" lease is doing. A 1 + 23 profile takes one month instead of three, and the monthly figure carries the difference. It is a real option and it suits people whose problem is cash today rather than cost overall. We do not offer one, because our terms are short and the arithmetic stops working.

## What we do

Two months up front on a six month term, three months on twelve months and longer. So a six month term is 2 + 5 and a twelve month term is 3 + 11. Both figures are agreed in writing before you pay anything, and neither moves afterwards.

There is no joining fee, no arrangement fee and no admin charge for setting the agreement up. [Pricing](https://prelovedcarhire.co.uk/pricing) sets out everything that is payable.

## Common questions

**What is an initial payment on a car lease?** The first rentals of the agreement, paid up front in one go. It is written as a multiple of the monthly figure, so a 2 + 5 profile means two months up front and five monthly payments after it. It is part of what the term costs, not a fee on top of it.

**Is a car leasing initial payment refundable?** No, and this is the part people most often get wrong. An initial payment is not a deposit being held: it is the first payments of the term, paid early. A damage or security deposit is a different thing, held separately and returned at the end once the car has been checked.

**When is the initial payment due?** Normally shortly after the agreement is signed and before the car is handed over. We tell you the exact figure and the date in writing before you commit to anything.

**What does a "no deposit" car lease mean?** Usually a 1 + 23 or similar profile, where only one month is taken up front rather than three. The money has not disappeared: a smaller initial payment generally means a higher monthly figure over the same term. We do not offer one.

How the wider trade handles initial payments is general practice rather than a rule anyone enforces, so check your own agreement. What we say about ours is ours.

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